How North West entrepreneur John Tague won the support of a Dragon

After success on Dragons’ Den earlier this month, the future’s looking bright for Tags Tasty Crisps, the North West snack brand created by former Seabrook Crisps Ltd MD John Tague.

In addition to the £125k of funding he secured on the show, John, from the Liverpool area, has already managed to strike contracts with Asda, Tesco, Spa, Virgin Trains and hundreds of independent retail outlets across the North West.

During the development process John worked closely with Cube3, the Manchester-based digital marketing agency, to turn his initial ideas for the brand into a reality.

When I asked Cube3 CEO Karl Barker what it is that sets Tags apart, he told me: “In a market that’s dominated by big brands with telephone digit budgets and huge market share, Tags is a true disruptor brand that is growing in popularity because of what it stands for.

“Tags is a family run business as well as a family brand - evidenced by the packaging and product development targeting kids with one range and the parents with another. Just as a true brand should be, you have honesty right at the right of it, add that to John’s vision and can-do mindset and you have a truly authentic product. And that is what customers are already buying into.”

I was curious about how John’s link with the North West and his past as a Liverpudlian had informed the brand, but Karl told me the brand didn’t have an overt focus on the region. “When we help to develop brands we don’t deviate from a strict methodology,” Karl explained. “That process begins with unlocking the brand truth through insight and strategy and then developing creative.

“For Tags we focused on cross branding and packaging that expresses the essence and amplifies it for the target audience. What we brought to the front was the real values of Tags allowing authenticity to seep through, positioning the brand as a quality product that’s been developed and produced with real love and care.

Karl continued: “This was clear to see in John’s pitch on his episode of Dragon’s Den, and clearly demonstrates his passion for the product.”

“The team at Cube3 has worked on a variety of FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) brands over the years,” Karl told me, when I asked him what it was in Cube3’s back catalogue that most informed the company’s efforts with Tags Tasty Crisps. “We’ve previously won awards for introducing one of the first mass-market organic, personal hygiene products to market with Bentley Organic almost 10 years ago.

“In the past year we’ve launched a gluten-free brand for Pork Farms called No.G and our latest brand that has just hit the retail market is called Fantastical Flavours which is looking to open up new categories and disrupt the alcohol market, in a completely new and exciting way.”

As the vast majority of entrepreneurs would agree, the startup phase of any business is a difficult time, with an unprecedented level of devotion required to get a venture off to a successful start.

When I asked Tags founder John if there was anything he’d do differently if he somehow had a chance to revisit the company’s beginnings, he told me: “I have absolutely no regrets of the Tags journey - every success, reward or mistake has been a learning curve and has helped us create the leading brand we have today.

“I wouldn’t change a single moment, it’s had it’s tough times, like any FMCG brand knows, but it’s been highly rewarding and to now see the product on so many leading retailers’ shelves is such a fantastic feeling. The hard work paid off.

“My only advice to anyone who is starting out down this journey is to have a strong belief and perseverance, don’t be put off by anyone or anything, find a team you can work closely with and shares your passion for the brand.”

Following its recent successes, the company is now in line for a turnover of £2.2m in 2017. I wondered about the firm’s future and asked John where he saw the brand in five to ten years. “Tags Crisps is still a relatively young company,” he explained. “We are still in the process of educating and sharing of offering with our audiences. So far the response from retailers and consumers has been fantastic. We want to capitalise on this and continue to share our unique offering for both adults and children.

“If we can sustain the level of interest and momentum that the brand currently has and develop this over the next ten years, I truly believe we can become the largest family owned crisp brand in the UK.”