Tim Taylor started running marathons to shift a little extra weight, but ended up running a business along the way. Chia seeds – or, as his wife calls them, ‘frogspawn’ – may be a key ingredient of his sports nutrition success, but his adaptable nature and commitment to his clients have played the biggest role. Despite having undergone a complete product pivot and a full company closure, his firm, Chia Charge, now sells health food to over 300 retailers across the world. He explains how he did it – and what’s next.
How did you start your company?
It began when I took up running more seriously, about seven years ago. I was a classic middle-aged guy – eyes bigger than my tummy and a tummy bigger than it should be – so I wanted to manage my weight.
I found out about chia seeds in a book called Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall. I bought some, but to be honest they didn’t get used much. My wife thought they looked like frogspawn, but my youngest son was more accepting! When he got into health and fitness a bit more, he asked me about the chia seeds. I took it as a sign and started making drinks with them, using my experience of ten years as a hotel chef in France.
Meanwhile, I’d finished my job as a Sales Director at my old work and was deciding my next steps. I kept returning to the recipes I’d made with chia seeds – it was an itch that needed scratching.
Did you overcome any challenges setting up the business?
My wife and I launched the brand in summer 2012. I went to a marathon series called The Hardmoors (the running theme continues!) and showcased my drink. It didn’t do badly, but it didn’t go as well as I’d wanted.
My first lesson was that, even with great products, selling is difficult. Ten minutes wasn’t going to be enough to convince someone to buy seeds which were, at the time, really expensive. But people did love the brand name – it really resonated.
Where did you go from there?
I could’ve put my hands up and given up. I didn’t. The brand was strong – the problem was selling the product. I decided to pivot. I kept the name, but changed the product.
I thought, “What else can I have? Oh, I can have a flapjack.” It hit the nail on the head. Everyone understands flapjacks; you don’t have to sell the idea of eating one. You just need to give it your own spin: I put in chia seeds and sea salt flakes. That was a turning point for the business.
Having an owner-business means a lot rides on the people you work with. Did you ever have any problems?
We did have a shareholder issue where we took investment into the business, but it didn’t arrive as agreed. By that point, I’d started working full-time on the business on the basis of this investment that hadn’t arrived, and they wouldn’t renegotiate their shareholding. I took legal advice and had to shut our limited company down and start another one.
I’d recommend making sure that whatever agreement you make, there’s always a way of ending it and closing the company so you don’t have to work with people you don’t want to. I was lucky to have the support of my wife and the courage of my convictions to make a clean break.
And protect your intellectual property. I kept control over my trademark, which meant I could use it again for the new company.
What’s been the highlight of setting up your own company?
My customers are awesome. I’m meeting people I’ve been sending parcels to all year! Building those relationships has been amazing. We’ve sent over 10,000 parcels, but we’ve only got 3,000 customers. There’s a lot of repeat custom – thirty or forty customers who have spent over £600 on flapjacks and chia seeds.
You don’t necessarily need to have tonnes of customers to be successful. You just need loyal, repeat custom for a few high-priced products or services.
Does exercise help to relieve the stress of running your own business?
I do get stressed, but one of the great things about running your own company is deciding what you want to do and when you do it. I do CrossFit three times a week now, which is more about conditioning and lifting weights. If I haven’t exercised, I feel sluggish – but if I have, I’m brimming with energy!
What’s your current focus?
Having such a great product means we never spend time thinking, ‘how are we going to shift all this stuff?’ It’s more about planning for the future and thinking ahead. I’ve got a constant stream of new ideas.
Our next step is to move into a much bigger office. By spring, we should be talking to Regus about an industrial or retail unit, because the next product launch is a fruit and nut bar, then we’re going to launch some muesli.
Tim currently uses Regus offices in York. Check out his products at chiacharge.co.uk and find recipes at their blog.
Top tips from Tim:
- Have the confidence to pivot. Making a drastic strategic change doesn’t mean you’re giving up on your brand – it’ll often make it stronger.
- Protect your intellectual property: it’s the foundation of your business, so make sure you always have full control over it.
- Look after your customers and they’ll look after you. Repeat custom is a valuable long-term element of your client base as you can depend on recurrent orders being at a higher volume than casual customers.