Meet Wholesale Brand Management

Graeme Clark and his wife Helen have run Clackmannanshire-based Wholesale Brand Management (WBM) since 2006. Graeme was the company’s first employee, joining in 1996, and he liked it so much that he and Helen bought it.  

The business helps food and drink brands boost sales and distribution in key market channels. Their clients include brands like Kettle Chips, Yazoo, and Casillero Del Diablo wine. 

In a recent award-winning project, they increased sales of Yazoo 1-litre in key wholesalers in Scotland by 42%. Graeme is highly respected and well-connected in the trade. Under his leadership, WBM has gone from strength to strength and is now recognised as a leading provider of food and drink sales solutions in Scotland and within the wider GB market.  

Despite this success, Graeme found an opportunity to develop himself and further his business.  

Joining Help to Grow: Management

Graeme signed up for the Help to Grow: Management Course at the University of Stirling Management School. He took part in a mixture of in-person and online lectures, seminars, and workshops with 16 others from a wide range of Scottish businesses between September 2021 and January 2022.  

Graeme comments: ‘I heard about the course through someone I know and I thought, “At 52, what do I have to learn?” At the same time, I was feeling like I was losing track of the business a bit.   

Benefits of the course

Having completed the Help to Grow: Management Course, Graeme says he is now expecting a growth in turnover of £1.5 million in three years, expecting to take the business from £2.5m to £4m by 2025. ‘I didn’t think we’d get to £3m in three years. 

‘I felt like we were ahead of the curve, but had limited scope on where else to go. Now, I’m spending the next three to four months restructuring according to what I’ve learned, which has been a revelation.’  

Graeme is overhauling his business in a number of ways. ‘The first thing is digitisation. Part of the course was a scorecard for how business-ready we were, and actually we were quite far along. It was a rubber stamp for our iPortal platform, but also allowed me to see how we might develop it, to bring in more automation for example.  

‘The second revelation was employee engagement. I had always been the one to have the ideas, and then we’d implement them. Our problems were mine, too. But I realised from the course that I wasn’t sharing anything with my team – not accounts, or turnover – so it was difficult for them to add value. Now, I’ve brought them in – we’re on our third strategy day, and they are bringing new insights and ideas.’  

This strategy focus has led to a new company mission and vision and this helps when attracting new hires, ‘now if I’m recruiting, I’ll be looking at values too, because a business is all about the people.’ 

The marketing strategy at WBM has also changed with a renewed focus on the benefits delivered and data that supports the claims. 

Results

Predicted turnover growth of £1.5 million.

Projected £4m turnover in 2025.

Looking ahead

In March 2022, the business launched a new website complete with rebranding and updated messaging. ‘I’m spending the next three to four months pulling together the strategy and then, after 16 years, I’ll be pressing the button on ‘year one’ of taking the business to another level!’ 

You can find out more about the Help to Grow: Management Course here.  

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