In this week's episode we speak to Howard Moss, Owner & CEO of Astonish.
Howard explains how the company, founded by his passionate and entrepreneurial father, has developed from the ‘panic & chaos of early days’ on Meanwood Road to competing with the likes of P&G and Unilever. He tells us how installing basic processes moved the company forward, introduces us to a legendary sales person, Mike Alan, and explains how you go about expanding a product range.
He also teaches us, in 3 simple steps, how to be a great business owner.
INTRODUCING HOWARD MOSS
Howard Moss is the Chief Executive of The London Oil Refining company, manufacturing household and personal care cleaning products under the brands of Astonish and Moss & Adams. Born and bred in Leeds, Howard has catapulted the company to great success, with 25% growth year-on-year, supplying ethical and eco products to Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Aldi, Home Bargains, Lidl and more.
The company is committed to a sustainable manufacturing and production process and was awarded the Queens Award for Enterprise in 2022.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
[00:02:00] How the company started
[00:07:15] The development of the business
[00:13:00] Fulfilling customer demand and expanding distribution channels
[00:16:00] The expansion of the product range
[00:17:00] How do you expand a product range?
[00:20:30] Competing with P&G or Unilever
[00:24:00] Manufacturing from brief all the way to shelf
[00:30:00] Learnings from mistakes in the business
[00:35:00] 3 key tenets in being a great business owner
[00:37:00] The benefits of sponsoring Leeds United
KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
BEST MOMENTS
“As an interim I started out to temporarily help my Dad and it wasn’t planned to be my career”
“When I started there was zero process”
“ There always seemed to be an immense amount of panic on”
“ We were one of the first companies to use a brand name on separate categories”
“We’ve always stayed true to what we believe; best in class product and true value for money”
“Evolution doesn’t just mean new products…we have to also underperforming products”
“once we transferred a user, we know we have a loyal customer”
VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU
Relevant links from the show, recommended Leeds business
Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com
Website: https://astonish.co.uk/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/astonish-cleaners-379323125/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/astonishcleaners
Twitter: https://twitter.com/astonishcleaner
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