Nine years building my own food business, and we loved it
With Miranda I built Muddy Boots, from one market stall into Waitrose, five London shops and our own factory. Every stage taught me something about where margin comes from.
I built Measures, my own margin process, from what the factory taught me, and my own software to support it. Now I bring it to manufacturers and food businesses.
Based in Telford & Geneva. On site in the UK for every project, with the site weeks agreed at the start.
From a market stall to our own factory
- 2008
The start
One stall at Hereford farmers' market. On every sale, we knew the margin.
- 2010–12
Scaling up
Waitrose, then 170 stores. Burgers by the thousand.
- Every store
Delivering it ourselves
Pallets to the depot at night. Big orders, and a lesson in cost to serve.
- 2014
Our own shops
Full price, and the margin came back.
- 2015
Our own factory
A cutting room, a team of 50, and every cost on the table.
- Now
For other businesses
Timing jobs and weighing yields, clipboard in hand.
He is highly intelligent, flexible, honourable and totally honest and a pleasure to deal with.
Nick LeslauInvestor in Muddy Boots
What nine years taught me
Three things I now look for first in every business.
Our factory needed five shops to break even. Know what a big step needs to pay before you take it.
When one customer is 60% of your sales, they set the terms.
A cup of coffee makes roughly 90% margin at production. A sirloin, nearer 30%. Know your margin before you start.
Then a three-site bakery, 2018 to 2020, where I built the first version of Measures. The Margin Dept followed in 2019.
Fancy a chat about your margin?
Half an hour on a call. Tell me about your business, test me as hard as you like, and I'll tell you where I'd look first.