Where did inspiration for the business come from?
Rod: Me and Ross have been friends for years and each year we go off on a skiing trip together. On one skiing trip we got talking after we had a really awful packet of crisps. We were talking about the great attributes of the farm that Rod’s family owns, and its potatoes.
Ross: My father was going to retire and was packing the farm up and we had this amazing product, [the Naturalo potato], which we needed to add value to. That gave us this idea to start a business.
We created the brand and we launched Corkers Crisps at a show in London – the Speciality & Fine Food Fair in November 2009.
How have you funded the business?
Rod: It’s been quite difficult – we probably under-estimated the costs involved in getting a brand going. We were very lucky, as when we took it along to test the market response, we hadn’t actually got a product in the packets yet. Harvey Nichols came and said: “We want your product nationally. When can you have it ready?”
Ross: We left the [Speciality & Fine Food Fair] and thought “what have we gone and done?” But we came away and found a way to make it happen.
What’s the story behind the brand?
Ross: Everything you see on the packet has a story behind it. The image of the telephone is on it because, before mobile phones, we had a house phone in the hallway, so you would either use the house phone which your mum and dad could hear, or go down to the telephone box to make a phone call in private.
Rod: We designed the brand to be a national brand. We sell anywhere from the Isle of Wight to Loch Ness in Scotland to the deepest depths of Wales.
And the flavours?
Rod: We pick the flavours that we really like. The three core flavours are really British flavours. And we are poultry farmers as well, so we have launched a duck flavoured crisp. All our flavours are unique to us and we have used everything you can think of.
What’s next for the business?
Ross: We have just launched vegetable crisps, and again that’s a very unique thing. There’s only one manufacturer in the country that makes vegetable crisps at the moment and we are the only business in the country who makes them using our own products. We will be launching a gluten-free range as well.
And what’s this about Guinness world records?
Ross: We like having fun – our brand is fun, and we all like to come up with crazy ideas. We have a Guinness World Record for sending the first packet of crisps into space, an achievement we worked on with Cambridge University. We also made the biggest ever bag of crisps.
Rod: Making the biggest bag of crisps, the first bag broke after 300kg and on the day of the event we had to cook all fresh crisps from scratch. It ended up being a massive operation. About 3,000 people turned up at the farm to see it – [it weighed one tonne in the end].
What’s the hardest thing about starting a business?
Ross: There have been quite a few hurdles – with this business it has been funding and growth – the whole finance thing has been the hardest part. Especially when trying to build a business in the recession with everything against you.
What can farmers do to stay afloat?
Ross: I think they have either got to be massive or to add some value to what they are doing. There is no room for smaller players unless you are a little bit different. That’s one of the reasons why the crisp business has saved the farm.
And what’s the best moment so far?
Rod: Going into Harvey Nichols nationally, that was a great part. And seeing the first vegetable crisp come off our line three weeks ago.
What advice would you offer wannabe entrepreneurs?
Ross: You have to believe 100% in what you are doing, or don’t do it. For me it’s mainly about our passion for food combined with our passion and love for our country – and putting this into a packet.
Ross Taylor and Rod Garnham are the co-founders of Corkers Crisps
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