SWMAS helped this award-winning drink manufacturer focus their business strategy and develop a plan to enable achievable business growth.
 

The Customer...

Hullabaloos was established in Somerset in 2014. They began selling lemonade at events alongside their cakes and cream teas. When local retailers started asking if their delicious, unique recipe could be bottled and sold in shops, Hullabaloos Lemonade was born. 

Their award-winning lemonade now comes in a wide range of flavours, all hand-made using traditional methods and natural ingredients. They are sold at National Trust shops and independent cafes across the South-West and can also be found at many local and regional events.

Six years after the company was born, they now have six full-time employees and are looking to recruit additional members of staff and increase their turnover significantly by the end of 2022.

The Challenge...

Although the company was growing, the two owners found themselves facing increased pressure from the demands of manufacturing all week and selling at shows all weekend. 

They realised there could be a potential opportunity to export their products but were unable to explore this further whilst they were so busy with existing business commitments. The Department of International Trade (DIT) introduced SWMAS as a source of support to help Hullabaloos address these issues and help them on their growth journey.
 

How SWMAS Helped...

COVID-19 restrictions provided a timely opportunity for the business to consider its future strategy. The SWMAS Manufacturing Specialist was able to support them at this difficult time to reflect on their current position and make changes to not only recover lost earnings due to COVID-19 restrictions but also realise their future growth potential. This support has been provided through the High Value Manufacturing Advisory Programme (HVMAP) in the Heart of the South West (HotSW).

SWMAS helped Hullabaloos define and agree a ‘Three Year Vision’ and identified the following key areas of focus to help them achieve this:

• Increase manufacturing output
• Grow online presence
• Maximise export opportunities

To turn their future vision into a reality, SWMAS were able to help Hullabaloos implement the changes needed to meet these objectives. This was achieved through:

• Taking on more distributors to allow more time to be spent on manufacturing their products
• Revamping their website and social media content to encourage higher volumes of online sales 
• Completing a training course on exporting and taking the time to investigate this further to uncover opportunities in this area
   

Ongoing support, as and when required...

SWMAS has continued to work with Hullabaloos since this initial engagement in October 2020. A number of coaching sessions have looked at productivity versus profitability and explored various distribution options which could be more resource efficient. 

SWMAS also spotted bottlenecks in current manufacturing processes and advised how these could be addressed effectively by introducing new equipment. To help Hullabaloos implement the positive improvements identified, SWMAS was able to offer a grant towards the cost of a new labelling machine and pasteuriser to substantially increase production volumes. 

Having recently worked with another small, local food manufacturer who have branched out to export their products internationally, SWMAS also put Hullabaloos in contact with this business. This enabled them to learn more about what’s involved in exporting their lemonades and better understand the next steps to be taken. Hullabaloos are now exporting to the Far East and have significant growth potential in these markets. 

SWMAS will continue to help Hullabaloos progress their plans in key areas, which include assisting with layout optimisation, and developing new products for new markets.