A spice company founded by a mother and son duo is hoping to double sales to £2m after a new tech investment.
Spice Kitchen was founded in 2012 by Shashi and Sanjay Aggarwal to sell spice blends, tins and gifts. The company has now won the backing of technology adoption scheme Made Smarter and says the investment will help it to grow productivity and sales, while creating three management jobs.
Spice Kitchen began by selling homemade tins of spice mix at artisan markets. The company, which has has appeared with the Hairy Bikers on TV, now aims to grow international wholesale sales into US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Gulf, as well as growing online sales via Amazon and its website.
Spice Kitchen is one of 60 Liverpool-based SME manufacturers who have secured grants worth £1.2m from Made Smarter towards technology projects - which in total are worth £4.2m after contributions by the businesses themselves are added. Made Smarter says those investments are forecast to create 385 jobs, upskill more than 375 roles and boost the economy by £52m.
Liverpool-based Spice Kitchen, backed by a £20,000 grant from Made Smarter, has invested £40,000 in a cloud-based software solution which will integrate and automate its systems to make them more efficient.
Sanjay Aggarwal, co-founder of Spice Kitchen, said: “Made Smarter’s support has been extraordinary. They have helped us create a digital roadmap, analyse our existing skills, create a plan for workforce development, and accelerate our investment in a much-needed technology solution.
“This investment will have an immediate impact by improving the quality and consistency of our business operations, but crucially, it will embed a scalable operational, commercial and manufacturing platform for future business growth.”
Donna Edwards, director of Made Smarter’s North West Adoption programme, said: “Spice Kitchen is a fantastic example of a manufacturer which recognises the benefit of using technology to scale the business. The outcomes of this technology project are far reaching, from creating growth and new high value jobs, but also laying the foundations for more technologies.
“Spice Kitchen is among hundreds of manufacturers in the region grasping the opportunities offered by Made Smarter which include expert, impartial technology advice, digital transformation workshops to help take that first step to transform a business, and support with technology investment. I would encourage other SME manufacturers to do the same.”
