Thomas Hal Robson-Kanu: ‘We did two years of R&D before launching the brand’

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Hey and welcome to Small Enterprise Snippets, the podcast from SmallBusiness.co.uk. I’m your host, Anna Jordan.

Our visitor at present is Thomas Hal Robson-Kanu, entrepreneur {and professional} footballer. He has remodeled 400 appearances for Studying, Swindon, South Finish, West Brom, England and Wales, scoring ‘that objective’ towards Belgium in Euro 2016.

Earlier than his profession took off, Thomas sustained two heavy cruciate ligament accidents. The painkillers he was taking had been having opposed results, so he and his father got down to discover a pure treatment and discovered of the anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric which he began taking in shot type. He went on to turn out to be knowledgeable footballer after being informed by docs that such a profession was out of the query.

Thomas determined to take the turmeric photographs recipe and switch it right into a enterprise. Gross sales for The Turmeric Co have elevated by 600 per cent over the previous 12 months and the workforce has quadrupled.

We’ll be speaking concerning the challenges of establishing the corporate and increasing into totally different nations.

Anna: Hello, Thomas, how are you?

Thomas: Hello, Anna. I’m good. Thanks. How are you?

Anna: Yeah, not unhealthy. Not unhealthy in any respect.

As we touched on within the intro, there’s a little bit bit alluding to how The Turmeric Co happened. May you inform us a bit extra about how the corporate and the way the photographs got here to be?

Thomas: We launched The Turmeric Co in 2018. Primarily, what we did was we aimed to carry a variety of extremely purposeful pure shot blends, which my father had created a decade earlier, to market. We realised that there have been a variety of customers buying inside this shot class of purposeful shot drinks within the type of liquid meals. The standard available on the market wasn’t what it needs to be, and it wasn’t wherever close to the standard of the product that we had been utilizing as a family-made recipe. The mix itself is one thing which I had used, as talked about, a decade earlier, to help my very own restoration from surgical procedures I’d had as an adolescent.

We realised that if we might carry this to market at scale, we might additionally influence positively quite a lot of totally different individuals in all totally different walks of life, to permit them to stay a wholesome and energetic way of life. So we needed to construct a bespoke manufacturing facility, so as to scale up our manufacturing of those high-quality photographs. Then we needed to construct a logistics infrastructure and a framework throughout the enterprise sitting underneath the model, to permit us to ship the product direct to customers in a relaxing format all through the UK.

We efficiently achieved that in 2018, launched the enterprise and we constructed the enterprise and the manufacturers very a lot as a digitally native vertical model. So very a lot round that on-line buyer expertise, making certain that we might educate the shoppers as properly, to take them by means of the journey of dwelling a wholesome and energetic way of life. With that we constructed a very robust subscription mannequin on-line. And yeah, we’ve clearly grown year-on-year since launch, we’ve constructed the enterprise off of three principal skews in our vary. We’re ready now the place we’re seeking to upscale, once more, persevering with to ship the product all through the UK and discover worldwide alternatives of distribution as properly.

Going again to the place you began, what sort of challenges or difficulties did you’ve got beginning and working the enterprise within the early days?

Thomas: So usually, when manufacturers arrange, they arrange simply as that – as a model, so a kind of model within the gross sales channel. However we needed to turn out to be a beverage manufacturing enterprise in addition to a model. We nearly arrange two simultaneous enterprise fashions, which had been clearly intertwined, to permit us to ship the standard of merchandise that we envisaged delivering. And in order that was the primary problem by way of that complete infrastructure – understanding manufacture, the accreditations related to that.

As soon as we achieved that, which took round two years of analysis and improvement to attain, we then launched the model. The most important aspect and problem that we confronted as a model was actually about differentiating our product with others available on the market. As a result of, sitting on the shelf, it’s very laborious to tell apart the variations or the USPs (distinctive promoting factors) in what we might see as a very high-quality product in ours, versus a comparatively lower-quality product and a much less efficient product, which possibly comprises apple juice, orange juice, water – or it doesn’t have as a lot of the purposeful uncooked elements of the turmeric and the ginger roots. It was actually nearly how we will differentiate that and talk that to customers and to the market.

We actually did quite a lot of analysis, we labored laborious by way of our branding and messaging across the product. The important thing aspect for us was constructing that on-line retailer and that on-line eCommerce platform, which allowed us to actually educate customers and take them on that journey. As we stated, we’ve constructed a very robust community – a very robust neighborhood – all centered round wholesome and pure dwelling by means of high-quality diet. We had been seeking to attain as many individuals as doable with the vary and to help individuals in all totally different walks of life.

How about enlargement as you’re seeing into the long run and going internationally? What sort of challenges do you envisage there?

Thomas: So once more, as a result of the product is contemporary, it’s uncooked, it must be chilled. We’ve to ship a relaxing distribution chain wherever we go. Whether or not that’s the final mile to customers, we needed to construct the boxing and the packaging in a manner the place the product was insulated and chilled. The most important problem that we clearly face is round how we preserve that chilled distribution chain all through the product lifecycle. And yeah, it’s a further aspect.

Once more, it’s while you take a look at kind of merchandise available on the market, there’s quite a lot of ambient shot merchandise, and that’s achieved by means of pasteurisation. However in case you pasteurise a product, notably a pure product, you’re compromising as much as 90 per cent of the dietary worth of the product. Parts resembling which are actually necessary the place we could possibly be ambient, and we might have a shelf lifetime of over a 12 months on the product. However truly, the aim and the advantage of the product could be severely compromised. We determined to not go down that route. It wasn’t nearly mainstream distribution. It’s about delivering a high-quality shot format to individuals in a handy style and that’s what we’ve achieved. However now, as you stated, scaling that past, notably worldwide markets, the problem is clearly sustaining that high quality and that stage of distribution all through.

Yeah, completely. By way of the shot type, I’ve seen a little bit little bit of pushback from customers saying that they want one thing, say, in a much bigger bottle, maybe with much less plastic or one thing longer life. What would you say in response to them?

Thomas: Yeah, so once more, it’s all concerning the high quality of the product that we ship. And so we can’t use glass bottles, as a result of we don’t pasteurise our product. So we couldn’t transfer to glass bottles. However as I stated we might be compromising the merchandise effectiveness by as much as 90 per cent. So what we’ve performed as a model, and as a enterprise, is we’ve embedded sustainability initiatives at our core. So for example, all of our bottles are produced from 25 per cent biodegradable and 75 per cent recycled plastic. We even have simply launched a recycling returns initiative, which permits prospects to return their plastic bottles, in addition to the boxing and insulation on to us freed from cost.

The place we’ve clearly acquired a subscription mannequin, the way in which that that works is on the client’s subsequent supply, all they must do is hand again the field with the bottles and the packaging, to the courier and it will likely be couriered again to us. And what we’re engaged on doing now could be bringing these used bottles again into our provide chain. We’re a deep sterilisation, a deep cleansing course of the place we will then reuse these bottles. And what that’s permitting us to do is and negate that stage of single-use plastic, which clearly may be very damaging to the setting, the place we’re primarily saying each single one in all our bottles can be utilized a number of occasions by taking part on this recycling returns initiative. It’s one thing we’re actually happy with. As I stated, sustainability is at our core. And we’re seeing unbelievable suggestions from our prospects, and extra importantly, unbelievable participation within the initiative as properly.

For our listeners who maybe are pondering of getting a enterprise with a sort of recycling scheme, and what can they count on by way of prices to set one up?

Thomas: By way of the recycling scheme, prefer it’s clearly working collaboratively with the couriers. We labored actually laborious with all of our couriers to guarantee that they’re aligned with our initiatives and with our values to facilitate that kind of stage. Now, once more, that recycling returns initiative comes at a value. However that price is one thing that we take in as a enterprise, that we embed into our infrastructure and into our mannequin. However once more, it’s not for all companies, as a result of I believe we’re most likely one of many solely UK-based companies who actually ship that initiative as a elementary a part of their core. However the influence that it has not solely on the setting, but in addition on the neighborhood and the understanding of our model values is huge as a result of it reveals and proves that we’re taking sustainability significantly and we’re actually taking forward-thinking steps to facilitate that as properly.

Entrepreneurship is sort of a standard profession path for footballers after they retire, why do you assume that’s?

Thomas: Yeah, I believe there are particular challenges which include entrepreneurship, that are aligned with elite sports activities. By way of elite sports activities, you must have a excessive stage of competitiveness, that you must frequently ship and try in the direction of reaching one thing. That’s very a lot comparable by way of entrepreneurship. You’re all the time going to face adversity challenges, nevertheless it’s the way you overcome these, the way you cope with these and how one can all the time make the very best consequence out of that adversity. There are undoubtedly quite a lot of synergies in that. Additionally, there’s numerous dangers concerned in companies, notably while you’re making an attempt to ship such a distinct segment product into a brand new rising class.

However the rewards definitely are there. The rewards for us [The Turmeric Co] are receiving at present over 10,000 constructive buyer opinions on our vary. We’ve positively impacted 10,000 individuals sufficient for them to go and write a testimonial and inform us about their very own expertise. That’s the reward – positively impacting individuals’s lives. Significantly these days, when there’s a lot spoken round well being, diet and wellness. It’s actually an necessary matter, and also you see it by way of the HFSS regulation, the excessive fats sugar and salt regulation coming into play now, which, once more, I’m very actively outspoken about, as a result of the influence that snack meals, quick meals, junk meals, highly-processed meals are having on our society, however extra importantly, having on future generations is now extra prevalent than ever.

An instance of that’s that since lockdown has completed, one in 4 kids are leaving major faculty overweight and that that’s essentially attributable to diet and to the meals selections that households and children are making. Clearly this must be modified, there must be steps in the direction of constructive, wholesome life. And for us at The Turmeric Co, we’re massively keen about that, and a driver in the direction of that change.

Yeah, I’ve learn in your web site that you just’re keen about educating the long run technology. So how would you guys personally go about doing that?

Thomas: Yeah, so an instance of that’s that a variety of our partnerships with elite sports activities throughout totally different sports activities sectors. We’ve partnered with over 20 skilled sports activities groups, to construct consciousness by means of our partnerships with them on wholesome dwelling, wholesome, nutritious choices and, clearly, the facility and the effectiveness of uncooked purposeful elements, resembling fats, resembling elements present in our vary. And constructing consciousness by means of these partnerships, versus the high-fat, high-sugar, high-salt manufacturers who’ve a monopoly. You’re taking, for instance, McDonald’s, Coca Cola, all of those are extremely processed, high-in-fat, high-in-sugar meals, that are finally damaging well being of society. Their snack meals, and everybody’s allowed a snack – I like snacks as properly – nevertheless it’s not a staple a part of my weight-reduction plan. The difficulty is that as a result of they’ve had the monopoly for such a time period, by way of advertising, promoting and principally having the ability to management the eye of the lots, by means of varied campaigns, TV campaigns, out-of-home campaigns, partnering with sports activities organisations. An instance of that’s within the World Cup. The World Cup last – over a billion individuals watch that – and the primary sponsor of that’s Coca Cola. It’s like, in fact, when that’s the case, the younger children are going to be extra predisposed to wanting these snacks as staple components of their diets and their diet. In order I stated, we’re elementary drivers in making that change, and constructing consciousness to customers in all totally different walks of life to have wholesome, nutritious choices.

I perceive that The Turmeric Co isn’t your first foray into enterprise. You had a enterprise beforehand along with your brother referred to as Sports activities Ledger. May you stroll us by means of a journey of that enterprise and the teachings that you just took into The Turmeric Co.?

Thomas: Yeah, so once more, I’ve very a lot been concerned in entrepreneurship all through my life. I’ve been concerned in a variety of totally different companies, in varied totally different sectors. Sports activities Ledger was very a lot round digitising knowledge – sports activities knowledge – utilizing blockchain know-how.

I’d say that, by way of the market, that was very area of interest, and really early on by way of that know-how, and that know-how may be very a lot nonetheless creating, nevertheless it was a unbelievable expertise and many nice learnings by way of constructing a workforce and constructing the info behind it. And for now, what we’re doing at The Turmeric Co very a lot is round knowledge and understanding our customers needs and desires, by means of their buying patterns and to their interactions with the model. You’ll be able to actually leverage knowledge to supply a very heightened buyer expertise and tailor-made buyer journeys to actually educate them on the trail and for us now, clearly, by means of diet and thru our vary, we will tangibly see that. Yeah, it’s actually, actually good and nice experiences for positive.

Blockchain is fairly common amongst footballers. Do you assume that it’s shaping enterprise and can proceed to form small companies into the long run?

Thomas: Yeah, I believe it’s nonetheless very early by way of kind of blockchain know-how, it’s a creating area, just like what the web was, again within the early 90s, by way of digitising knowledge, digitising change of data. And all blockchain know-how is doing is digitising foreign money. So, having the ability to change foreign money change worth throughout the web, in a safe method. However by way of the event of that know-how, it’s nonetheless very a lot early days, there’s clearly quite a lot of hype round it, notably issues resembling NFTs now, there’s a large furore round it. However it’s extra concerning the fundamentals, and the basics are very early nonetheless. There’s quite a lot of improvement required within the area. If it continues to develop over time, then then definitely it’s going to be know-how which will likely be adopted by the lots.

Do you assume the Metaverse, for instance, will speed up that?

Thomas: Yeah, once more, it’s all innovation and know-how, and it’s there now. It’s merely round adoption. It simply relies upon – the obstacles for entry as they start to be damaged down; the obstacles of schooling as they start to get damaged down, increasingly individuals will likely be accustomed to it and undertake it. So, yeah, it’s definitely an fascinating area, one which I’ve been concerned in from very, very early on and have been lucky sufficient to have performed that. So, yeah, it’s good to see that that space creating as we communicate.

What sort of assets would you advocate for small enterprise house owners who’re curious about blockchain and the way it’s creating and the way possibly they will apply it throughout the enterprise?

Thomas: Yeah, as I stated, I believe the infrastructure remains to be in improvement, so I wouldn’t say there’s notably important use instances now. However on condition that the web as it’s, there’s quite a lot of infrastructure, whether or not it’s cost gateways, issues resembling PayPal, Stripe, and so forth. That infrastructure is excellent presently. There’s not a large want to maneuver over by way of shifting to a digitised foreign money within the area at this second in time. However, yeah, I believe, as I stated, there’s quite a lot of improvement required throughout the area. I do know there’s quite a lot of work ongoing, however I believe that that can finally simply take time, however yeah, normal strategies of transacting these days are greater than adequate.

What we’ve performed with our personal on-line retailer, we’ve constructed a really sturdy infrastructure by way of utilising platforms resembling Shopify Plus, utilising platforms resembling Yocto (an open-source, construct your personal Linux programme) to drive referrals, drive loyalty factors, and clearly, driving into SMS and electronic mail advertising as properly. So, these infrastructures are all in place and will be utilised and I believe that definitely needs to be the primary level of name for any entrepreneur seeking to enter into the eCommerce panorama.

Okay, truly, one thing’s simply jumped to my head. Yeah, The Turmeric Co does turmeric tokens as properly. Was the pondering behind it some kind of an alternate commerce? So somewhat than cash, individuals can learn blogs or go away a video evaluation. What was the pondering there?

Thomas: Yeah, so it’s only a strategy to reward prospects and we use Yocto rather a lot in rewards for that. It’s principally a loyalty mechanism for purchasers who’re engaged with us. So, as they make purchases, they’re rewarded with tokens, event tokens, after which these tokens are then redeemable in retailer. So, for our loyal prospects, they’re frequently getting rewarded for buying with us and can obtain issues like totally different low cost rewards, merchandise, so it’s a very distinctive strategy to construct neighborhood and advocacy by means of these most loyal prospects.

Anna: Alright. Nicely, I believe that’s it for me. Thanks ever a lot for approaching the podcast, Thomas. It’s been nice.

Thomas: Wonderful. Thanks a lot. Absolute pleasure.

You will discover out extra about The Turmeric Co at theturmeric.co. You too can go to SmallBusiness.co.uk for extra articles on beginning a enterprise. Bear in mind to love on Fb @SmallBusinessExperts, on Twitter @smallbusinessuk (all lowercase) and subscribe to our YouTube channel, linked within the description. Till subsequent time, thanks for listening.