Mentoring & Consultancy

I'm deeply passionate about supporting people and businesses to achieve their full potential. I've been fortunate enough to receive coaching and support from a variety of great people including Chris Milton of Thatcher's Cider; Steve Barnes of SJS Consulting and Rob Hook of Business Co-Pilot, among many others.

I have the joy of formalising these experience into the offering at Make Hay, along with my colleagues there, to form a holistic management consultancy practice delivering:

• Commercial Strategy: From cash flow to sales strategy, providing insight and optimisation of business model and profitability

• Ways of Working: Investigating the relationship that people have with the business to get to the heart of everyone’s commitment for better direction toward key goals

• Operations: Bringing a fresh but seasoned eye to processes to identify and implement smarter working practices

• Coaching: Leadership can be a lonely job. Supporting leaders and key people to identify their personal goals and overcome barriers in their development

For more about all of this, do visit www.makehaywithus.com or contact me

European Fine Cheese

As a result of working with us, our clients have seen six-figure growth in sales value, year-on-year and can find their cheeses on the menus of Michelin-starred restaurants, through to world-reknowned cheese shops and national retailers. The type and scope of end customer varies according to the clients’ strategic goals.

Kaasaffineurs van Tricht / Affineur from Belgium

• Placement of products into multiple sales channels at Paxton & Whitfield; retail, e-commerce and wholesale. Resulting in a burgeoning sales and awareness of the range including national press coverage, both consumer (The Independent) and trade (Fine Food Digest), with a year-round programme of core lines, coupled with rotation of more seasonal/esoteric items. Listings into retailers including Ocado and Selfridges. Permanent placement into the Academy of Cheese list of 300 core cheeses.

  Güntensperger Käse AG / Producer from Switzerland

• Introduction of products into UK market from no prior sales or presence. Estimated by Güntensperger have saved the dairy 80% of the cost for business development when compared with direct investment in the same market activity. Listings into the UKs best cheese shops and wholesalers in first 12 months. Y2 & Y3 developed into national foodservice and retail listings. Permanent placement into the Academy of Cheese list of 300 core cheeses.

• Relaunch into USA market, to revive dwindling sales and reach into new markets. Listings across regional multiple retailers such as Erewhon Market, Bi-Rite and Sigonas.

  Kaeskuche / Exporter from Germany

• National placement for Christmas into Waitrose. This required a large degree of compliance work, experience in the particulars of working with a UK national retailer and high-level commercial negotiation. The result was multiple tonnes sales around Q4/Christmas period, coupled with national press coverage in Good Housekeeping.

Quicke's Brand & Sales

Led sales for Quicke's Cheese through my twenties; 2012-2019, reporting directly to the 14th generation owners of the brand. I learned much of my trade here and delivered key commercial milestones:

• Delivered average annual growth <10% (CAGR) per year in a declining category (UK clothbound cheddar) across wholesale, export, multiple retail and direct retail channels

• Drove a bold and successful reform of a 40+ year old food brand and acted as the front-face in markets around the world, through introduction of national and regional multiple retailers in the USA as well as driving >100% growth in sales to Australia and opening new markets, such as Canada and France

• Elevated the Quicke's brand to world-class status, featuring in Harrod's window displays and World Top 50 restaurants such as The Ledbury, London and The French Laundry in California

• Moved from price-taker to price-maker across all sectors, to support future growth and investment in the business

• Introduced new sales channels in export as well as reforming direct retail presence through both London Farmers' Markets, Borough Market and Quickes’ retail site in Devon

• Drove the development of the e-commerce channel and strategy, which saw six figure growth in Y1 of implementation

• Conceived and driven NPD projects such as the creation of Quicke's Elderflower Cheese and the "Lady Prue" mixed milk cheese as well as bi-products from waste, whilst rationalising under performing lines

Judging & industry

I've judged at national and international competitions and received accolades for outstanding contributions to the cheese industry:

• British Cheese Awards featuring over 800 cheeses as well as assessing Best in Class

• World Cheese Awards featuring over 3000 cheeses from across the planet, with judging televised on the BBC and hosted in a different country each year, including Norway, Spain and Italy

• Cheesemonger Invitational (USA) hosts around 40 professional cheesemongers from across the globe, who compete through 15 rounds testing their sensory skills, knowledge, technical expertise and charisma. It takes place every 6 months in New York and San Francisco respectively

• Inducted at the level of Garde et Jure into the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers, North American Chapter

• Associate member of the Academy of Cheese

• Expert reviewer for the Academy of Cheese curriculum at level 2 (member) & level 3 (fellow) in their draft stages, alongside a handful of senior industry peers

• Subject matter expert for Academy of Cheese; teaching events such as “Cheddar 101” to raise revenue and awareness of the Academy

I've also worked as a consultant with the largest agricultural show in England, the Devon County Show, to help them improve their cheese competition and food showcase. Collaborated with Duchy College as part of the Worshipful Company of Farmers’ Leadership and Management Project (LAMP), using my strategies as a case study and provided industry expertise for the start-up food incubator Kitchen Table Projects, which included 'speed mentoring' on commercial strategy, followed by ongoing one-to-one coaching and networking events, held at the Marks & Spencer Headquarters in London

Press

• Spoken on BBC “Farming Today” on exports and trade barriers affecting cheese

• Been interviewed by BBC World Service, Arabic on food & farming (dubbed in Arabic) speaking ahead of the EU/Brexit referendum on why Quicke's felt that remaining in the EU was best for our business

• Spoken on the impact of Brexit numerous times across trade press

• Given interviews for the FT Weekend on youth culture within the artisan cheese industry

• Given live TV interviews for the BBC as part of judging the World Cheese Awards

• Been presented as the front face of brand by national retailers in the USA

• Guested on BBC Radio Devon to talk about the global success of local cheeses

• Written for trade press such as Speciality Food Magazine on aspects from export to empowering the British retail industry via training