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“ All of our ingredients are natural ,” he continues , “ and we don ’ t use any preservatives , additives , colorings , or flavorings at all , even our elderflower is still hand-picked and processed by hand to a degree as well . Without being too political , I think the SDIL could have been handled far better by the authorities . They ’ ve specifically targeted soft drinks , seemingly without considering the amount of sugar that goes into all other sorts of confectionery these days .
“ It ultimately put a great deal of pressure on SMEs like Belvoir , which could also be said for the postponement of the deposit return scheme in Scotland . It means that businesses such as ours are put in a position where we have to undertake exceptional rises in certain costs . Again , I don ’ t want to get too political , but these policies give the implication that the authorities aren ’ t really taking notice of SMEs within the industry .
“ The biggest issues Belvoir has faced in hitting its growth targets in recent years , have been the massive cost price increases we ’ ve seen across all of our commodities ,” he adds . “ Beyond the SDIL there ’ s energy , ingredients , and packaging , and it ’ s difficult to absorb all of these whilst still obtaining your growth to hit specific targets . At the same time , you can ’ t pass them all on , as everybody ’ s purse strings have been tightening , and you don ’ t want your loyal customer base to start feeling that your products are becoming too expensive . But regardless , the growth we ’ ve experienced over recent years has still been significant .”
Ahead of the curve
One of the business ’ tactics to stimulate its continued growth has been to invest in a state-of-the-art canning line , which
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