5 lessons to live by: Ben Cooper, Swizzels

Ben Cooper, Swizzels’ National Account Controller for Wholesale, talks to Wholesale News about sweets, Swizzels and his secrets to success

EMBRACE YOUR DIFFERENCE

Swizzels is the UK’s biggest family-owned confectionery business, and this independence brings with it many advantages, not least agility and speed. We don’t follow a rulebook made in the USA.

We don’t have to stick with how things have always been done, and we actively challenge ourselves and our customers to explore ways that we can do things better.

We’re not prescriptive, we don’t have a one-size-fits-all approach.

We can throw things up in the air and try something new, and in this fast-paced environment we can move quickly. Every business is different, and we pride ourselves on always finding the right offer so everyone wins.

PRIORITISE PEOPLE

With email, telephone calls and Teams, it’s all too easy to do business from behind a desk, but this isn’t how you succeed.

The old saying ‘people do business with people’ is more relevant today than ever before.

As you’ll see from my LinkedIn profile, I spend a lot of time out on the road because every time I go to an event or walk the floor in a depot, I’m improving my knowledge and I’m making connections. The day I stop learning is the day I stop selling.

Connecting with others where goals are aligned is where true partnership, and success, happens.

KEEP LOOKING

Never stop looking for opportunities. We all know that growth comes from filling distribution gaps so keep your focus on identifying those opportunities. Right now, Swizzels is actively pursuing really exciting new opportunities in the on-trade, out-of-home and leisure markets, which offer huge potential. Even our bestselling Squashies bag has distribution gains to be realised in symbols and indies, although the recent opening of a new state-of-the art production facility in Cheshire has driven the original bag above 75% through 24/7 availability and excellent promotional execution.

Sugar confectionery sales outperform chocolate in hanging bags, and yet chocolate SKUs frequently outnumber sugar facings so this presents a brilliant opportunity for us to work with our customers to provide range advice in order to boost sales.

REMEMBER WHAT’S IMPORTANT

In this channel, it is so important to remember that you’re dealing with people who need to put food on the table. Trust is key. They have overheads, operate on tight margins, and you need to support them to sell products and make a profit. If something doesn’t sell, it will affect how that person lives, so how can we, as suppliers, do our best for them? How can we remove risk? Or, if we suggest something and it doesn’t work, it’s important to accept that you got it wrong and resolve things for them. Working with integrity is the only way to work.

Suppliers need to focus on selling and not telling. How can you sell without knowledge of your customer? Listen, clarify and listen again.

BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE

One of my passions is that at Swizzels, we provide the best possible products and customer service we can. As a business, we don’t have the spend of the large multinationals, but we pride ourselves on always being the best we can possibly be and as a result, we are growing at pace.

I have an amazing team behind me and around me. This helps create and foster the environment in which we’re doing so well. We’re all part of the Swizzels family, and I see it every day.

I’m always encouraging my team to think of ways in which we can continually improve. Are you doing the basics brilliantly? Are you really listening to customers so you fully understand their perspective in order to provide a solution? Are you brave enough to try something new? Continual improvement is the way to win.

Ben Cooper Swizzels