EVERY day, Annika Bosanquet is grateful that she was an attentive student. For the founder of Wrapology, the funky, fast-growing wrapping and packaging business, found inspiration for the firm from an unlikely source — her anthropology degree.
“The degree included a module on giving, on how the underlying principle of giving in other societies is not in what you give, but how you give it,” the 30-year-old says.
After graduating from the London School of Economics, Ms Bosanquet worked in print and packaging at Nike, the sports manufacturer, where she learnt the truth of that principle. “Present the low-rise trainer to the consumer in a chrome briefcase and this immediately ups the perceived value and places it above the competition,” she says.
For a struggling small company in particular, she felt that distinctive packaging could play a vital part in boosting sales and helping it to stand out. All this seemed obvious enough, but a thorough search across the UK revealed that retailers selling different kinds of packaging direct to businesses were scarce. Most tended to sell one product only — either just ribbon, or just boxes, and so on.
The “light bulb” illuminated in her mind and Wrapology was born. From humble beginnings at a trade show in 2001, the business, which she runs with her 20-year-old brother, Tom, from offices in Farringdon, Central London, has grown rapidly.
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The company, which sells everything from slick cardboard packaging to ribbons and colourful paper rolls, has amassed hundreds of clients ranging from Tabooboo, the sex toy brand, to Pout, the young, fast-growing brand of make-up.
With turnover of about £500,000 this year and profits expected to reach £175,000, the successful siblings are convinced that Wrapology could become the top “one-stop” outsourced packaging provider for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Their colourful products are sourced from countries all over the world, including America, the Far East and India. And as they have become more established, the packaging producers have started to seek them out.
Despite the expectations of some friends and other members of her family, who had feared that the two of them working together might lead to rows, she feels that going into business with her brother has been one of her best decisions. “It is wonderful,” she says. “He just understands what needs to be done and my vision for the company. Plus, he is young and keen.”
Ms Bosanquet’s greater challenges have been the management of stock and cashflow to ensure that funding — £45,000 from a business angel and non-executive chairman, plus £100,000 from the Small Firms Loan Guarantee, a government scheme that underwrites loans to small businesses that might otherwise struggle to obtain financing — is spent wisely.
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“Early on, we had great difficulties with having too much stock. People liked the product, but they wanted it a bit pinker, a bit bigger or a bit sturdier. We had to rethink our strategy urgently and we had to write off a lot of stock, which was heartbreaking.”
However, one of the advantages of being a small business is the ability to act quickly. The siblings did just that, negotiating with their suppliers to operate on a “just in time” principle, where stock was ordered as it was required. Ms Bosanquet says: “It suited us and the manufacturers, who did not want their machines tied up making stock for us if they could be working for other clients.”
A worry over reduced business flexibility and nimbleness is the main factor holding back the pair from investing in retail outlets. They fear that they would end up stockpiling items with large amounts of cash left sitting on the shelves.
Instead, Ms Bosanquet and her brother prefer to sell over the telephone, or online, through their carefully designed website. “It is simply a much swifter, more efficient way to operate for our clients and for us.”
The company’s advertising centres almost entirely on the internet. She says: “It is much more targeted. We can see the conversion rates. For example, we know that for every seven people who click on to our website, one will buy something.”
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However, the company has also found other ways to grow. The siblings launched a consultancy division last year, through which a specially assigned team will design and produce to a particular brief.
She and her brother are convinced that demand for their services will continue to surge. “There are a lot of people out there setting up new companies, and they all know that to compete for shelf space they have to have the same professional packaging and look as the big firms.”
The lessons, experience and pain of the past three years have been invaluable, Ms Bosanquet admits. So what is her best advice for would-be entrepreneurs? “Pay attention in class.”
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Wrapology: 020-7837 4887, www.wrapology.co.uk