On location…with Mint Group

In Mint

Condition

It would take more than a pandemic to deter the Mint Group from fulfilling its dream of relocating to a state of the art headquarters and central warehouse.

Now fully ensconced in its 43,000 sq ft new home, PG hotfooted it to Corby to catch up with the family-run business which comprises Museums & Galleries, Mint Publishing and Real & Exciting Designs.

When Debbie Williams took on what was intended to be a temporary book-keeping job with a little known card company at the start of the noughties, little did she know that it would lead to picking up the keys to a 43,000 sq ft premises that is now home to one of the UK’s leading independentlyowned greeting card publishing groups.

It all started in 2006 with Debbie and her husband Alan (then still a farmer) buying Mint, then in 2014 came the acquisition of

Museums & Galleries, followed a year later with Real & Exciting Designs joining the fold.

These acquisitions saw the group take on more and more space, expanding into six units on a Kettering trading estate, but the 28,000 sq ft capacity was just not enough to accommodate the inherent growth, and so a move was on the cards. With a perfect solution sourced for a move into a new home in nearby Corby, all was looking good, then the pandemic struck!

“We did start moving in back in July 2020, but had to work from two sites for a while to allow for social

Above left: (right-left) Alan and Debbie Williams, Sophie Bylina and Tom Williams in the new showroom. Above: M&G’s licensing agreement with the V&A spans a variety of products, from greeting cards to glass paperweights. Left: The new Wildlife Photographer of the Year range from Museums & Galleries, which features the company’s Eco-band. Below left: One of the six impressive vehicles that are used for picking orders in the new 43,000 sq headquarters and warehouse in Corby. Below: A design from Real & Exciting Design’s new Voila range.

distancing,” explains Debbie. “In the first year we despatched Christmas from here in Corby and everyday from our old premises. It wasn’t easy, but it had to be done,” adds Alan.

Adding to the complexities, general manager (and Debbie’s son) Tom Williams was determined to install state of the art highline picking lines to accommodate the group’s 4,500 skus across its brands, which has seen some hefty investment in impressive kit, including six ‘wave’ machines which pickers can manoeuvre with great agility as well as a grid system for a top end forklift to move palettes. And on top of this, Museums & Galleries studio

Retiring Riou

The recent Spring Fair saw the Mint Group mark Riou Baxter’s retirement, who together with his business partner Mike Broad has helped drive the group’s sales for many years through their Why Management business. “Riou and Mike brought us the expertise of this industry and the confidence to supply multiples as well as independents. I remember the early days when WHSmith buyer Claire Castle came onto our stand at Spring Fair and I could hardly speak,” recalls Debbie. “We will forever be grateful to Riou for the part he played in our growth and we are delighted to still be working with Mike on an ongoing basis,” she added.

Below: A gathering on the Museums & Galleries stand to mark (centre back) Riou’s retirement.

down in Frome in Somerset (headed up by group creative director Ben Dorney) was also being doubled in size.

Ah yes, and then there has been the considerable expansion of the group’s product portfolio, plus significant progress on the sustainable front.

It’s been a journey alright, but neither Debbie nor Alan are ones to blow their own trumpets, they just get on with it and do what needs doing, be it up a ladder painting their stand at PG Live in June or packing Christmas orders after an outbreak of Covid in the new warehouse.

“It is just great to be in here now, all in one unit - and what’s more we have central heating!” says Sophie Bylina, administration and relationship manager, recalling the somewhat chillier conditions of the former premises.

The extra space has also resulted in an airy showroom being created to showcase the group’s portfolio. It is only when you see it altogether that you get a real feel for how broad the product offering is across its different components and indeed how each element has been strengthened.

Licences remain key to Museums & Galleries, but it is the sheer variety of these signings which is so impressive, from established heritage brands, such as V&A and Natural History Museum through to contemporary designers, such as Helen Ahporinsiri and Catherine Rowe - with the most recent signing of Wildlife Photographer of the Year bringing some prestigious wildlife photographers into the fold.

While the recently refreshed Mint’s Knit & Purl remains the group’s best selling range (featuring characters that have been handknitted by Debbie), this has been joined by some new inmates, most notably Snapshot, which features the quirky art photography by Helga Stentzel who ‘makes’ dogs out of toast and turns teabags and washing machines into animated objects to humorous effect.

Living up to its name, Real & Exciting Designs continues to evolve, with Voila being the latest creation by the hugely talented Sarah Curedale (co-founder of the brand) to hit the racks.

When pressed as to how it feels to now have a ‘new home’ for the group as well as all the exciting new products that have just been launched, the ever modest Debbie deflected the praise onto others. “We just feel so proud of our team, how they have adapted to the evolution of the business as well as to our retail customers, both multiples and independents. We would not be where we are today without them,” said Debbie turning to Alan. “I tell you something, I am never going back to being a farmer, this is much more fun!” he admits.

Above middle: As with all of the company’s Christmas collection, the Macmillan range is zero plastic, not even using any glue. Above right: The Snapshot range from Mint features the innovative photographic art of Helga Stentzel. Right: Mint’s new look Knit & Purl designs (the group’s best selling range, based on ‘characters’ hand knitted by Debbie) now features detailed embossing.

Sustainable push

A commitment to sustainability has very much been a part of Mint Group’s ethos for several years, as evidenced by the launch of its pioneering eco-Band patented solution back in 2018, to hold its card and envelopes together, doing away with the need for cellowrapping. “While we are proud of our ecoBand and are talking to several publishers who are interested in adopting it too, we always wanted to do more on the sustainable front and this remains a major focus throughout the business,” explains Debbie. The Museums & Galleries’ stand at the recent Spring Fair brought this focus to life across its everyday and Christmas cards, calendars, notecards and wrappings with the ‘Zero Plastic’ messaging on the packaging relaying the product’s environmental credentials right through to the consumer. “We have re-engineered all of our Christmas boxes and packs to be Zero Plastic, not using any glue or featuring any flitter,” relays Sophie. On the giftwrappings front, Debbie adds that “at Spring Fair we showcased prototypes of our plastic-free rollwrap and tissue packs that will be phased in from the summer.” On the production front, all the group’s cards, including the Christmas boxes are made in the UK, as is all the social stationery and flatwrap.