Nicola Massey had been a nurse for twenty years when the pressures of juggling work and family life made her decide it was time for a career change. Becoming more involved in her children’s school, Nicola began cooking interesting and unusual chutneys, based on family recipes, to sell at fetes and fundraising events. When close friend and branding expert Adrian Collins discovered how popular the chutneys were becoming, he suggested Nicola would benefit from a coherent brand, to help expose this very local business to a wider audience.
Four years ago, Nicola Massey gave up her nursing career and began helping out with fund raising events at her children’s school. Always a keen cook, Nicola revisited some traditional family chutney recipes and gave them a modern twist, creating a range of mouth-watering products to sell at school fetes. Instantly popular, the chutneys and dressings were soon being requested for hampers and market stalls and began to attract repeat custom.
‘The branding story really begins with Adrian Collins and my husband,’ explains Nicola. ‘They were having a business meeting when Adrian noticed that my husband could barely keep his eyes open. When questioned, he revealed that he’d been up half the night sticking labels on jars for me. Adrian realised the chutneys had obviously become extremely popular, and he could see the potential for taking us to the next stage.’
‘I already knew Nicola was a great cook,’ explains Collins, Managing Director of Ziggurat Brands. ‘I found out the chutneys were being repeat consumed and began to see a real commercial opportunity.’ Collins also knew that Nicola’s larger than life personality would provide the ideal inspiration for his creative team to develop a brand with will real integrity and market appeal. To help kick start the process, and show the company’s complete faith in the project, Ziggurat offered its initial services free of charge in exchange for becoming stakeholders in the resulting brand.
