Daniel's Delights began home-cooked in 2007 and has grown to deliver chocolate on a global scale from a 17,000 sq ft factory in Stoke-on-Trent. Factory automation and major supermarket contracts marked huge steps forward for the family-owned business, now run day to day by Managing Director Ken Harrison with Anthony Copeland managing office and accounts.
The cocoa market is volatile, swinging with seasonal demand and weather. Growth brought its own pressure: supermarket contracts and automation required additional working capital to support growing payments to cocoa farms in Colombia. Even with invoice factoring in place, a full cash conversion cycle could stretch to four months before customer payments arrived.
In summer 2023, Anthony and Ken came to Lenkie for an instant cash flow solution that could sit alongside existing finance facilities and keep pace with supermarket demand.
ithin days, the business had access to its credit facility and had begun closing the cash flow gap. Suppliers can now be paid instantly, letting the team prioritise their cocoa partners — a benefit that has only grown as cocoa prices trebled against low yields from global warming.
The facility's fixed pricing means that whatever the state of the market, the business can reliably buy from suppliers as little or as much as needed. With no monthly subscription or non-usage fees, usage scales up and down without extra cost.
The journey
01
Facility live within days of first contact in summer 2023
02
Instant supplier payments: cocoa partners in Colombia paid on time, every time
03
Scaling with the seasons: no subscription or non-usage fees, so the facility flexes with demand
Anthony Copeland
Office and Accounts Manager, Daniel's Delights
Sanjeev Jeyakumar
CEO, Lenkie
Fifteen months into the relationship, the facility has become an essential cash flow ingredient through volatile seasons. With the 2024 No.1 Amazon ranking for Easter eggs secured, the chocolatier plans to take full advantage of eCommerce in 2025, with Amazon distribution maximising output from the newly expanded factory and seasonal sales know-how as the key to what comes next.
4 months
cash conversion cycle bridged by the facility
17,000 sq ft
factory in Stoke-on-Trent
No. 1
Amazon ranking for Easter eggs, 2024
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