Posted on 13th Apr 2011 @ 10:18 PM

Cambridge First - 29th January 2011

Cambridge firm’s touch of success with Olympics contract

A thin metal ice scraper the size of a credit card was the idea that launched Whittlesford company Touch of Ginger. Now – just five years later – it’s won the race for an Olympic Games and Paralympic Games contract worth an estimated £1 million. “The ice scraper idea came out of necessity really,” said managing director Adam Cash.

“You get outside, you haven’t got a scraper and you end up using your credit card on your windscreen – and then you trash your credit card. “The idea was for something a little more robust than that – and it works as a great promotional tool as well because people keep it in their wallet.”

Hundreds of thousands of the scrapers have been sold and the company has grown from its original three founders to a workforce of 12 now. Wallet tools have followed on from the ice scraper – thin metal spanners, bottle openers and so on – as well as ‘metal origami’ models that begin life in a thin credit-card-sized sheet of steel. The company’s other core product is its lifestyle kits – plastic pods containing small useful accessories for travel, sports and a range of other leisure activities. These have also expanded into games sets – for example, travel chess and backgammon.

It means the product range now stretches from a £2.50 ice scraper to a £2,500 pack of stainless steel and gold playing cards. And now it has come up trumps and been awarded the licence to supply London 2012 branded gifts for next year’s Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. They include a set of five unique miniature metal origami athletes – covering track cycling, athletics, archery, weightlifting and fencing.

Touch of Ginger is keen to use UK manufacturers wherever possible – 90 per cent of its products are made in the UK. And it uses 70 per cent recycled steel.

The company expects to grow its business by 50 per cent as a direct result of its involvement in London 2012. But first it has to get over the hurdle of working out the likely demand for its 2012 products and making sure it turns in a winning performance. “One of the major headaches we have is how to plan – how much stock to build in preparation,” said director Gary Moore. “It’s like a firework – once you’ve lit it, you can’t go back to it. What you haven’t built, you can’t sell. And if you sell out, then you can’t rebuild.

“So it’s a really difficult equation which we haven’t even approached yet really. It’s a high risk thing we’re doing for a small company.”