The young entrepreneur who turned 拢90 into online fashion phenomenon Pink Boutique has created three new companies as part of a new business group.
Alice Hall left Pink Boutique last October, eight years after she and her mother Julie Blackie each invested 拢45 to pay for the first few dresses which were to steer the pair towards creating a 拢14m turnover business.
Mrs Hall has been working behind the scenes for months on a series of new enterprises, which has led to the launch of Rowen Group, a venture which will encompass a diverse collection of companies, starting with two in the food e-commerce sector and an interior design business.
She said: 鈥淚鈥檓 so excited to be creating new jobs in the region and hope to support other businesses too, and I鈥檓 also looking forward to recruiting talent who are excited to join us on this journey.
鈥淩owen Group, which is named after my middle name, will act as the 鈥榚ngine room鈥 for a series of businesses, providing all the infrastructure, HR, marketing, warehousing and fulfilment they need.
鈥淚鈥檓 starting off with a team of eight, who will work remotely to begin with, and future job creation depends on how fast we grow but we will keep on recruiting.鈥
Mrs Hall has created a food allergy company called Allergy Box and a firm called LowKal, which will sell health snacks online.
The third business, Rowen Homes, will exploit Mrs Hall鈥檚 creative side, which has been honed since last October when she started a part time diploma in interior design.
As part of the new group, Mrs Hall 鈥 whose work with Pink Boutique earned her a place on Forbes 30 under 30 list 鈥 is setting up new offices at Baker鈥檚 Yard in Gosforth, Newcastle, the former Greggs Bakery site which has been given a modern makeover by developers Adderstone Group.
Work is currently under way to create new offices in a section of the yard called the Stottie Shed, where Mrs Hall will have also have a rooftop terrace to host photographic shoots and networking events.
New jobs, including digital specialist roles, are also being created by Mrs Hall, who has already taken on four new staff members after carrying out interviews via Zoom.
She said: 鈥淭he food e-commerce sector isn鈥檛 one we鈥檝e had experience in, but then I didn鈥檛 have experience in fashion when I started Pink Boutique. Pulling from my life experience, it鈥檚 all about seeing gaps.
鈥淎llergy Box is going to be a food allergy store, making it faster and easier to shop online if you have any food allergies.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really hard to shop if you have allergies that mean you can鈥檛 have dairy, coconut, soy or egg, for example, and it takes so long checking all the labels.
鈥淥n the homepage for Allergy Box you鈥檒l be able to tick the boxes for the allergy you have, which will then bring up the products you can buy. And it鈥檚 going to have lots of snacks so that people with allergies and intolerances won鈥檛 feel they are missing out.
鈥淭he second business is LowKal, an online store selling healthy snacks. I鈥檝e lost count of the diets I have been on and I struggle on a diet where I can鈥檛 have a treat.
鈥淭his online store will have treats you can buy and still stick to your programmes, showing exactly how many calories are in them while also emphasising that this is for health purposes.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking to stock a certain number of lines for the sites to get started off but I鈥檓 looking to expand it and want to hear from local producers.鈥
She added: 鈥淚 really want to champion local businesses so want to hear from everyone who manufactures low calorie products, snacks and treats.
鈥淏oth businesses tap into growing markets and what these last few weeks have emphasised is that people are happy to order online, so I鈥檓 really excited for the pair of them.
Ian Baggett, CEO of Baker鈥檚 Yard owners Adderstone Group said: 鈥淚t is great to be able to support a brilliant North East entrepreneur.
鈥淲e have been overwhelmed with enquiries in recent weeks, which we are sure is indicative of the positive spirit in the region鈥檚 business community. The flexible space on offer at Baker鈥檚 Yard seems perfectly suited to businesses adapting to the new market conditions.鈥
