Gadsby Plus Q&A | Bespoke Product Development

I'm here today with Matt Wales, our Sales Manager at Gadsby, talking about Gadsby Plus, our custom product development service. Whether you have an idea for your own branded product or are just curious about what Gadsby+ can offer, this is the Q&A for you! Let's dive in!

Can you start by telling me about Gadsby's bespoke service?

Sure. Gadsby Plus is our service for clients who need something that's not available from our standard range. It could be something simple like a hamper in a specific size or colour, or a totally bespoke gift packaging item, unlike anything we stock. We also work with retailers to produce bespoke retail furniture and accessories. We work with you from the initial brief right through to delivery, developing what you need, and producing a quotation and samples. We handle all the production and shipping ourselves to ensure a really smooth process.

Could you give us an idea of the kind of customisation available?

There are no limits to what you can do! A good example would be wicker hamper baskets. The basket can be painted in any Pantone, have straps and hinges matched to your brand colours, have a liner stamped or stitched with your logo, and even have a branded luggage tag.

Our clients include some of the UK's most recognisable brands. Is this service available to SME businesses too?

Definitely! We collaborate with businesses of all sizes. It's more about the type of product being manufactured and the quantity required rather than the company's size. To see if we're a match, just give us a call.

Can you help with the design process or do clients need to come with a fully finished design?

Having an initial idea of what the client is looking for is useful, but we can help them even if they only have a rough concept. We have clients who come to us with fully detailed designs, allowing us to quickly request samples and obtain quotes from the factory. We also have customers that have a basic idea and need a little more guidance.

What's the typical lead time that customers can expect?

Most of the factories that we work with are in the Far East. We have deliveries coming into the UK all the time of our own stock, so usually between 12-16 weeks depending on the time of year and complexity of the project. It does also depend on the size of the order as everything is handcrafted. We'd give you a more accurate estimate once the project is underway.

What should a customer be aware of if they're considering sourcing directly from a factory?

While you can find factories in the Far East that might produce what you need, they can be unreliable. At Gadsby, we've established partnerships with factories that we have worked with for many years. We have a well-established supply chain and a team of staff in the Far East who ensure that everything is of the highest quality. When you work directly with us, you can benefit from our established infrastructure, logistics, and quality control. You can trust that you're buying from a reputable UK company instead of taking a risk with an unknown entity.

Can customers be confident that our products are sustainably sourced?

It's as sustainable as we can possibly make and will continue to improve. As well as offsetting our carbon footprint, we also work with materials that are inherently sustainable. Willow is particularly good because it grows back from the same plant after harvesting. It's a fantastic material to work with. Most of the wood we use is FSC-certified or fast-growing Paulownia wood. We also have cardboard gift boxes and gift trays with recycled cardboard cores that are fully recyclable. So, as best as we can, we work with you to make sure that sustainability goals are met as well.

You just mentioned FSC, can you explain what that means?

Sure, it stands for Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) which is an international non-profit organization that promotes responsible management of the world's forests. It provides a certification system for forest products, ensuring that they come from well-managed forests that meet strict environmental and social standards.

Great, so what's the first step for any customers interested in our bespoke service?

Give us a call and tell us all about your idea! We'll let you know in the first instance if it's the sort of thing that we can help with. I've seen very good technical drawings and also little sketches on scraps of paper, all of which we can work with as a starting point, but the first thing is to give us a call.

Do you have a portfolio of past projects customers can look at?

Absolutely, they can check out our Bespoke section on the website for more information about the recent projects we have completed. There you'll find a portfolio of our previous work, including examples for various clients, some of which you might even recognize.

Finally, tell us, what's been your favourite bespoke project you've worked on?

That's a very tricky one. I'm tempted to say hampers because they're popular and there are lots of clients that you know, but actually the ones I like are when you have an initial brief perhaps from a large retailer of unbranded products and then you're walking around the shop at some point later in the year and you see all the products you've sourced and helped them with, actually, on the shelves. That's quite satisfying.