Atherstone sweet treats retailer takes on first apprentice after pandemic pivot

A sweet treats retail business based in Atherstone has taken on its first apprentice after thriving since the launch of its online shop in lockdown.

Lisa’s Sweet Treats is owned by Lisa Organ and until recently she had been managing the day-to-day operations of the growing business on her own.

The business has taken on Alice Porter as a digital marketing apprentice and she will be completing the apprenticeship through college group WCG (formerly Warwickshire College Group).

Lisa’s Sweet Treats was set up in September 2019 and mainly supplied sweet carts for weddings, corporate events and the hospitality sector.

But when the pandemic hit Lisa pivoted the business and launched the online shop and ecommerce business.

This move has seen the business thrive as sweet-toothed customers headed to her website to send gifts to those they weren’t able to see or companies to send thank you gifts to staff during the pandemic.

It has now sent more than 6,000 sweet packages and that success has led to the business moving out of Lisa’s home office and into its first office premises in Atherstone.

Lisa hopes that by bringing Alice on board she can continue to grow the e-commerce side of her business and has plans to recruit more apprentices in the future.

She said: “By taking on an apprentice it will help me to grow my business and take that next step forward. Alice will bring new skills into the business and is already making a massive impact in terms of digital marketing.

“I’ve recently moved into my new premises, so now was the natural time to take on my first member of staff and the apprenticeship route seemed perfect for me. WCG has been really helpful and signposted me to the government support which has made signing-up an apprentice possible.

“My business has grown a lot during the pandemic with the increased demand for online shopping and since businesses have returned to the office our gift service has been given a major boost again.

“As long as people keep buying sweets, I’ll keep growing the business and my plan is to take on more apprentices, move into a bigger office and expand my staff.”

Alice, 22 from Atherstone, had spent time working in retail and four years at college before joining Lisa’s Sweet Treats as a digital marketing apprentice.

She will be studying at Rugby College, which is part of WCG, during her apprenticeship.

“I chose to do this apprenticeship because I wanted to learn new skills in an office environment and not just in college,” said Alice.

“Digital marketing is something that I have been interested in and I’m excited for the opportunity. I’m really enjoying working for a small business too, I’ve always tried to support small businesses so to be part of one now is very exciting.”

John Colclough, Business Development Manager at WCG, added: “Apprenticeships are a brilliant way for small businesses like Lisa’s Sweet Treats to expand and take their operations up a level.

“With the current support available through the government businesses of any size can take on an apprentice.

“Lisa is already seeing the benefits of someone joining with new ideas and a fresh perspective which will help her business to continue on its current upward trajectory.”

WCG offers a wide range of apprenticeships in a variety of industries. For more information visit www.wcg.ac.uk/apprenticeships.