UK
Ideal hosted its first Made in Britain workshop at its factory in Northamptonshire on Wednesday 22 November. As an early adopter of the marque, Ideal has been a prominent supporters of the Made in Britain campaign since March 2014.
Over 25 local manufacturers from Made in Britain’s portfolio signed up to visit Ideal HQ and the one day workshop gave local businesses the chance to network and learn from industry experts with the emphasis on provenance marketing, export and how to tell the story of your brand with passion, transparency and a little soul.
The workshop was chaired by Made in Britain CEO, John Pearce, with guests including Graham Welsh, UK sales director for The King of Shaves Company; Stephen Tokley from SME Crown Representative’s head of office; John Harrison from Lloyds Bank; Suzy Bolton from Dept. for International Trade; Christine Cawthorne from Crocstar; and Ideal’s MD, Phillip Kalli.
John Pearce, Made In Britain CEO said: “People who make things have a collaborative nature that other businesses can learn from. There are lots of ways manufacturers make a positive impact in their community and their product sector as they grow and employ more local people. The diversity of our members’ products is inspirational; we should be proud to place the Made in Britain marque permanently onto our goods.”
Phillip Kalli said: “We believe customers want to know more about their products and where they come from – and even about the people who make them. More than that, operating a transparent manufacturing operation and supply model is important to us – we’re proud to be a family run, independent, British manufacturer – it sets us apart.”
He added: “There’s no other laundry detergent manufacturer quite like us. It’s more than just an identifier – we are trading on the notion that it means something to make products in Britain. But It’s not jingoistic flag waving! It’s most definitely not political! We believe in collaborating with, selling to and buying from our neighbours on the continent as they want to do likewise with us. For example, we share knowledge and collaborate with manufacturing companies with similar brand values, such as Ghidini in Milan and Girbau in Barcelona.
“For Ideal, the marque is about provenance, transparency, personality and the very British idiosyncrasies of our particular brand. We are creating long term local employment, careers, opportunities and genuinely trying to innovate in our sector.”
