Exporter of the Year 2019

The key to our growth has been our ability to react quickly and invest in emerging opportunities such as cross-border e-commerce in China.

In late 2017, we were the first UK Company to be onboarded by Alibaba TMall Direct Import, facilitating cost-effective market access for British brands, directly to Chinese consumers. We have subsequently developed our own cross-border e-commerce solution on JD.com – thus giving us coverage with the No.1 and No.2 e-commerce retailers in China.

Working very closely with the Department of International Trade (DIT) and China Britain
Business Council, we have become the biggest UK supplier by volume of FMCG to cross-border retailers in China, with over 1000 containers shipped in 2018. Our strategy has been to work with the experts in Government, Banking and Trade to find the right partners and to build strong relationships, respecting the trading terms and styles of large Chinese companies to deliver what they want, to their timeframes.

Our investment in attending the major trade fairs (FHC & SIAL) for the last three years has led to us being used as a case study for both CBBC and SIAL for best practice. Our export sales to China for 2018 were £14m helping us to reach 66th in the Sunday Times International Fast Track 100.