The entrepreneurial story of the founder of Grandma’s Jam

The founder of Grandma’s Jam started his business at the age of 14. With a jam recipe taught by his grandmother, he founded the SuperJam international jam brand. Became a millionaire before the age of 20. Let’s take a look at his entrepreneurial classics.

?Grandma’s jam? Made into a brand

In the UK, people are used to putting jam on breakfast or afternoon tea noodles. Jam is a staple in every household. Essential food. 14-year-old Frasher was very interested in her grandmother's handmade jam, so she spent an afternoon learning her grandmother's "secret recipe". Afterwards, Fleisher felt that the flavors of jam should be more diversified, so he went to the supermarket to buy more fruits and made jam at home.

He first gave the jam to his neighbors to taste, and everyone liked it very much and were willing to buy it for a long time. Frasher was very happy. During that time, he got into the kitchen whenever he had time and made various jams of different flavors.

What’s even more rare is that he also received encouragement from school teachers - British middle schools and high schools have added business counseling to their curriculum to encourage children to participate more in social practice and provide certain funds. and resource support. Frasher's teacher Kevin was full of praise for his jam business. In class, he often asked Frasher to tell his jam stories and business progress. His classmates gave him a nickname - "Jam Boy". .

Although he immediately devoted himself to the jam business after finishing his homework every day and could produce a thousand jars of jam a week, the jam boy's jam was still in short supply. He began to think about whether he should find a factory to cooperate with him to make jam. Jam can be mass produced. In terms of sales channels, he hopes that local supermarkets can accept his jam.

Breaking the tradition and making a “cool” trademark

Two years later, Fraser waited for an opportunity: Waitrose, a large British supermarket chain, was looking for new products to enter the supermarket.

Frasier knew that to stand out among the many products, he needed to find a "selling point." His research found that over the past few decades, British jam sales have been poor because the recipe of jam has not changed for decades. Jam has been considered an unhealthy food, with 70%-80% of its ingredients being sugar. And it contains a lot of additives. The jams on supermarket shelves have been the same for decades. I decided to break the tradition and make some new jams without any additives. ?After trying dozens of recipes, he finally went to the supermarket to sell it confidently under the brand name of ?pure fruit jam?

The food director of the supermarket affirmed the concept of "pure fruit jam", but faced a 16-year-old child making jam with no trademark, no price, and no guarantee of continuous supply. In the end, he shook his head.

At this time, Fraser began to face the problems he faced. He first found a local design team and designed a series of "Superman" trademarks that he liked. He even wanted to make himself a Superman costume and wear it as a trademark. "I thought this trademark was very cool at the time." ?Then, he set out from his hometown and embarked on a journey to find a cooperative factory. ?From my hometown Edinburgh in Scotland to many big cities in England, I went to many jam factories. They looked at me with suspicion and told me you should go home, young man, or dismissed my jam, but I Or did I persevere and finally find a factory willing to cooperate with me?

Returning to the supermarket food supervisor again, he still shook his head. He thought Fleischer's Superman trademark was too childish. Finally, after several revisions, the trademark that reflected the concept of "pure fruit" finally passed the review, and Fleischer's SuperJam finally successfully entered the supermarket. The concept of "pure fruit jam" is so popular that SuperJam sold 1,500 cans on the first day it entered the supermarket, which is almost equivalent to the supermarket's original sales volume in a month. Risk reminder:

The return of funds from traditional industries is slow

The success in business has brought Fraser the title of World University, Global Student Entrepreneur of the Year.

In gatherings with these outstanding "student entrepreneurs" from all over the world, Fleisher found that most of them succeeded in starting businesses because of "developing the Internet field".

?There are very few people who actually do business like me. Fleischer said that many people believe that doing business requires more physical investment, and the profits are not as high as some new industries and new technologies, and the return of funds is relatively slow. ?To put it simply, it is not popular to do business now. ?More young people now believe that only high-tech industries are "cool" jobs. The success of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs has brought changes to the world and created "high-tech dreams" for many aspiring young people. However, Fleisher said frankly: "I think it's good to be in the industry. Making jam is my own hobby. I plan to invest the money I earn in the research and development of more flavors." ?

Entrepreneurship capital

Frasher received guidance from the school’s business class teacher from the early days of his business. He said: Teacher Kevin gave me a lot of advice and help. He is an important person in my success. ?While in college, he joined the school's "Entrepreneurship Club". Members of the club can enjoy some entrepreneurial guidance and funding provided by the school. The school even provides free office space for these young people.

Fraser’s university is not a special case. In the UK, almost every university opens similar entrepreneurial services to students to encourage students to innovate and start businesses. Many courses also provide students with one year of corporate training to tap their entrepreneurial potential. In addition, there are many funds in the UK that provide financial support for entrepreneurial youth, such as Fleisher, who has received support from Prince Charles Charitable Foundation.

Compared with the 50% entrepreneurship rate among college students in some developed countries, the "2012 China College Student Employment Report" blue book shows that the self-employment rate among college students in 2011 was only 1.6%. It is even more impossible to talk about starting a business among middle school students.

Entrepreneurship and Studies

As for the issue of balancing studies and entrepreneurship, Frasher believes that if you work hard enough and arrange your homework well, you can still squeeze out time, but The support from family and school is hard to come by. At the event, when the host asked the children if they wanted to start their own business and be their own boss like Frasher, nearly 50% of the children raised their hands.

Subsequently, the reporter randomly interviewed several parents. Parents said that if their children have these ideas, they are still very supportive. However, children now generally cannot even cope with homework. China and the United Kingdom There is still a difference. I hope he has ideas and can put them into practice in university? ;