Nestled in a former cow shed and barn in Nateby just outside Garstang is a firm which has become an Amazon powerhouse.

What started out as selling ‘silly hats and headgear’ on eBay back in 2009 has now become a multi-million pound business for founder Nick Comer.

Rosetta Brands is not a name you’ll ever have heard of, or are likely to, as they work behind the scenes to optimise Amazon for hundreds of different producers – mainly in the food and drink sector.

But it all began in a tiny space at Myerscough College for Nick and his co-founder at the time Steve.

Nick, 46, said: “We knew how at that time, when eBay was king, how the growth of people ordering online was going to accelerate. So we started to order some stock and then sell it, and learned what worked and what didn’t.

“There were these little units at Myerscough College for businesses who were just starting out, so we took one of those.

“It was very much a side hustle to begin with but over time and especially as we started to sell on Amazon then we began to see that take off.”

Connecting food and drink with the world

Rosetta has carved out a niche in the supply of food and drink – although it isn’t all they do – via Amazon.

During the 2010s the commerce giant wasn’t thought of for buying grocery products from but head of business development Louise Armour explained it had become a plethora of niches for people looking to buy their items from a trusted seller.

She said: “We work with all sorts of food and drink producers now, from artisan toffee vodka producers in Cumbria all the way up to big PLC brands and managing their presence on Amazon.

“We’ll manage their Amazon shop and help build them up the category rankings and ensure they are visible.”

Louise shows the example of two women from Cumbria who now have one of the best-selling vodkas on Amazon.

Nick explains: “We are what’s called an Amazon Vendor, we have access to that high order, high volume marketplace.

“Anyone can sell on Amazon, you can start tomorrow with anything you like. But that isn’t the same as really being on Amazon.

“With the Vendor programme, which we were early onto and worked closely with Amazon on how to develop it, you’re getting the use of things like Prime and more which are essential for attracting strong orders.”

Rosetta have recently secured to work with Tyson Fury’s new energy drink and Louise said the food, drink and grocery market was becoming much bigger on Amazon.

Louise said: “I think lockdown definitely accelerated the trend that was happening, in amongst a lot of the staples people now buy via Amazon there’s room for so many different products.

“That’s what Amazon wants, it wants to have as many unique products as possible for people to shop. They are very consumer focused.”

A rapid expansion

Nick says the firm has taken on a lot of staff in the last 12-18 months as the firm’s reputation has grown and it has taken on additional investment – with significant private equity funding secured from London.

In his business journey he’s been supported by Boost, Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub, on three different occasions.

He said: “Right back when we first started out we took part in one of the start-up programmes. It connected us with lots of other people who were just starting out and even though we were in very different industries it was good to have that support network.

“It gave me confidence to build the business at that time – even though it was really tough.

“We had a different business back then with a few different parts to it and that’s when we really started to focus on the e-commerce side.”

Nick said he then went back to Boost, pre-Covid lockdown, when they were beginning to see signs the Amazon optimisation side of their business was growing.

He said: “I was paired up with a mentor and business advisor, you sit down with them and you say this is what we’re doing and what we’re thinking of doing. They listened and when I was telling them about how the Amazon bit was growing and the potential then I could see their eyes widening.

“They helped me understand we were really onto something.

“I remember the day after that meeting, I got on the train to London and was like ‘right we need to really go for this’.

“So we changed our strategy and went for it, got funding and we doubled down and I think having that insight from someone who isn’t in that day-to-day of your business was crucial.”

Most recently Nick has sent Louise to Boost’s Scale to Thrive programme to see what new opportunities there are.

Louise, 28, said: “It’s been a fantastic experience as you’re part of a cohort of people who are all in different businesses from around here.

“At first you’re thinking how am I going to learn anything from someone who is in a very different industry, but actually as you discuss and share you realise there’s a lot of shared problems and challenges.”

Being based in Lancashire

The work Rosetta does means they can technically be based anywhere, but it is in Nateby where Nick says they’ve found a perfect home.

In a stone-built barn which is part of the Nateby Business Park they’ve been based within various buildings there as the business has grown.

Nick said: “We have operations in Australia and Germany, and access to space in London, but this is the headquarters.

“We have good access to Preston, Lancaster, Blackpool and we’re able to recruit talent from all those places too.

“The type of work and the type of company we are means it’s fairly easy for within a month us to have someone really up to speed on all different parts of the logistics and more of making our way on Amazon work.

“And we’ll be on these video calls with senior people at Amazon and other firms and they can see the character in this building behind them.

“Then you step outside and we’ve got great views, all this green space. It’s just fantastic.”

Louise, who commutes to Nateby from Manchester each day, said: “I was working at a big firm in the city and now being here, it’s such a family-like atmosphere in this office.

“We’ve grown the team and it’s a great fit, to have a space where you can just step outside and clear your head so quickly.”

‘With Amazon, there’s no limit to our growth’

Nick is bullish about the company’s prospects over the next 12-18 months.

He said: “We’re a £10-11m-a-year business, but I think there’s a lot of growth still to come.

“The whole concept of getting specialist or everyday food and drink items on Amazon is continuing to grow.

“And we are seeing more and more producers coming to us, from small outfits to large blue chip manufacturers.

“The beauty of our model means we can just plug you into something that’s existing and it works. Rather than sitting there trying to figure out Amazon yourself or hiring a whole team, we know how to make sure our clients get the level of orders needed.

“We’ve also got a presence in both the German and Australian Amazon markets as we’re seeing the acceleration that happened in the UK also happening there, so we want to be in at the start. And again, we have the Vendor access which makes a huge difference to how you approach Amazon.”

Louise said: “It’s about consistency. You need to work with Amazon’s algorithm – good fulfilment, advertising, building up reviews, best in class product pages, competitively priced – all these elements are key to success on Amazon.”

Nick said their current round of funding had helped to enable them to take on more staff, saying: “At one point there were three new people a week, it was crazy, but that’s settled now.

“We have a great team and I’m also comfortable that for a lot of people it’s not a forever job.

“Recently we had someone go on to land a role with Heinz. Well that’s great, it was the right move for them and I take a lot of pride in knowing they started their time here and were able to grow with us.

“And yes we’ll be sticking with Nateby. I live nearby in Scorton and everyone loves it here, so I’m sure people would tell us to move to some fancy office in Manchester or Leeds, but we’re quite happy with this little corner of Lancashire where we make our Amazon magic happen.”

About Boost

Led by Lancashire County Council, supported by Government and ten local authorities, Boost is Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub, one of 37 Growth Hubs in the UK. Since 2013, Boost has supported over 14,000 businesses.

From September 1 2023, Boost is funded by Lancashire County Council, Department for Business & Trade (DBT), and UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) allocations from ten Lancashire local authorities.

Boost’s local authority partners are Blackburn with Darwen Council, Burnley Council, Chorley Council, Fylde Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, Pendle Borough Council, Preston City Council, South Ribble Borough Council, West Lancashire Borough Council and Wyre Council.

Boost offers six core services including: Business Support Helpdesk, Business Advice Service: Growth Catalyst, Scale to Thrive, Flying Start, Access to Finance. The Business Support Helpdesk offers advice and guidance to anyone thinking of starting a business and all new and existing businesses in Lancashire. Businesses located in the ten Boost local authority partner areas are eligible for the Business Advice Service, Flying Start, Growth Catalyst, Scale to Thrive and Access to Finance.

This feature was brought to you as part of a partnership series of stories about business in and around Preston, celebrating start-up and scale-up businesses in and around the city, in conjunction with Boost Lancashire. If you’re thinking of starting up a business or want help growing your existing business then speak to Boost Lancashire or give them a call on 08004880057 or email them to discover all the ways they can help your business ideas to grow.