Alan Barratt - Grenade Launcher

Alan Barratt, co-founder of sports nutrition giant Grenade, sat down with Trailblazer to discuss everything from plane crashes to Cadbury’s. Alan (much like any Grenade product) is full of energy and is was a pleasure to sit down for a few hours with a man who’s done it all.

Tell us a little about your early years…….

My mother was a school lab technician, and my father was a HGV mechanic, which was something of a family trade as it goes. Both of my parents worked incredibly hard, but somehow we never had much money. My friends were able to go on holiday abroad, and I’d wonder why we couldn’t. Not that I’m complaining, there was food in the cupboard, and we had a family car it's just we couldn’t afford the petrol to use that car more than once or twice a month which meant I’d walk five miles to and from school every day. Maybe it was all that walking that made me wafer thin when I was a kid, but it’s more likely there was no meat on my bones because I was a poor eater. I’m a college dropout; I don’t have any academic qualifications beyond those I got at school. In my case, that’s not because I wasn’t capable; I was the bright kid that was a little bored and coasted. As a teen, I was interested in three things the military, wrestling, and action movies. I’d look at guys like Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren and Schwarzenegger and think I want to look like them. That’s where my interest in the gym and weight training began. I was fifteen when the opportunity to gain some work experience at the Chapel gym in Stirchley presented itself, and it’s the best thing that could have happened to me. I was a PT by the time I was seventeen, and I weighed eighteen stone. I’d immersed myself in fitness and all that came with it. I made my first foray into the nutrition sector in 1999 when I set up a company called Fusion. Supplements were just becoming popular in the UK, and Fusion was a sports nutrition distribution business. I’d import supplements from the US, load them up in my van and sell them to gyms across the West Midlands. Getting Fusion off the ground and then keeping it afloat wasn’t easy. I was offloading lorries with forklifts, out day and night selling, but that’s what it takes to build a business, to build wealth. I sold Fusion to a friend in 2009 and what came next was Grenade.

Where did you come up with your brands name?

I fell in love with all things military early on. My grandfather was an ARP Warden in the Second World War, and my father was a military-enthusiast. I think I caught the bug when dad took me to the Royal Marine base in Poole as a child. I didn’t want to leave, but by the time we did, I was hooked. I did try to join the Marines in later life, turned out my eyesight wasn’t good enough. I’d already worked with the military in a small capacity via my first company, Fusion and had plenty of friends in the services, one of whom was in training for the Special Forces. I told him about the new weight loss product I’d developed and asked him to give it a try. When I asked him for some feedback, he told me taking the product had been like "Swallowing a Grenade", and the rest, as they say, is history.

You’ve recently been acquired by Mondelez, how did that come about?

Grenade is a private equity backed sports nutrition company. We first sold a stake in Grenade to Grovepoint Capital in 2014 for £35 million, and in 2017 we made a second private equity deal with Lion Capital valued at £72 million. So, we’ve been on the market since 2014 to a degree, and anyone who wished to invest could make us an offer. This time around, we were approached by two major confectionary companies, one of which was Mondelez International, who own Cadbury's. How could I ignore Cadbury's? I grew up eating Cadbury's chocolate we all did. My father spent many an hour working on Cadbury’s heavy goods vehicles, and I was almost expelled for selling the out of date treats I'd find in the back of those vehicles to the kids at school, so I've a bit of a soft spot for the company. Grenade now has access to the limitless resources and capabilities Mondelez provides, and that potential excites me. Who knows, maybe we’ll do a Cadbury protein shake or bar.

Your advice for those looking to start a business?

Be yourself and stick to your guns! When it comes to Grenade, I’ve stayed true to myself. I've done what I felt was right for the brand. People told me I was bonkers when I first said I wanted to create a protein bar. I was advised not to produce Carb Killa, but I believed in myself and pushed on. Carb Killa became the bestselling protein bar on the market, and Grenade is now valued at $250 million, so trusting your gut is a must. Also, never stop building on or investing in your brand, and never pollute your product or service because you're chasing money.

How has the pandemic affected you?

On a personal level, I welcomed the break from the office and the daily commute. I’d spent years commuting for at least ten hours a week; I can't say I missed that. I chilled out, hit the reset button and enjoyed the time I had to be reflective. I spent a whole week at my home, something I’d never done in the seven years since I’d bought it. I'm not saying I enjoyed the pandemic, but from a business point of view, I did get a kick out of overcoming the challenges it threw up. We focused on what we could control, service and operations and maintained our standard throughout. We managed to achieve record sales during the Lockdown months, so we were doing something right.

Your toughest day in business?

There’s been more than a few. Not sleeping for the best part of two years because I was holding down three jobs. Not being able to pay the mortgage and almost losing my home. Dealing with the damage and product loss we suffered when local gangs broke into our HQ time after time. When someone attacks your business, it feels personal. Feeling like I was under surveillance, knowing they were watching and waiting for us to shut up shop each night so they could creep in and take whatever they wanted. I could go on, but I won’t. There are always going to be hard days. It's how you deal with them that shows your mettle.

Who or what inspires you?

Any person or organisation brave enough to risk it all and take on someone or something bigger and better than themselves. For example, Under Amour, taking on Nike and Adidas. Under Armour were slow to respond to a hot athleisure trend in the US, so they lost market share, but they didn’t give up. They regrouped and entered the rapidly expanding sports and leisurewear market in Asia. Likewise, BA’s decades' old rivalry with Virgin. British Airways had an uncontested stronghold on aviation in the UK. Along comes Branson with a single aircraft carrier, and somehow he still managed to succeed. There are people in my team that I admire. It could be the way they work, their creativity, or how they energise others. There's no one person or thing as such it's more the quality or integrity of a thing or person I admire.

Alan with Sir Richard Branson (Photo: instagram @al_barratt)

Have you had a ‘Pinch yourself’ moment?

So many, and I know I’m fortunate to have had each and every one of them. Launching Grenade with only £27 in the bank, watching that £27 become £35 million three years later. Going up in a helicopter for the first time, learning to fly, finding myself on Necker Island staying in Richard Branson’s room, that was surreal. Driving around the capital in a bright orange fifty-five tonne tank with rugby legend James Haskell. Being CEO of a company valued at $250 million. Taking my parents to Florida, a place my dad had always dreamt of going was gratifying, as was buying my parents a house. I’m grateful for all the experiences I’ve had and will have in the future. Still, nothing beats being in good health or having a loving family and friends. I’m happy to say I’m blessed with all three.

Something people don’t know about you is?

I survived a plane crash! Yes, the very first time I was ever on a plane, it crashed. I was eighteen, and I’d become friends with all sorts of people who came to train at the gym. A guy I was training with told me he'd just passed his private pilot’s license. I mentioned I'd never been on a plane, and he asked if I'd like to come along the next time he went up. That is how my big sister and I ended up in a Cessna at 3000 ft when the engine cut out! There were about 45 seconds between the engines doing the dying fly and crashlanding in an unploughed potato field. While I didn’t panic, those 45 seconds are the longest 45 seconds I’m ever likely to have. One more thing your readers may not know about me, though it's not nearly as exciting, is I was once a bouncer and owned my own security company. I was only bringing in £70 a week working at the gym, so door work was a way of making extra cash, but I still wasn’t bringing in enough. So, I opened a security company and hired all the doormen I’d met that trained at my gym. I did that for two years and managed to save about £200 per week to buy my first home.

And finally, is there a motto or a mantra you live by?

Yes, there is. I always say there are three ways to make money. You can inherit it, win it, or earn it. You don’t learn a thing if you inherit or win it, but you'll learn a hell of a lot if you EARN it!