Nutri Bar hungry for ethical B2B growth
Healthy fast-food company Nutri Bar, which runs two healthy food shops in Greater Manchester, has teamed up with specialist advisors to roll out a sustainable workplace catering service.
Starting with just a catering trailer, founder Ollie Birchall quickly grew the business, opening the first Nutri Bar shop in Bolton in 2015 and following up with a second store in Salford’s MediaCity in 2017.
The company’s mission is to provide affordable on-the-go food that supports a well-balanced diet.
Eco support
To help grow the B2B side of the business in a responsible and ethical way, Ollie Birchall contacted Greater Manchester’s GC Business Growth Hub for support.
Luke Bywaters, part of the Hub’s Eco-Innovation service, started by helping Nutri Bar to research and assess the potential market for a nutritious, sustainable workplace catering service in the area and develop a sustainability strategy and environmental policy.
As part of the strategy, Nutri Bar sourced a new range of compostable packaging to reduce its environmental footprint and organised a launch seminar for its ‘Working Healthy Platter Service’ at MediaCity UK’s Sustainability, Nutrition and Hydration Week in March 2018.
The company also plans to source local organic ingredients by starting a small in-house organic farm and has the vision to open a new franchise outlet with a solar-panel powered drive-through service.
Impact-conscious
“The Business Growth Hub has given us focus and extra knowledge. They’ve helped us form the base to grow sustainably and work efficiently as a team while making us conscious of our environmental impact as a business”, Ollie Birchall said.
Luke Bywaters added: “Ollie is an inspiring young entrepreneur who demonstrates that he is keen to balance commercial success with building a responsible business and being a positive leader.
“Along with my colleagues in our Workforce Development team, we are helping him to take on new ideas and move innovation forward quickly in the business.”