Razzle
Dazzle Ices
Dairy Free (No Cream)
Ice Cream
2 Sycamore Close
Taunton
Somerset
TA1 2QJ
http://www.razzledazzleices.co.uk/
We talk to Phil and Darrelle Bower from Razzle Dazzle Ices about their journey in setting up the business, and their successes over the past year. Here's what they had to say...
The inspiration to start a new Business
Anyone who has started up in business
themselves will perhaps recognise the kitchen table moments of puzzling over
what to do; and generally the outcome is
something that you have a passion and a skill for. We did think that starting a
business in the midst of such a recession was a risk, but if we can survive
these times then we will be building a strong business, won't we?
The idea
behind Razzle Dazzle was based on experience.
The path to starting our business started in 2006 even though we
didn’t know at the time! For many years our son had issues with
eczema. His dad, Phil, also had similar problems and issues with joint
stiffness as well. We could not work out what the trigger was to these
problems. Following some consultations with a Kineseologist, it was suggested that
dairy might be an issue causing the joint pain. As a result, the whole family
cut out dairy. This had an amazing result with the joint stiffness gone in just
over a week, and amazingly William’s eczema also cleared up. Sadly, for an 11 year old to be told the he couldn’t
have his favourite foods (Chocolate and Ice Cream), it wasn’t a good place to be! This was the inspiration for our business in
2011. When redundancy hit, we took what
had been a series of recipes developed for home use, and turned them into a
commercial proposition.
Our
mission is to produce dairy-free alternatives to dairy ice cream: products with a similar taste and texture,
but no dairy.
Food has
been a family matter since the 1800's.
Bird's
Custard was designed and manufactured in Birmingham by the Bird family. Alfred
Bird developed the custard powder in 1837 for his wife who was allergic to eggs,
and formed Alfred Bird and Sons in 1843 where they also made the newly invented
Baking Powder. Alfred Bird is Phil's Great (x3) Uncle. Bird's is now a brand of
Premier Foods. Interesting that in 2012 we find ourselves making a product in
response to a dietary restriction.
Social
Media has been a real benefit to us.
Marketing
is a real problem-area for so many businesses. Once you have identified the
'route to market' you then have to establish how you interact with that market,
and how much you are willing to invest. If you are looking to run a campaign in
the local press, the costs can spiral, and our experience has been that you
don't see much traceable return. Yes it helps to reinforce brand identity, but
how do you track this investment against returns? We have used Facebook and
Twitter to good effect. In June 2012 we won Theo
Paphitis's Twitter Small Business Sunday competition (for more information take
a look at www.theopaphitissbs.com ) and in
March we were fortunate to be invited along with the other weekly winners to
meet Theo at Edgbaston Cricket Club. He is a real inspiration, and a massive
supporter of small businesses like ours. Despite his 'media' appearance he has
had both failure and phenomenal success in business, from humble roots.
Razzle
Dazzle a year on.
The year
started strongly, and armed with our products which are all dairy and wheat
free, we go forwards. We have been invited to go along to two Vegan fairs - one
in Taunton and one in Plymouth - and have had a repeat order from our
distributors, which is really good news! We are proud to be supplying into
independent food stores and local supermarket Touts Budgens in Cheddar. We are doing selected
events this year please check our website for information.
Don’t
prejudge your market.
Our
business was built on making a Dairy Free Ice Cream specifically with the Dairy
Intolerance market in mind. We couldn’t imagine that the Vegan marketplace would
eventually pick us up, or indeed the reaction that we have had from
dairy-loving and dairy-tolerant people to our products. This just goes to show
that you must always be open to looking outside the narrow constraints that we
set ourselves. But do be true to your beliefs and initial market identification
- there has never been a successful business that identifies its market as
'good for everyone'.
Phillip & Darrelle Bower run Razzle Dazzle Ices in
Taunton, Somerset. For more information please contact them at info@razzledazzleices.co.uk or through their website www.razzledazzleices.co.uk. Follow them on twitter www.twitter.com/razzledazzleice or Facebook www.facebook.com/razzedazzeices
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