One of the benefits of receiving cash upfront is the ability to support the supply chain ; maintaining supplies of raw materials is crucial : “ We have a long-standing relationship with our flour suppliers which deliver from Essex to our facility in Kent and being able to pay them on time , or even early , is a tremendous advantage ,” he says .
Its products satisfy both a domestic and an international audience , from the west coast of the US to the Australian outback . As an established brand , it is looking at how that brand can be licensed , and it also owns the Intellectual Property ( IP ) for the technology behind how the pancakes are made .
The future for the business , Sam believes , is a scale-able one , in which he hopes and expects the team at Optimum will play their part : “ To scale we need access to cash and with Optimum Finance we have found a most supportive partner .”
www . optimumfinance . co . uk
Sam ’ s strategy has been one of risk mitigation : “ Because we sell to distributors , retailers and to the hospitality sectors , as we as exporting ; we can spread our risk across different economic cycles ,” he explains . “ When the pandemic hit , for example , while the restaurants all closed , retail demand accelerated , and that allowed us to ride out the storm .”
In terms of next steps , Sam is ambitious but realistic . While the business has made something in the order of two billion pancakes in the last 10 years , it now also makes other thin pastry products including apple rolls and Bao buns , the latter proving especially popular .
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