W e spoke to Two Magpies about their business journey, and some of the wisdom they have gained along the way. Firstly: the origins of that memorable name? It is Rebecca’s choice and comes from her love of collecting things and taking ideas from a variety of eclectic sources in order to create a product that’s exactly right. And of course, there’s the old English rhyme in which two magpies are ‘two for joy’.
Customer feedback This ethos of ‘right product, right place’ has given the business a great reputation as well as a cluster of prestigious awards for their bread and bakery products. “We know that people can easily go to a supermarket and buy a packet of six doughnuts for a pound,” says Steve. “Our challenge is always to create something extra special, as well as a place where people keep coming back to. We also really listen to feedback from our customers. We had lots of people coming into our Darsham shop asking when we would be opening in Woodbridge, and when a suitable site became available, we didn’t hesitate.” Economic pressures So how have they dealt with the current economic issues facing the leisure and hospitality industry? “There are undoubtedly major concerns in the market,” comment Steve. There’s the cost of living increase, and inflationary pressures on every aspect of the supply chain. Our objective is to balance the rising costs and trying to keep the high quality of the product without eroding the margin.” There is also the issue of the skills shortage in the sector. “One of our core strategies is to focus on our staff,” Steve continues. “We know how valuable they are, and we try to look after them as well as we can. We pay above the minimum wage, and we’ll happily take on people with no experience and train them up. We try to be flexible and accommodate people’s needs: we have bakers who used to be van drivers, and there are several generations of families working for us. Training is so important, like today’s baking school for our shop staff. We train our front of house staff to teach them about our products, which will inform them about what they’re selling and improve their engagement with our customers. It’s all about creating the best experience: building a positive journey for our customers which will keep them coming back to us.” Two Magpies is clearly succeeding in the upmarket bakery market, so what is next for the expanding business? Steve says they’re looking for more sites. “Ideally Bury St Edmunds, possibly Sudbury, Hadleigh and Dedham. We’ve got very good at kitting out a shop in a matter of weeks, although opening a new bakery and cafe isn’t cheap, and averages about £200,000 per site.”
Location, location, location The original Two Magpies was set up in
Southwold in 2012, after a long search across the country to find the best location for a bakery business. Their search criteria still applies today when looking for new sites for their cafes and shops. “We look at the high street to get a feel for the kinds of businesses that are there, to see if Two Magpies would be a good fit,” says Steve. “If there’s an independent butcher, a florist or a greengrocer then we know that’s a good start in determining the kind of location that will work.” Their analytical approach to the siting of Two Magpies branches has obviously been successful as there are now branches in Southwold, Aldeburgh, Blakeney, Holt, Norwich, Darsham (where their cookery school is located) and most recently, Woodbridge. They’ve also recently moved their bakery production site from Darsham to Walpole where they now have 11,000 square feet, which will – they hope – be large enough to accommodate the needs of up to 20 cafes and shops.
It can’t have been easy growing the business so quickly over the past decade – how did they manage it? The key, says Steve, is to manage your cash flow. “Cash is king. You must always make sure you can pay your suppliers and meet the wage bills. We underestimated the success of the new sites, but I’m happy with our business journey. We now have Scrutton Bland’s Sarah Healey Pearce assisting us as a business adviser, and she’s quickly become part of the Two Magpies team. It’s crucial to have a trusted financial adviser if you are planning on expanding the business. They can help with things like locating sources of funding, as well as some of the time consuming but necessary work to ensure you are meeting your compliance obligations.” Finally – how does Two Magpies come up with new ideas for their product ranges? “We have a group called ‘The Sixth’ who meet every two months to look at ideas for concepts and flavours. We always try to use the freshest local produce and to make use of what’s in season. The temporary product lines are changed every two months - we had twelve new product lines for the Queen’s Jubilee - and we’re already planning ahead for Christmas.”
LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY | SCRUTTON BLAND | 5
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