Less than a year and a half after securing £121,000 on Crowdcube, CEO and founder of UK startup Blanco Nino, Philip Martin, sat down with the equity crowdfunding platform to share details about the company’s growth and future plans.
During the interview, Martin offered up some info about the business:
“Essentially we are a pack of Mexican food obsessed lunatics based in Tipperary, Ireland, with an almost religious approach to the art and process that is the making of outrageously good corn tortillas and tortilla chips.”
Philip went on to discuss the company’s progress since its crowdfunding success:
“It’s been a pretty incredible year and half since the campaign. We won ‘Best New Idea’ at ‘Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur’ in 2014, and then won ‘Best Start Up’ in 2015. Then, only a few weeks ago, we were listed as one of 16 most innovative companies in Ireland to watch in 2016. But more importantly since then, Blanco Nino has transformed from an idea into a business employing 9 people, operating a 19,000 sqft factory with customers and distributors across Ireland, the UK and Germany.”
Martin also explained the challenges that Blanco Nino has experienced over the years:
“We have faced quite a few challenges along the way and thankfully have overcome them all. For example, our equipment was delayed by nearly three months due to port strikes and bad weather. Then, as a result, our product launch landed right at the beginning of summer holiday season, which meant that many of the key buying decision makers were away, causing additional delays. But that said, considering September of 2015 was our first real sales month I’m very happy with the fact we now have 4 great distribution partners and customers right across Europe. Not a bad result for 6 months.”
In regards to any future plans, Philip added:
“We have some big plans for the second half of 2016 that we can’t share just yet, which we are really excited about. Right now our priority is to give our existing customers and distribution partners the very best we can, although we are always looking to enter new markets and to work with new operators (restaurants, bars, hotels etc). One of the biggest joys of Blanco Nino is showing and demoing our product to customers. Without fail the response is always one of pleasure.”
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