More Lolly: Blackpool Growth Business Academy Helps Stanton & Novelty Confectioners Grow

David Thorp and his 14-strong team (including his dad) have helped make Blackpool’s Stanton & Novelty Confectioners a million-pound business. But when it came to next steps, David valued an extra pair of expert eyes. 

David Thorp is the third generation of his family to lead Stanton & Novelty Confectioners. Stanton’s has been synonymous with candy and rock novelties since 1969. Yet, like his grandad and dad before him, David is no stranger to the challenges of running a traditional seaside confectionery business.

“It’s entirely seasonal,” says David. “You build up stock over the winter, but you never know whether you’re over or understocked until summer, when you’re at the mercy of everything from the weather to socioeconomic factors.”

Creating a year-round market

Keen to reduce the inherent uncertainty and introduce more year-round trade, David made the decision to acquire a local business that gave Stanton’s access to a piece of machinery that is unique in the UK. Able to create lollies of virtually any size and shape incorporating any logo or branding, Logo Lollies have proved a big hit.

Stanton’s products are sold in Fortnum & Mason, Alton Towers and Blackpool’s own Pleasure Beach Resort (among many others), while its Logo Lollies have been created for brands ranging from Staples and Samsung to Chelsea and Everton football clubs.

“In the summer we’re now making Christmas lollies for national brands,” says David, “and in the winter we’re making Easter and summer products for the seaside market.”

With year-round trade now established, David’s next task was to grow the business. “We’ve changed the product mix we offer and that has meant changing the way we operate, and I really wanted an external pair of eyes to check our plans and reassure us that we were heading in the right direction. I found Blackpool Growth Business Academy on the Blackpool Unlimited website, and I gave them a call.”

Thanks to fully-funded support from the UK Government's Shared Prosperity Fund, working with the Blackpool Growth Business Academy didn’t require any outlay on David’s part.

On the business, not in the business

Like every SME owner, David wears many hats. “I’d been working full-time on production and running things in the office, and it’s easy to find yourself just reacting to what’s going on around you and never thinking ahead.”

David was put in touch with John Woodruffe. “John is the academy’s manufacturing expert,” says David. “I gave him an overview of the business and went into the numbers a little bit and very quickly he said, ‘it sounds like you're working in the business, not on the business’. Which was exactly right.

“John came to the factory, which was a great help because when you’re in a niche industry it’s often easier to show rather than tell. He suggested several quick wins that really helped us. The value stream index he showed us was really helpful in distinguishing the products we sell most of (in terms of volume) and the products that drive greatest profit. That gave us immediate insight about the things that are actually earning us money.

“We did a three year orbit plan that helped me focus on the future and how to get there. And a resource matrix helped identify the parts of the business where we’re a little resource light. So that was all fantastic, because you can’t figure out where you’re going next without understanding where you are now.”

By their third meeting, David’s plans were really taking shape. “John and I went through the whole sales pipeline – our existing customers, what we sell, how we can cross sell – everything. It was refreshing to be able to get that macro view of the business and really gave me confidence we were moving in the right direction.”

Becoming a more resilient business

Six months after their initial meeting, David can see a clear difference, and he feels he’s on the right track to achieving Stanton’s growth ambitions. “I’m definitely able to take more of a data-driven, more strategic approach to what we’re doing,” he says. “I’ve now got systems in place that make it easier for me to understand what’s happening within the business. The wild card remains the external factors. By definition, they’re hard to control, but I am now able to better prepare the business to withstand the unexpected. I’ll be doing more in our off season, but we’re becoming a more resilient business.”

“There’s only positives”

What would David say to any business owner wanting to lock in growth for their Blackpool business? “I would say, don't hesitate. I've got nothing but good things to say about them. 

“Even the length of the meetings was great. Rather than cramming everything into an hour or two, they come to you (which is another benefit) and you spend three to four hours really going into the detail.

“There's literally no risk; just positives.”

To access fully-funded support, talk to Blackpool Growth Business Academy.