UK Food Producer
£468k → £1.248m in 12 months (+167%); founder halves time in ops
The Challenge
Thin margins (14% gross, 3% net) were limiting reinvestment, and the founder was a bottleneck, spending 60 hours per week in day-to-day operations.
The Solution
Implemented the AEROPS framework to formalise pricing and operations. This included a cost-to-serve pricing model, SKU rationalisation, and a weekly S&OP cadence.
Key Results
- Revenue increased from £468k to £1.248m (+167%)
- Gross margin lifted from 14% to 21%
- Founder's time in operations cut from 60 to 30 hours/week
- Unit throughput grew from 300 to 800 units/day
The Challenge
Demand was growing, but profit wasn’t. With a gross margin of only 14%, every increase in volume amplified operational strain without generating enough cash to hire or invest. The founder was managing everything, leading to long hours and reactive firefighting. Key operational metrics weren't being tracked, making it difficult to identify the root causes of inefficiency.
Our Solution
We focused on a few high-leverage moves. First, we rebuilt the pricing architecture around the true cost-to-serve and rationalised the product line to focus on high-margin items. We introduced a weekly Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) cadence and daily huddles to stabilise workflow. Core processes were systemised using an LPAD approach (document, perfect, automate, delegate), and a simple B2B sales pipeline was established to smooth demand.
The Results
The transformation was significant. Revenue grew by 167% to £1.248m in just twelve months. Gross margin improved by 7 percentage points, and net margin doubled. Most importantly, the founder’s operational hours were halved, creating the headspace to lead the business strategically. The team doubled in size, and daily unit throughput increased by over 167%, creating a stable platform for future growth.
"Mentoring with Business Growth Global gave me clarity and a cadence. We finally priced to our true cost, tightened changeovers, and built a team I could trust. We’ve gone from 300 to 800 units a day, revenue has leapt, and for the first time I’m leading the business instead of firefighting."
— Founder, Anonymised UK Food Producer