Cake manufacturer set for expansion after taking mentoring advice
Eat My Logo, the specialist bakery business that makes freshly baked bespoke cakes and biscuits, has grown turnover by a half and significantly increased its output by moving to a new facility following mentoring advice from Boost, Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub.
Due to rapid growth in demand, Eat My Logo moved premises four times in its first five years to expand production. Having previously benefitted from Boost support, the couple contacted the Growth Hub again in 2019 to seek specific mentoring advice to help with their expansion plans.
Business growth
Boost is Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub and is led by Lancashire County Council and the Lancashire LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership). The Growth Mentoring Programme is a fully funded programme where the business is matched with a successful businessperson who will provide support.
The service matched them with Stephen Turner, an experienced business director who helped the owners Ruth and Andy Poar gain a wider strategic view on the business. He advised them how they could expand through more proactive online marketing and also helped the business in relocating to a 9,500 sq ft facility at Yarrow Mill.
Ruth Poar said: “Despite the challenges of working through the pandemic, it was still a great decision to move into the large bakery. The business is now back on track as the economy lifts out of lockdown.”
Record year
Even though they faced the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, 2021 was a record year for the business with temporary staff brought in to meet demand. The business has continued to grow with an expected turnover £1.25m in 2022 and a team of 20.
Growth mentor, Stephen Turner, said: “As a result of building a fantastic business, Ruth and Andy were going through challenging growth pains. Together we scoped out the merits of scaling up and the risks of choosing not to. Thankfully, Ruth and Andy made the right decisions, increased their risk exposure and it paid off – as we knew it would.”
The business was formed in 2014 by Ruth Poar, primarily as a sideline to her celebration cake business after a customer requested that their business logo appeared on the cakes.
