The 'Piglet's little secrets' Breakfast

It’s always interesting to hear stories of the dramatic growth of a business – especially so in these times of austerity and economic downturn.
Joanna Philips of Piglet’s Pantry has managed to do just that. 

She’s succeeded in turning two of her passions into a successful business as she now provides a range of handmade pies at Brighton & Hove’s Albion’s Amex football stadium.

Jo spoke to the Brighton Chamber at their breakfast meeting in August and as usual it was an inspiring talk.

It takes passion, commitment and a lot of hard work to do what Jo has done - to turn her love of pie-making into a successful business.  She learned to bake by sight rather than following a recipe and carefully measuring out the ingredients.  Starting small with her a shared space in Shoreham and then through a series of co-incidences and opportunities that led her to becoming a provider of pies to Brighton & Hove FC through her families passion for football.

She’s overcome the challenges of rapidly expanding from a small local bakery to find larger and larger premises to keep up with the massive demand and increasing sales of her hand made pies at the stadium.  Always coming up with new varieties and ideas to expand the business but maintaining the focus on quality of not only the product itself but the whole customer experience and and creating a buzz about the pies by using social media.

It’s a great place to be but a tough challenge for any business and even tougher for a small, local business.  She’s taken a leap of faith in investing in the business.

Her philosophy for her business is about taking things personally, creating a great customer experience, deliver a great product and give people something they want.

And she’s not resting on her laurels either – she’s always thinking of new ideas to expand and diversify the business.

An inspirational speaker - you can listen to the podcast of the Breakfast meeting on the Brighton Chamber website.
http://www.businessinbrighton.org.uk/the-piglets-little-secrets-breakfast-10th-august-2012

And if you to try a breakfast for yourself, why not book a place at the next one on September 14th: http://www.businessinbrighton.org.uk/event/september-14th-chamber-inspirational-breakfast

Clare Evans
http://www.clareevans.co.uk/

If you want to contribute to the Chamber blog, contact us on hannah@brightonchamber.co.uk