Unicorn Ingredients goes from £0-10m in two years

Unicorn Ingredients,​ which was founded in May 2008 by former Fuerst Day Lawson directors Frank Horan and Nicola Divers (pictured above), notched up sales of £4m in year one and £10m in year two.

The majority (80%) of its sales are to UK and Continental European bakers, but it also supplies beans, lentils and chickpeas to ready meals and soup manufacturers, said Horan, who admits that launching a new business in May 2008 was a bold move.

“If we had known then what was going to happen to the economy, we probably wouldn’t have done it. It’s been the most terrifying but also the most exciting period of my life.”​

Currency fluctuations had also made the last two years a bit of a roller coaster ride, he said. “We would have gone out of business if we hadn’t protected ourselves through hedging.”​

Payment terms​

Despite Unicorn’s commercial success, the economic uncertainty had changed the way some manufacturers approached purchasing, he said.

Payment terms were being pushed out further and further, with many customers now paying in 60 instead of 30 days.

He added: “I think manufacturers have been understandably wary and inevitably they have become more focused on short-term objectives. I remember when they used to write annual contracts. That’s happening a lot less.”​

Unicorn imports, distributes and warehouses seeds and pulses from India, China, the US, Guatemala, the Czech Republic and the UK, explained Horan.

“Our strategy is to offer customers stability of supply by working only with a handful of carefully chosen importers. ​

“This helps ensure quality and volumes remain consistent at a time when there are major challenges in the global supply chain from climate change to currency fluctuations.”​

Volatility​

While the price of sesame and sunflower seeds had remained “on a fairly even keel” ​pumpkin seed prices had more than doubled in the last year - from around £2,000t to £4,500t – although they had started to drop off again in recent weeks, he said.

Linseed prices had also jumped up after traces of illegal GM strains were found in supplies from Canada last year, he added.