2019 has been quite a year for Jupiter Group, getting exclusive production and marketing rights for ARRA grapes in India, expanding their grower base in Colombia and acquiring Dutch company Cool Fresh to name a few. The company also won the 2019 Corporate Social Responsibility Award at the 10th Family Business Awards, became part of the ELITE Future Shapers report which showcases some of the most innovative, disruptive and ambitious companies within the ELITE network and they are also listed 22nd in the Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200.
Mark and Yvonne Tweddle talk about the high points and the challenges of 2019.
The year didn’t get off to a great start as Mark suffered a bad injury from playing rugby and was out of action for the first 16 weeks of the year; that was a big challenge both in terms of business and as a family said Yvonne.
“On the business side, one of the biggest challenges of expanding so quickly is bringing new team members onboard and settling everybody into our processes and finding common ground between existing processes and new ones.Cultural integration is also a huge challenge, we have done this with different cultures across the world many times this year which is unusual in a business. The individual companies haven’t just been chosen for location, but also because they share the essential values of Jupiter. As we’re already fundamentally aligned it makes it easier to work with our new colleagues when compared to other business cultures. We want to empower people and teach them how to do the best job with the tools they have.”
To ease this process Jupiter has a full-time training manager and have an on-going internal training process. “We personally try to go to as many places and events as we can but that is becoming more challenging. We try to bring everyone together at the main events, Fruit Attraction Madrid was a big event for us this year.”
The company also has an internal marketing team which keeps everyone up to speed on what is coming up and keeps them aligned to the Jupiter brand.
When a company is growing so fast and on such a large global scale it can be easy to lose track of your initial values but according to Yvonne:
“We are very grounded people and like to keep things simple, as soon as it gets complicated, we shouldn’t be doing it. We have processes and need to stick them and if for some reason they don’t work we are happy to review them. It is key to keep everybody on the same page. You can imagine that through any change there are going to be challenges and if we can keep it simple by understanding each other then we will always be successful. This year has been very fast-paced and sometimes just picking up the phone a speaking to someone makes all the difference.”
Yvonne admits that a big challenge for Mark and herself is delegation, “Mark was here from day one with a blank sheet of paper, so he has gone through the most change; he is now in a totally different role than at the start.” Yvonne became joint MD of the company this year.
Growing markets
Looking to the coming years the couple see avocados as a growth area for the company. “We have an excellent supply base and we want to take that a stage further. We also see a lot of opportunity in the exotics market, we have not had the strength and opportunity before but since bringing the Cool Fresh team into Jupiter Group that has changed. They have brought expertise, knowledge and understanding of that market which I think we can exploit a bit further.”
Jupiter is already active in the Far East but that will increase as they see further opportunities for growth there and also in the US. They are also looking at some of the more challenging markets such as Russia and Eastern Europe.
Brexit
Of course Brexit couldn’t be avoided in the conversation and Yvonne said they are prepared, “We started preparing right from when they made the announcement. The single most important part of our business is people, we have a group of people here in the UK who have diligently and loyally worked for us who are predominately from Eastern Europe. Their concerns became our concerns and we have been helping them with their settled status and looking at our contract structure so we can give them more stability. We also looked at ways to engage with their community and support them, one of which was giving them English lessons so that they are more equipped to flourish.”
Having a footprint in Europe has made Jupiter more flexible,so as a business in the UK they will face exactly the same challenges as the other importers but they also have the business across the other locations, and definitely feel they have flexibility to adjust either way.
Yvonne adds “What Johnson will do is get some kind of movement on Brexit, whether that suits us or not remains in the balance. For the wider public, not just for businesses we needed some sort of movement.”
Collaboration and fluctuating markets
Yvonne sees collaboration within the industry as a good thing, “I think there is a lot more collaboration than we realise and where possible we do encourage it, there will always be conflicts of interest but it’s how you manage those or respectfully withdraw from them that makes the difference. It just comes down to how you do business and what kind of people you are.”
With the constant ebb and flow of supply to various markets,it can be difficult to know which markets will be best for which products.
“It’s about having knowledge on the ground and spending a lot of time ensuring we that we know what happening in the various markets. We can flex where possible but also it’s about our customer relationships globally, making sure we get negotiations done and ensuring that we are acting in the best interest of ourselves as growers and on behalf of our growers.”
High points
Mark and Yvonne have had many high points this year in the business, but family remains their focus and the successes of their children are always something to be proud of.
“We have expanded our Jupiter family across the world, and they are all highs for us, but the personal things are also very important for us; our son playing cricket at county level and our daughter becoming a hockey fanatic.”
The couple’s foster son was on celebrity X Factor recently too, Yvonne said it felt like she was night-clubbing for seven weeks, and showbiz was a totally new experience for Mark!
“We are so proud of him, he is just so grounded, he reached the semi-final stage of the competition.”
Looking forward to 2020
When Yvonne was asked what was on the cards for Jupiter in 2020 she laughingly said, “I don’t even know what going to happen half the time until it does.”
“We have some irons in the fire, but nothing concrete. Maybe we will take a different line, make it more about our products and how we are presenting them and how we add value to what we do. We are looking forward to what next year will bring.”
For the first time in seven years Jupiter Group will not have a stand at Fruit Logistica Berlin. “We will have a presence there, just without the stand. We’re proud to be the main sponsor of Global Women Fresh in Berlin and have the opportunity to support such an important network in the fresh produce and agricultural sector. We are much more in the global market now and are in contact with those people a lot more throughout the year than we would have been historically we feel that there are exhibitions which are more important for our strategy.”
For more information:
Kirsty Fleetwood
Jupiter Group
Email: KirstyF@jupitermarketingltd.com
Tel: +44 (0)1952 822 200
www.jupitermarketingltd.com