Five questions for… James Ecclestone, The Grown Up Chocolate Co.

published 8 December 2017

What does your firm do?

We make, by hand, a range of chocolate confectionery that we distribute ourselves. We sell to the domestic UK market and export to markets such as Australia and Canada.

What's been your greatest achievement so far?

Managing the logistics of moving the production kitchens from Enfield to Harlow in 2016 was a daunting exercise, but we managed it almost seamlessly. Being awarded the contract to supply Virgin Atlantic was a really exciting moment for us. Above all, we've brought our range of products to market from a theoretical concept: having launched in 2012, when we turned over next to zero, this year we will turn over £2.3m.

What has been your biggest challenge?

Managing our growth: we've had to work how out how to cope with the expansion of production needed by the business to support turnover that has risen by 40% each year for the last four years.

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What are your plans for hitting your targets this year?

Despite the pressures on input prices and the recruitment difficulties we're seeing both because of Brexit we are optimistic about our prospects of meeting our budget this year. We have recently signed a US distributor and we expect this to add £500,000 to our turnover in the first year of the agreement.

What's the one piece of advice you'd give fellow entrepreneurs?

Don't be shy about asking for help. When you are starting out, you shouldn't have any qualms about using friends and family for support.

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