Say It With Champers Story

Say It With Champers Story

Business Name and what it does

The name of the business is Say It With Champers; the business started as a personalized Champagne company and felt the name represented the business as it described the core element of the business but in a catchy and memorable way. The business is an online corporate gift company that serves the general public. We have themed labels for personalized Champagne covering all the popular greeting occasions like anniversaries, birthdays, engagements, weddings, and so on. 

People select a design they want; they add their custom text, making a unique gift that is always enjoyed. It makes the perfect gift for that person that is difficult to buy. We all love personalized gifts and   Champagne, so when the two are combined, it is a guaranteed gift that will dazzle and delight! We are happy to ship directly to the customer or internationally if that is what is required.

The cost per unit for the general public is £40.74, including the shipping. In terms of price point, it is perfect for a birthday or wedding gift, and the fact that it is personalized means that it will be remembered. Also, the fact that the gift is Champagne means that it will be enjoyed!

For businesses, we design a label from scratch around the company branding and colors, it is a bespoke design, and the result is a bottle of bubbly that looks like the company’s product. This can be done with mini-Prosecco bottles, wine, whiskey, or any bottle the business requires. We also create stunning hampers, which are a fantastic treat for the staff. The budget of the hamper can be anything from £30-100 and serves as a fantastic treat for the staff or too high spending customers. 

We have a number of products we recommend for the hampers, but we are happy to create the hampers in whatever way the client requires. The main focus is always quality, a hamper is one of those ‘feel-good products, and for this reason, the items within them need to be extra special to create that special feeling when opening the hamper.

Modern businesses know and understand the importance of making the staff feel valued. In my working history, I have worked on both ends of the scale; one company did very little in gifting, yet another treated their staff in various ways, both in gifts and experiences in the office. My working life in the latter was considerably more enjoyable, and if a company can treat their staff with a gift that will not break the bank, that is even better.

The lowest price point is for 1000+ Champagne bottles; on this quantity, the price per unit is a very favorable £25. Most companies tend to purchase 50-100; on this sort of volume, the Champagne bottle would cost around £27.00 + VAT; this is a fully inclusive price of:

  • 750 ml Brut Champagne
  • Top and bottom matching labels
  • Commercially printed labels
  • Label design
  • Shipping and packing to one location

From the breakdown above, there are no hidden costs, and you will receive a  high-quality product for a cost that is not exorbitant.

Founder’s/Owner’s Story and What Motivated Them to Start the Business

The idea came from my wedding nearly 15 years ago; my father brought a good number of personalized Champagne bottles themed around the wedding; as soon as I saw them, the idea of doing something similar started. This was the first time I had seen personalized Champagne bottles, and I instantly had the wow factor. 

We all know that having everything right on your special day is so important for those who have been married. So, receiving personalized bottles of Champagne on our big day was the icing on the cake, and it is a very easy finishing touch to add.

It also helps that my family produces Champagne and is a 7th generation grower/producer, so having a family that makes bubbly is great. This particular Champagne is Neveux-Rousseau, a typical artisan-style Champagne using very traditional methods. The bubbly tastes fantastic and has the bonus of being vegan-friendly.

The business is now 4 years old. It stemmed from dissatisfaction with corporate life and a strong desire to be self-employed, so the project was started, and I am very pleased to say it has worked out well so far. There were challenges when starting the business. The first few months were tough, but gradually things improved, and the focus now is on growing the business rather than survival.

We have grown and have served several high-profile corporate clients and businesses that most people know, including HSBC, Hewlett Packard KFC, Pepsi, Samsung, and many others. When any business starts making its way in the market, any order, regardless of the value, is always very well received. Then when you start receiving orders from corporate clients like that one listed above, it feels like a huge compliment that they trust you and keep coming back to you. For example, Samsung ordered 100 bottles on 3 separate occasions for their corporate events, which is very pleasing from a business perspective.

The challenges the business/market is facing. The opportunities the business/market is facing. Advice to others about business

Costs are rising across the board, not just for ourselves but all suppliers. Everything is going up from the labels to the Champagne to transport costs, so managing these changes while managing our pricing is a challenge. The potential of a recession is also looming, and this will mean reduced sales opportunities for many businesses, so time will tell if this happens or not.

The corporate gift market is incredibly competitive, and finding your way in such a market may be daunting from the outset. Our business is set aside from the competition because our niche is corporate branded bottles. This is not something every business can offer and is a gift representing quality and success while combining the business’s branding. 

This custom of personalized gifts could bring opportunities for businesses – for example, on a corporate celebration, instead of wining and dining all the staff at a function, perhaps they will gift all their staff something which still marks the occasion but on a reduced budget? Every change brings challenges and opportunities, and it is a case of trying to mitigate the challenges and make the most of any opportunities that arise.

The potential for the business is considered as most companies gift in some way, shape, or form, whether at Christmas or throughout the year. We have served clients from a 4-man accountancy firm to the largest corporate clients. The key is to make our services visible to these businesses, and this, of course, is done through marketing,” Say It With Champers” has grown year on year; although the prospect of a recession is looming, the outlook looks bright, and we hope to continue in this manner. 

For those thinking of starting a business, it is important to understand that the first 6-12 months may be tough, and sales may be hard to come by. I believe that most businesses if given enough time, would likely succeed; the problem is that funds soon dry up, and people have bills to pay, so they choose to return to employment. 

Bear in mind that in the first 6-12 months, not only will you not have the salary you were used to, but the business may be making a loss, so instead of a positive monthly income, there may well be a negative one. Having a budget to cover this is essential for the business to carry on and survive. It takes a lot of work; many free marketing methods like social media.

Bear in mind, too, that not all marketing works. There is the assumption that if you spend £1000, you will get £2000 in sales, but unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. Sometimes you can spend £1000 three or four times with little return, and the next time you spend £500, you get a huge return. Carry on doing the things that work, and ditch the things that don’t, be patient, stick at it, and good will come in the end. If you can start your business online, the benefit is that the overheads are much less, which in turn will increase your chances of success.

Ieva Kubiliute

Ieva Kubiliute is a psychologist and a sex and relationships advisor and a freelance writer. She's also a consultant to several health and wellness brands. While Ieva specialises in covering wellness topics ranging from fitness and nutrition, to mental wellbeing, sex and relationships and health conditions, she has written across a diverse range of lifestyle topics, including beauty and travel. Career highlights so far include: luxury spa-hopping in Spain and joining an £18k-a-year London gym. Someone’s got to do it! When she’s not typing away at her desk—or interviewing experts and case studies, Ieva winds down with yoga, a good movie and great skincare (affordable of course, there’s little she doesn’t know about budget beauty). Things that bring her endless joy: digital detoxes, oat milk lattes and long country walks (and sometimes jogs).

Latest from Business News