An exotic plant business is thriving thanks to a funding stream which opened the doors to selling its products in a major UK department store.
The Secret Plant House, the brainchild of young Llanelli entrepreneurs Cameron Reardon-Davies and his partner James, set up a small pop-up offering in Ammanford last summer.
Keen to expand to capitalise on its success and extend brand awareness to reach customers from across the UK, they received a £3,000 loan from Purple Shoots.
The funding came via a £27,000 evergreen grant provided by BCRS Business Loans earlier in the year. The money was given to support the growth of more small businesses and those starting their own businesses across Wales.
Cameron, age 23, launched his first business at 16.
He said:
“I’ve always had a passion for business, and last year James and I decided to make a go of launching a business specialising in rare and exotic houseplants. We started selling through weekend markets across Wales and the South West of England, but when the opportunity to run a pop-up near our hometown was viable, we jumped at the chance.
“The pop-up was great, but the shop was small, and whilst the wholesale side of the business was growing, we knew we wanted more.
“An opportunity for shop expansion came at the same time as running a pop-up in Cardiff’s John Lewis store, and it was then I started talking to Purple Shoots.”
The Secret Plant House is now thriving, and Cameron puts this success down to the money, which enabled them to purchase stock and take advantage of the opportunities they had.
He continued:
“This loan boosted our business and opened doors in ways that we couldn’t have imagined. We’ve now tripled the size of the premises and taken on the lease full-time, whilst the pop-up in John Lewis was fantastic in expanding the awareness of the business.
“Last month the business had its most profitable month to date, doubling on previous months, whilst our B2B sales now capture 48 per cent of garden centres in the UK.
“This money was a gamechanger, and we can’t thank Purple Shoots enough for having faith in us to deliver on our plans. Not only has the loan opened so many doors and allowed us to expand, whilst investing in our site, but we’ve also been able to invest in our people and take on more members of staff.
“We are committed to incrementally building the business and can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
Stephen Deakin, Chief Executive at BCRS Business Loans, said:
“We provided this money to Purple Shoots so that they can, in turn, support budding businesspeople to realise their business aspirations, and it’s evident the Secret Plant House is doing just that.
“Cameron and James should feel incredibly proud of themselves for chasing these business opportunities, and we wish them the very best of luck for the future.
“Cameron is just one of the entrepreneurs that Purple Shoots have supported, and it is a real shame that they cannot find the funding they need to support all the entrepreneurs they want to.
“I hope that Cameron's story brings to life the extent of the support that Purple Shoots provides, whilst encouraging other lenders, organisations, and individuals to follow our lead and provide financial support to Purple Shoots to support the life-changing work they do.”
Karen Davies, CEO at Purple Shoots, said:
“Purple Shoots changes people’s lives and, as an impact-driven lender, it made sense for us to provide this loan. It’s wonderful that this money has opened so many doors for the Secret Plant House, and we hope the business continues to go from strength to strength.”
“Purple Shoots biggest challenge is finding funding to on lend to support entrepreneurs held back by circumstances, so we were thrilled that BCRS granted 10% of their profit to us to support even more entrepreneurs like Cameron.”
