Focused Nutrition produces nutritionally enhanced foods that are right on target with current health food trends. The company handcrafts its own brand of ‘Just nice to eat APPLEJACKS’, and a selection of functional foods that include breakfast bars as well as omega and protein enriched snacks. It also manufactures ‘own
brand’ products for its partner organisations.
The health food market is constantly growing and business has been going well. However Focused Nutrition lacked essential ingredients to achieve greater success and capitalise on the market opportunities. In order to meet demands and accommodate business growth the company needed to increase its productivity, which meant a significant investment in new machinery and expansion of the company’s Stockport based factory.
Focused Nutrition also recognised a need to improve its online presence. The company needed a new website where customers could learn more about its health food products, make enquires and place orders. This all required additional funding.
Turned off by the rigid lending criteria of traditional banks, the company approached Venture where it received a healthy dose of flexible funding. Venture provided the snack food maker with a Factoring facility and a Small Firms Loan Guarantee package to help overcome cashflow pressures. In addition, Focused Nutrition wisely chose Bad Debt Protection to give them peace of mind and shelter their business against customer insolvency.
"Venture understood our business needs and provided flexible funding solutions to support our expansion plans. The Small Firms Loan Guarantee allowed us to invest in a new warehouse and buy new equipment to help increase productivity. We were also able to launch a new interactive website to meet our growing customer demands."
Venture’s Factoring services freed up 85% of the funds tied into Focused
Nutrition’s owed invoices.
The influx of working capital combined with the Small Firms Loan Guarantee lump sum allowed the company to occupy an additional warehouse near its existing Stockport site. The extra space permits the company to expand its production area to increase output and take on new staff. The new location also boasts an office with a reception area and greater storage for finished stock.
The funding package enabled the company to invest in its online presence with a freshly enhanced website, inviting customers to learn more about Focused Nutrition’s products, make enquires and place orders.
Focused Nutrition’s success demonstrates what a small company can achieve with an injection of cashflow and Factoring services. Venture provided the type of funding the business needed to increase income and stock capacity while capitalising on a lucrative market.
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