Covering every branch of manufacturing from clothing to transport, the ‘Made in Britain’ marque offers the coveted confirmation that goods being sold by a business have actually been produced here. As a Derbyshire-based supplier of high-performance construction materials, YBS Insulation has been accepted into the prestigious campaign – originally dreamt up by Denver Hewlett, CEO of Stoves to help consumers and specifiers identify products made in this country.
Made in Britain (MiB) adheres to advice on country of origin labelling included in the Trade Descriptions Act 1968, while going further to explain this means: “the country of origin is therefore the country in which a product last underwent a final treatment or process resulting in a substantial change.” It is, presently, the only official mark for British manufacturers and is registered with UKIPO across 30 product classes.
Simon Sharkey, YBS managing director, explains the importance of being a member of MiB: “We joined the scheme in November 2018 and it has been a key differential over our competitors. This allows us to be more flexible and provides better control over our manufacturing process. It also means we can drive product development.”
Visibly, membership gives the manufacturer licence to use the distinctive marque, which has been made available in multiple version and file types so designers can use it across packaging, in print, on products and in social media. Members all receive a Marque Guidelines Handbook explaining how to make the logo look correct across hundreds of different applications.
By coming under the umbrella of the collective marque, YBS has been able to grow its business through accessing the MiB Directory of 1000+ fellow members to find new buyers, suppliers and procurement solutions. Other benefits include member workshops where companies network, learn from each other and from experts in marketing and sales. For many, it is a chance to enhance their social media profiles through training, or even to develop future partnerships and leverage collaborative opportunities.
Although Denver Hewlett asserts that people do not necessarily buy because a product is British, they do like the reassurance of seeing a marque that guarantees quality. While for YBS Insulation, which is celebrating 25 years of manufacturing and distributing a wide range of insulation products across the UK, joining ‘Made in Britain’ presented a natural progression to its expanding business model. Plus, of course, in our ever more environmentally conscious world, customers across the market crave assurance that their purchases have as small a carbon footprint as possible.
