Simon Gray – Founder & CEO of Boost Drinks
We speak to Simon Gray, Founder & CEO of Boost Drinks.
Simon tells us how the company started and grew, the benefits of out-sourcing much of his operation, the ups & downs of sponsoring Leeds United and how a surprise £30million deal to sell the business came about.
He also teaches us how to create a virtual business…
INTRODUCING SIMON GRAY
In June 2001, as a graduate fresh out of Leeds University, Simon Gray founded the Boost brand at the age of just 28. With a bank loan of £30,000, he hasn’t looked back since and with a team of 35 highly motivated Boosters, and business turnover of £75m, Boost has become an award-winning functional drinks supplier. Boost is a top three brand in each of its categories – Stimulation energy, Sport, and Iced Coffee, and is a market leader in Northern Ireland. Boost was recently awarded a ‘Sunday Times Top 100 places to work’.
Simon always strives for himself and the business to learn and develop, and prides himself in implementing a compelling culture of ‘energising everybody in every way’, creating an environment where colleagues can be the best version of themselves, which in turn delivers the best version of the business.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
[00:01:13] How the business started and where the idea came from
[00:07:30] 2006 the first big catalyst for change
[00:11:30] The benefits of outsourcing model
[00:17:10] The reasons why you wouldn’t outsource
[00:24:00] Strategic point of difference of channels to market
[00:28:00] How the sale of the business came about
[00:33:00] What the future looks like
[00:35:15] The ups and downs of sponsorship of Leeds United
[00:39:00] How do you set up a virtual business, and the pros and cons of running a virtual business
KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
● The benefits of following a big brand into a market
● When is the right time to bring out-sourced services in house
● How to create a perception of size with only 35 staff
● The importance of company culture
● Your route to market can be a USP
● For any sale everything has to fit, even if the timing isn’t exactly to plan
BEST MOMENTS
“We started with a litre bottle of four cans of red bull-style product in a bottle for a pound”
“We are a fast follower; a challenger brand. Our job is not to be the innovator”
“We now produce 200m units of drinks per year”
“we’re only a team of 35 we’re almost a virtual business”
“we should know a product is not working before a customer tells us it’s not working”
“”you take a long hard look at a sale…. and it made a lot of sense for everybody”
VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU
Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com
Website: www.boostdrinks.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-gray-9b36802b
Instagram: https://instagram.com/boost_drinks
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/simongrayboost
Shout out tags: https://copycatfragrances.co.uk/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-white-62b011201/
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ABOUT YOUR HOST
Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the full SME business journey of launch, growth, scale and exit.
As well as hosting the Leeds Business Podcast, Phil now works with ambitious SME-owners as a Business Sounding Board (think somewhere between Business Coach and Business Mentor). In simple terms, he’s ‘a pair of ears and an extra pair eyes’ for SME Owners helping them to be better at what they do. Phil’s mantra is It doesn’t need to be ‘lonely at the top’. He helps Business Owners to be better business owners, by helping with their clarity and focus.
As a Business Sounding Board, he gives SME Owners the time & space to regularly discuss their challenges and opportunities, with no sense of judgement or bias, and in complete confidence. This allows them to explore their options in full, culminating with a list of issues to address/clarify, a clear target in mind, a roadmap to success, and a renewed enthusiasm and confidence for the challenges ahead.
Phil has appeared as a guest on over 60 podcasts, webinars and interviews, from around the whole globe, talking on a variety of business subjects. You can view them all at https://philfraser.co.uk/watch-hear-phil/
LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST
AG Barr, Boost Drinks, Fast follower, Leeds United, LUFC, Leeds, Leeds Business, Business in Leeds, Nous of Fraser, Business Sounding Board, Business Coach, Business Mentor,
