Appleton Woods Ltd. & Manchester BIOGEL Partnership Going from Strength to Strength

By Danny LayzellNov 9 2021

Appleton Woods Ltd. & Manchester BIOGEL

During Lab Innovations AZoNetwork caught up with Sales and Marketing Manager, Luke Housley (LH)  from Appleton Woods Ltd. and Sales Manager, Dr Jessica Hutchinson (JH) from Manchester BIOGEL. for a quick chat about the products they were exhibiting and also the challenges they had faced over the last 12-months.

Appleton Woods have partnered with Manchester BIOGEL to become their UK distributor and sell their range of synthetic peptide hydrogels – PeptiGels®. These products are specifically designed for use in 3D cell culture, spheroid and organoid growth and are chemically defined and formulated to meet every cells’ need, and can be used in 2D and 3D cell culture.

What brings Appleton Woods Ltd. to Lab Innovations today? (LH)

Trying to meet face-to-face again with customers and re-engage them with what we’re about. We’ve got a very loyal and long-standing customer base so it’s great to see and catch up with them in person and not just through a Zoom screen.

What about Manchester BIOGEL - why are you at Lab Innovations today? (JH)

We are here today to meet with customers and because we were put forward for the ‘Most Impactful Emerging Technology’ at the Lab Awards.

Video Credit: AZoNetwork / Appleton Woods Ltd. & Manchester BIOGEL

We provide fully synthetic peptide hydrogel scaffolds that are used in 3D cell culture. They're an animal free alternative to the leading market product. We are a start up and it’s an emerging technology so we are very happy that we have won the award! It’s great to have been recognised for the work we’ve been doing.

Can you tell me about your upcycling scheme? (LH)

Video Credit: AZoNetwork / Appleton Woods Ltd. & Manchester BIOGEL

The PeptiGels that Manchester BIOGEL supplies don't use any animal products, which is great. We are also showcasing our sustainable upcycle scheme. You can recycle gloves, tips, and face masks. We all know that over the last 18 months, we've seen a huge increase in the amount of plastic waste, particularly with PPE, so we've got this initiative in as well.

What have been your main marketing challenges over the last 12-months? (LH)

Not seeing people has been the challenge but of course we’ve made it work and customers have been engaging in new ways but you can’t beat face-to-face conversations with people.

We’ve done a lot more digital marketing over the last year. Our meetings have been on Zoom but we’ve been able to free up resources to work on our SEO and other areas of digital marketing too.

What about the next 12-months? (LH)

It is going to be a hybrid stance taken from us because not everyone is comfortable with meeting at the moment. We’ll come and see as many people as we can but also make use of the technology for clients who prefer to communicate in that way.

What about the next 12-months for Manchester BIOGEL? (JH)

The next 12 months are all about growth for us. Since the pandemic began we’ve been pushing forward with our digital marketing strategy, trying to do as much as possible digitally to grow the company and we are looking to do more of that going forward.