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As a part of the Morning Lazziness collection highlighting empowering ladies who’re making a exceptional impression with their concepts, I had the pleasure of interviewing Juliet Barratt.
Entrepreneur Juliet Barratt’s story is one in every of daring imaginative and prescient, persistence, and disruption. A former trainer who swapped lesson plans for enterprise plans, she went on to co-found Grenade, the sports activities diet firm that shook up the well being and health trade.
With Juliet as Chief Marketing Officer, Grenade grew from a kitchen-table concept into a world model offered in additional than 80 nations—culminating in its £200 million acquisition.
Immediately, Juliet channels her expertise into mentoring, investing, and advising the following technology of entrepreneurs, whereas additionally serving on the boards of rising client manufacturers.
Recognised as EY Entrepreneur of the 12 months and named among the many UK’s Prime 100 Influential Individuals, she brings authenticity, humour, and unfiltered honesty to each stage she steps on.
On this unique interview, Juliet shares the teachings behind constructing a category-defining model, the significance of tradition in scaling an organization, and why embracing challenges is the hallmark of entrepreneurial success.
Grenade grew to become a disruptive pressure in a crowded trade. Out of your perspective, what does it take for a model to actually stand out?
I imply the one factor that’s so vital – and I’m going to apologise for my language right here – is you have to make it actually clear to customers, or your prospects, your purchasers, what you stand for.
As a result of I believe {the marketplace} is so crowded in any trade, whether or not it’s a client product, whether or not it’s a service sector, they should know why they’re going to make use of you or why they’re going to purchase you.
And I believe one of the vital profitable issues about Grenade – and it sounds a bit bizarre – is that there was all the time a little bit little bit of Al and I in the entire merchandise. So, our persona, the truth that we, you recognize, we get pleasure from ourselves, you recognize, we take enterprise very significantly, however there was quite a lot of enjoyable in all of our merchandise.
And the advertising messages had been very tongue-in-cheek. We by no means needed to offend anyone, however we needed to have a way of humour. And I believe that’s what obtained so many purchasers, customers on board with Grenade – the truth that that they had that emotional reference to the founders and with the model. They knew not solely had been the merchandise sensible, but additionally, they purchased into the model.
I believe that’s so vital. I all the time name it the “X issue.” You want to make it actually, actually clear what you stand for, as a result of as quickly as prospects or customers get confused, they swap off and so they’ll go and use anyone else.
I’ve checked out a great deal of completely different web sites or social media and I’ve thought, what do these individuals truly do? I don’t know whether or not they might help me. So, I simply suppose it’s setting your stall out and nearly, you recognize, doing what you say on the tin, so that everyone is aware of precisely what you stand for. It’s so vital.
After we launched Grenade, it was in a really crowded market. There have been numerous related merchandise. There have been no magic components – it was all about the appear and feel of the product.
Every little thing was in very generic white tubs. All of them had very scientific names, and what we discovered was that as quickly as you stepped outdoors of the health club or the well being membership, you didn’t know what they had been referred to as, you couldn’t keep in mind.
So, by setting Grenade up in a grenade-shaped container, it didn’t matter what language you spoke or the place you had been on the earth – you knew what that product was referred to as by the appear and feel of the container. It stood out on the shelf, it stood out on socials, the web site appeared nice – so it was all about grabbing prospects’ or customers’ consideration.
Immediately’s workforce is extra numerous and distant than ever. How can entrepreneurs construct robust groups and tradition on this new surroundings?
I believe with the world as it’s as we speak, with everybody working remotely, one factor that we discovered with Grenade that actually labored was that sense of working collectively in a crew.
We had a extremely, actually tight-knit crew and this was lots simpler when the enterprise was smaller. When there have been like 10, 15, 20 members of workers all of us used to exit collectively.
However because the enterprise grew and a few individuals labored remotely, making an attempt to maintain that crew spirit was key. So, Alan and I all the time used to speak to new starters, so that they knew in regards to the Grenade journey.
We all the time confirmed an curiosity within the enterprise and what individuals did. We organised social occasions so that each one the crew obtained collectively, and I believe that’s so vital.
However one of many largest items of recommendation I believe for anyone new beginning a enterprise is ensuring that the individuals that you just make use of have gotten the appropriate cultural match. As a result of I believe you possibly can practice anyone to do a job, however you possibly can’t change who they’re.
Typically, you recognize, completely different personalities simply received’t match into an organisation and that may have a extremely disruptive impact on a enterprise.
So, it could simply be to make use of individuals which are the appropriate cultural match, which need to work within the crew. And once more, it’s discovering out what they get pleasure from doing.
We had members of workers that we employed in a single function initially, and really they liked one thing utterly completely different, so we moved them onto that function. It’s about retaining nice individuals within the enterprise by discovering the appropriate roles for them.”
After promoting Grenade for £200 million, many would have stepped again. What drives you to maintain chasing new challenges?
Oh, I imply each day is a problem and I’m one in every of these those who wish to problem myself. One of many issues – I didn’t know whether or not to begin one other enterprise, which was my plan, to begin a model. However I didn’t need a “second album.”
There are such a lot of those who bounce straight into one thing else and it’s not as profitable as their first enterprise. I really feel that I went out on a excessive with Grenade, which was sensible. However I challenged myself personally – my health objectives, I journey lots, but additionally, I work with quite a lot of different meals and client manufacturers serving to them on their development journey.
That’s nice since you get the experiences, you possibly can cross in your recommendation and watch different manufacturers develop. However then, truly, on the finish of the day or the tip of the week or the board assembly, you possibly can stroll away and do your individual issues.
I believe when you’re one in every of these individuals, you possibly can’t sit nonetheless. So, I can by no means settle – I’ve to be busy.”
While you step on stage to share your journey, what do you hope audiences stroll away with?
I’m very sincere and all the way down to earth, and I’ll say precisely how it’s. Lots of people sugarcoat their work trip and discuss how great it was, and you recognize, all of the highs. Whereas truly there have been some actually troublesome, difficult instances that you just get by since you’ve obtained a powerful crew.
However I’ll all the time be sincere in regards to the full Grenade expertise. As I’ve talked about earlier than, quite a lot of this was realized on the job, and we had been doing one thing that folks hadn’t performed earlier than.
We had been bringing a product that was usually a US product into the UK market. We challenged the UK grocery supermarkets; we truly created the class.
So, I might hope that they take away that entrepreneurial spirit and the way it was actually about rolling your sleeves up and getting caught in. Very sincere.
And likewise, individuals inform me I’m fairly amusing – whether or not that’s true or not! So, you recognize, that sense of humour. Hopefully, it can have been fulfilling and a really actual expertise for individuals.”
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