Young entrepreneurial duo turn eBay listings into £1m packaging business

The two young entrepreneurs behind a North East packaging startup have achieved a seven-figure turnover for the first time.

Schott Packaging, which started out as a few eBay listings, is now a £1m-plus turnover operation based at a 10,500 sq ft warehouse in Darlington.

Tom Schott, 27, founded the firm two years ago and today runs it alongside partner Josh Grant, 25, employing a team of three.

On the back of the growth experienced in 2018, the pair plan to expand their venture further by taking on a second industrial unit at Lingfield Point business park.

Tom said: “I used to be a web developer but got a bit burnt out doing the same thing day in, day out so came to work for my dad’s removals company.

“I was working on his website and helping out around the warehouse when I noticed a lot of unused cardboard boxes left over from all the removal jobs so started listing them on eBay to free up some space.”

He continued: “The orders started pouring in and it was clear there was a huge demand for the type of packaging we were listing, so much so that I wasn’t able to do anything else.

“I carved out a little portion of one of my dad’s warehouses and then the business just took off.”

Tom has since signed a new lease on his dad’s second warehouse and is in talks over securing another.

Lingfield Point estate manager Eddie Humphries commented: “Tom and Josh are a shining example of the outstanding success stories coming out of our region and we’re proud to play a small part in supporting their growth.

“Schott Packing is part of Lingfield Point’s flourishing business community, which is also home to a number of regional, national and international firms across a number of sectors including construction, property and finance.”