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Sylvia Garvin (MBA 2003)

How to Sejuice corporate clients

It was 2004 and the UK economy was enjoying almost 50 consecutive quarters of expansion. Would-be entrepreneurs were bombarded with start-up success stories: "Anyone can do it!" was the call-to-action of a popular business start-up guide at the time.

I had recently finished a part-time Diploma in General Management through Cass which had fuelled my desire to start a business. Keen to put my knowledge of key management disciplines into action, I now needed to find the "big idea". Inspiration came via a round-the-world trip which was my reward for completing an intense three-and-a half years of study alongside a demanding job.

My friend and I travelled across South America, Australia, New Zealand and Southern and Eastern Africa, relishing the local cuisine as we went. We began to notice a recurring trend: everywhere we visited, we were able to purchase freshly made-to-order fruit drinks which were both healthy and delicious. Aside from Edgware Road, renowned for its Middle Eastern eateries, where would we be able to get these in London?

And so the dream was born: to create a retail chain of juice bars and franchise them across the UK. My friend was also looking for a new career direction and, as an experienced accountant, she made the ideal business partner. Having already given up our jobs to travel, and now accustomed to a ‘no frills’ backpacker lifestyle, we had little to lose.

The Big Idea
We returned to the UK with limited finances but heaps of enthusiasm. At first we made a stellar start: our business plan and loan application were quickly approved and we were finalists in the NatWest Everywoman Awards. But soon the enormous challenge of finding a quality retail site in London at a viable price hit home. Prime property was scarce and landlords insisted on absurdly high rent guarantees for newcomers. We were unable to compete with well-established coffee bars who also benefited from the significantly higher margins in coffee relative to fresh fruit!

We wrestled with the problem – how could we secure a high footfall, low-cost location? A weekend stall on Portobello Road, one of London's prime markets provided part of the solution. This enabled us to gain hands-on experience whilst generating much needed cash to fund additional thinking time.

Moving workplace from office to pavement was a harsh reality check. We were popular with the thirsty summer crowds. But we soon found ourselves facing a biting winter chill and dwindling revenues. Dejected, we watched our once regular customers hurry past to seek refuge in the warm, inviting cafes peppered along Portobello Road. We adapted by introducing hot snacks, but our hearts really weren’t in it. Cold, broke and exhausted, it was the end of the dream.

The Really Big Idea
Besides demonstrating the unwelcome effects of temperature on purchasing behaviour, our trading results on Portobello Road provided an invaluable benchmark against the ambitious financial targets we had set ourselves in our business plan. It became clear that juice bars were a difficult concept to get right and, at worst, were unviable. We joked that make a profit we would need a rent-free location. And with this thought, the true ‘big idea’ was born…

Combining our mobile format with the idea of giving away drinks, we reworked our business into a b2b concept providing hospitality on behalf of corporate clients at promotional events. We approached marketing managers and agencies, offering our services as a branded solution for making an impact at exhibitions and conferences, product launches and staff wellbeing events. A new website and a few free trials later, our mobile branded juice bar concept started to gain traction. Enlightened marketers saw sense in our logic that since no two brands are the same. Why settle for standardised catering?

Today, Sejuiced supplies bespoke drinks for events across the UK and Europe. We have established a niche in providing branded mobile drinks bars, custom-made bottled drinks and team-building activities for business and consumer brands. From distributing smoothies at rush hour in Oxford street for a car manufacturer to keeping 28,000 staff at a well known e-tailer boosted during the peak Christmas period, our services have many applications.

This helps marketers to create an experience around a brand, building a positive and memorable association. (Research shows that the sense of taste is almost three times more powerful at driving brand loyalty than sight.)

With a new investor in place, we have recently moved into bigger premises and are putting in a new production facility to expand our capacity. In addition, we have plans to launch a really exciting beverage concept…providing the market research stacks up of course!

Lessons Learned
I learned some valuable lessons during the early years of my business venture, including:

Don’t be afraid to change direction: had we proceeded with our retail juice bar idea, I am convinced that Sejuiced would not be in business today

Behind problems lie opportunities: our inability to find retail premises led us to develop a unique mobile concept

Seek support: whether it’s from a third party, family members or your fellow alumni, don’t hesitate to call upon someone else’s expertise. Had we run our business plan past a retail consultant, we would have abandoned the shop model far sooner and saved ourselves the best part of a year!

Can anyone do it, as celebrity entrepreneurs claim? With a great concept, deep pockets, fabulous contacts and ample resources then yes, I think so. Like many people, I had none of those at the beginning and survived on passion, determination, self-belief and stamina instead. Looking back on those early challenges makes Sejuiced’s success today taste even sweeter.

For further information about Sejuiced, please visit www.sejuiced.co.uk or contact Sylvia on 020 3203 0002, email sgarvin@sejuiced.co.uk