Green & Black’s guru to share tips with Liverpool SMEs

THE GrowthAccelerator will hear from one of the leading figures behind the growth of upmarket chocolate brand Green & Blacks at its second regional launch event.

The programme, launched by Business Secretary Vince Cable to drive and inspire SME growth, arrives in Liverpool next Thursday, October 11, where Mark Palmer, the former global brand director of Green & Black’s will tell his story.

Mr Palmer, who is now a non-executive of Green & Blacks’ and a partner at private investment firm Nemadi Advisors, will speak about how he helped grow sales from £4m to £40m and the challenges of taking the brand from niche organic to premium everyday chocolate.

Mr Palmer  said: “My advice to anybody looking to grow their business is to be absolutely sure that the business model they are looking to roll-out is robust and that the structural underlying margins are viable.

“I have seen so many companies confuse topline growth with business success.  Expansion in itself is not necessarily a good thing.  It is critical to ensure that you have correctly identified which parts of your business and service are the appropriate parts to expand rather than just seeking to grow per se. 

He added: “There is nothing worse than working flat out thinking you are doing a great job growing the topline, only to discover later that the growth you worked so hard to achieve  is unsustainable or unprofitable.”

The launch event takes place at the BT Convention Centre. Registration for the event is now open and can be found here http://www.growthaccelerator.com/events/growthaccelerator-liverpool

The event, to be hosted by former business journalist Michael Taylor, will will run from 4.15pm to 7.00pm and will also feature a local panel of business experts who will be able to provide advice on the evening to entrepreneurial businesses in Liverpool.

Last night the maiden regional event was addressed by former Syco Entertainment boss Ellis Watson and heard from a panel of local entrepreneurs including ANS Group chief executive Scott Fletcher and the Lisa Tse from Sweet Mandarin, which has just won investment from two TV Dragon’s Den investors for a range of cooking sauces.