Entrepreneur Series – Interview with Mike Stevens
November 14, 2018
This month, we had the pleasure of getting to know Mike Stevens, Co-Founder of Peppersmith, one of the leading brands of mints and chewing gum, which Bluebox had the pleasure to sell to Health Made Easy back in August 2018.
- Prior to setting up Peppersmith, what was your background?
I had the unfair advantage of being in the start up team of innocent drinks. I joined as their first Operations Manager back in 2001 and headed up the supply chain for 6 years before taking on an international role and launching the brand in Scandinavia.
- What was your motivation behind launching Peppersmith back in 2009?
Being at innocent we were at the forefront of a major food revolution with a focus on health, natural ingredients and sustainability all communicated by a strong brand. Over time this trend and way of working was happening across nearly every food and drink category. The only channel that did not seem to be changing was confectionery where the norm was high volume, low cost and a real lack of challenger brands to shake up the status quo. The thinking was if food and drink was now being made and marketed in this new way in every other area why should confectionery be any different. There must be an opportunity to take confectionery into the 21st century.
Along with my co-founder Dan Shrimpton (who also used to work at innocent) we set out to see if we were right. Spoiler: we were.
- With so much recent focus on sugar free products, what is unique about the range of gums and mints Peppersmith sell?
The increased desire to remove sugar is great. Replacing sugar is a major motivation for us. The problem faced by everyone who tries to do this is the dilemma what to replace sugar with. Sugar tastes great, is easy to use and relatively cheap. The only thing bad about it that it is terrible for your health. So when coming up with an alternatives the impact on taste, cost and health are the biggest challenges.
Traditionally there is a compromise. Using things like honey and agave syrup are just sugar in a different format with the same health challenges, artificial sweeteners like aspartame have other questionable impacts on health and natural alternatives like stevia do not always offer the right taste.
In our case however because we only use xylitol in our products we remove the compromise. Xylitol is plant based, tastes as good as sugar, is low calorie and best of all has proven health benefits. It’s the perfect alternative to the sugary stuff and are amazed more brands don’t use it.
- Bluebox advised on the sale of Peppersmith in August, but what were the biggest challenges you faced during the sale process and how did you get past them?
When we started talking we considered routes of investment as well as a potential sale. It was only after we identified the interested parties it was clearer which route was best for all parties and Bluebox’s insight and advice was critical to this. Once the process started in earnest it was a long round of negotiation, information sharing, legal management and making sure all the various stakeholders were looked after. This was not easy to navigate so I was very glad to have the experience and expertise of Bluebox to help.
- What advice would you give to an entrepreneur starting a new business with the ambition to sell in the future?
I am not a big believer in the goal at the start to be to sell. Its such a hard road to get to that point I think the focus should be much more on building a business which adds value to whatever sector you are in and even more importantly to make sure you will enjoy the ride.
If you are successful in building a business, then being able to sell it will be just one of options open to you. Build value first, have fun and only worry about exit when the time is right.
- What has been your career highlight?
The innocent experience was great but without a doubt launching a brand from scratch, finding retailers to sell it, engaging consumers and building a living breathing business around it has been a fantastic journey.
- What 3 personality traits do you have that have helped make you successful today?
Curiosity, resilience, determination.
- What time does your alarm go off and how do you prepare yourself for the day?
Ah it’s not cool to be an owl, larks are way more likely to succeed, right? Not always. I have always been a slow starter but once I get going my stamina means I can go for a long time.
I do believe in daily objective setting, I like to mediate (Calm is the best app for me) and eating a good breakfast is important but I would be lying if I said I am up at the crack of dawn ready to seize the day. The converse of this if you ever want to brainstorm instead of watching Newsnight I am always your man.
- What’s next from you in terms of new projects?
I am lucky enough to be retained as part of the Peppersmith business to keep doing what we have been doing and tasked with making the brand even more successful. I have not finished building this thing just yet.
Quick fire!
- Favourite flavour gum?
Peppermint – smooth and strong.
- If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go and why?
The Himalayas. I am drawn to both the immense natural beauty and the adventure.
- What’s something you could eat for a week straight?
Nasi Goreng
- Life motto?
Don’t be lazy.
