Member Article

Morrisons spots Marie's bags of potential

A budding female entrepreneur from the North East who specialises in innovative bottle and gift bags has just signed a deal with a major supermarket chain to supply a selection of bottle bags in time for Father’s Day. Stupid Bags Ltd is set to supply Morrisons with bottle bags entitled ‘Best Dad’ which will sell in around 250 stores across the country.

Marie Difolco set up Stupid Bags two years ago to fill what she saw as a gap in the market for fun, creative bottle bags. The bottle bags are a two-in-one product that act as a gift bag and greetings card in one. Each bag carries a slogan covering one of the many reasons why people might buy a bottle of alcohol as a present, and All Stupid Bags have a ‘safe drinking’ message on the back. Stupid Bags are currently available at Fenwick’s department store in Newcastle City Centre as well as a number of independent wine and gift stores across the North East.

Marie said: “I don’t see myself in direct competition with the greetings card industry. I’m looking to encourage wine chains and supermarkets to place the bags next to the wine, creating a true impulse buy that hasn’t been possible before with this type of product. “I’m over the moon about the order from Morrisons and we’re already in talks with other major retailers. It’s really difficult for new businesses to break into the big chains and I realise what an opportunity we’ve been given.”

Marie said: “The North East is a great place to set up a business, there’s lots of help available from places such as Business Link, One North East and the UKTI. Most people I’ve dealt with in the region have been very supportive and encouraging. People genuinely want to see you do well.”

For more information, visit, www.stupidbags.com.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .