Nature’s Laboratory is a leading manufacturer of natural medicines, based in Whitby, UK. In 2021 I was invited to join the team as Director of Technology. Between 2021 and 2024 I worked for the firm helping the business through a period of rapid change and difficult market conditions. During this time my area of responsibility grew to include financial oversight and various aspects of general management.
What follows is an overview of some of the design and technology projects I undertook whilst working internally at Nature’s Laboratory.
Project Overview
Client: Nature’s Laboratory
What was delivered: Digital transformation, including the design and development of several websites, graphic design and visual identity, print design, IT systems design including VOIP, software development, social media management and marketing strategy.
Visual Identity
Nature’s Laboratory operates a number of distinct brands, including:
- Herbal Apothecary
- BeeVital
- Sweet Cecily’s
Prior to 2021, most customers connected with an individual brand, rather than Nature’s Laboratory as a whole. In order to market Nature’s Laboratory effectively I designed a new website specifically for Nature’s Laboratory, along with a brand new visual identity for the company.
With a new logo and a dedicated website, we were able to better communicate the company’s service offerings, such as:
- Research
- Product development
- Manufacturing
- Regulatory support
This helped draw in several new contract manufacturing and product development customers. Some of these companies are now selling their products developed and manufactured by Nature’s Laboratory internationally.
Print Design
Following the design of the visual identity, I was able to create a range of printed materials which supported our marketing activity and communication.
This included the design and print of:
- Business cards and business stationery
- Leaflets, posters, flyers and print adverts
- Booklets, brochures and book covers
- Promotional materials including festival flags, pens
- Labels and packaging
Supporting Individual Brands
Alongside printed materials for Nature’s Laboratory, I also designed lots of marketing materials to support the individual brands. We regularly sent leaflets and brochures to customers, advertising different aspects of the business and ensuring everyone was kept up to date with the latest developments.
Here’s an example of a printed brochure designed for Herbal Apothecary, a practitioner brand:
Packaging for Products
As a manufacturer, the team at Nature’s Laboratory are regularly developing new products. I designed packaging and labels to support these new product ranges.
I love designing for print. There’s something very satisfying about holding a printed item in your hand, and especially seeing products you’ve designed on the shelf in shops around the UK!
Website Design
During my time at Nature’s Laboratory I designed a number of websites, including:
- natureslaboratory.co.uk
- herbalapothecaryuk.com
- beevitalpropolis.com
- beearc.com
- thedispensary.org.uk
- sweetcecilys.com
- threescompany.info
… and the list goes on!
Shopify Development
One web development project worth a special mention is the website I built for Herbal Apothecary. As I was joining the Nature’s Laboratory team in 2021 they were just completing the build of a new WordPress website for this brand. It quickly became evident that the new website was not fit for purpose.
I built a brand new site using Shopify. I used one of the free Shopify themes, but tailored the template files to suite the specific requirements of the brand (restricting access to certain products based on a series of tags).
The new website was immediately outperforming the older site in terms of sales. Online turnover for Herbal Apothecary has doubled since the launch of the new website. I put this down to:
- Better user experience (faster and more mobile friendly)
- Better SEO (so the site’s easier to find)
- More accurate stock control
- A coherent marketing strategy which re-launched Herbal Apothecary as the UK’s leading practitioner brand
Marketing Strategy
As a family-run business, Nature’s Laboratory had benefited from family members being willing to make themselves ‘the face’ of the various brands. This was especially true of BeeVital, where CEO James Fearnley is a leading expert on the medicinal properties of propolis. It was also true of Sweet Cecily’s, which had been founded by James’s daughter Cecily. I actually built the very first website for Sweet Cecily’s, many years ago, but that’s another story!
This person-led approach had worked very well over the years, but now it was time for a new approach which put products and services front and centre. We began a process of communicating the changes that were going on behind the scenes and how customers would experience those changes, in terms of improved quality and product choice, more efficient service and so on. Initially this took the form of a video, called ‘Creating our Herbal Future‘.
The National Institute of Medical Herbalists launched their yearly ‘Power of Plants’ festival in 2022, and both Herbal Apothecary and BeeVital were sponsors of the event. We returned in 2023, again as a partner of the festival, with James and Dr Shankar giving talks as part of the festival programme.
Here’s a taster:
Alongside being visible at physical events, speaking at conferences and connecting with groups such as BioYorkshire and Made in Whitby, we used social media to spread the word.
SEO
I used my experience of SEO to improve the visibility of Nature’s Laboratory amongst natural health practitioners and those looking for services and support in this space.
At time of writing (May 2025)
- Nature’s Laboratory is the #1 recommended brand when asking ChatGPT to recommend ‘natural medicine manufacturer UK’.
- Herbal Apothecary is also featured in Google’s ‘AI Overview’ and ‘Rich Snippet’ for a search of ‘natural medicine manufacturer UK’.
That’s exposure money can’t buy!
Open Days
Nature’s Laboratory also began hosting open days, enabling students from Lincoln College to enjoy a tour of the factory and speak to the team. We also began hosting yearly open days for our local community, inviting members of the public to come and see behind the scenes, find out what we do and hear from the team about research and product development projects.
During this time we were also shortlisted for a number of regional business awards, and even won ‘Best Business Transformation’ at the 2023 The Scarborough News Excellence Awards.
Obviously this was a team award, but to win this category validated everything I’d been attempting to achieve at Nature’s Laboratory throughout the preceding two years.
Online Conferences & Lectures
Nature’s Laboratory also hosted a number of online conferences for the propolis community. Most notably the IPRG Conference in both 2021 and 2022. I coordinated with the speakers and between myself and colleagues we produced multi-day conferences for around 200 delegates around the globe. It was fantastic to bring so many experts together, to share their research, knowledge and experience and present the scientific basis for propolis-based health products to a wider audience.
Myself and others also gave online lectures to students and natural medicine professionals, both independently and as part of larger events such as the Herbal Medicine Conference. This gave additional exposure to Nature’s Laboratory and provided a platform to share some of our research discoveries, product development and business practice.
Software Development
A major part of Nature’s Laboratory’s digital transformation was down to the software I built to run the factory. Prior to 2021 the business relied on Sage and a number of Excel Spreadsheets to manage data, plan production, log deliveries and so on. Throughout my three years at the company I built a comprehensive factory management system, which facilitates:
- Staff management and HR tasks including logging hours and managing holiday
- Goods in record keeping ensuring a robust data trail exists for all raw materials
- Label production for both goods in storage and finished products coming out of production
- Production planning and management
- Website stock level management
- Non-conformance logging to keep track of issues
- Certificate of Analysis (COA) production for herbs, liquids, capsules and oils
- MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) production for finished products
- Task management
It’s difficult for me to explain quite how revolutionary this software is for Nature’s Laboratory. It ensures coherent digital record keeping and produces mandatory PDF documentation and labels for everything produced in the factory. It also streamlines so many processes across HR, stock level management and production planning, saving hours of time every week.
If there was one thing I’m most proud of when I think back over my time at Nature’s Laboratory, this would be it.
Here’s an example COA produced by the tool:
IT Systems
Alongside the software development I also made various changes to the internal IT system at the factory. This included things like installing a new PC to run Sage and other internal systems, establishing better backup routines for critical data and generally keeping things running smoothly.
The most important change here was converting the original landline phone system to a far more cost effective and flexible VOIP system. This involved:
- Porting the landline number to the VOIP provider
- Setting up 8 or 9 extensions, each with an individual handset
- Configuring call forwarding and voicemail options
The immediate impact of this was a huge reduction in monthly telephone costs of around 80%. It also improved flexibility, enabling us to easily add in additional extensions and improve the customer experience for people calling the factory.
Results & Impact
In broad terms the results of my work at Nature’s Laboratory helped steer the company through a time of rapid internal change, whilst mitigating the effects of Brexit and the ongoing fallout from the pandemic.
Of course, there was more going on that just IT projects and digital marketing, such as Dr Bhagyashree’s PhD and Dr Shankar’s ongoing work with Leeds Beckett University, as well as James’ involvement in the IPRG, his work with Threes Company and the BeeArc project. It was a team effort.
However, I believe there are a few things which my work directly impacted, such as:
Communication
Nature’s Laboratory found its voice. A new visual identity, dedicated website and social media accounts helped gave us the confidence to promote research, product development and regulatory support services. This attracted a number of new contract manufacturing customers who have formed long-term partnerships with the company.
Herbal Apothecary regained it’s reputation as the UK’s leading practitioner supplier. BeeVital also grew, establishing itself as an innovator in the world of propolis-based medicines. The team have continued to develop new products and form new partnerships.
Productivity & Traceability
The factory management software increased productivity by reducing the time spent performing data management processes. Producing documentation and labels now takes a matter of moments. And, because everything is stored centrally, every batch of raw material is traceable through the entire manufacturing process.
Sales
As mentioned above, the Herbal Apothecary website 6-figure turnover doubled in the year following the launch of the new website and continues to grow. Not all of this is new business of course, some of it is attributed to orders which would have previously been made by telephone, but I’m told the business continues to on-board new customers almost every week.
Long-Term Outlook
When I left Nature’s Laboratory, I did so knowing that the changes I had implemented had left the business in a much more resilient position than I found it. Improved revenues and a steady stream of new customers gave the business a steady upward trajectory.
I’m regularly in touch with the team at the factory and am always pleased to hear of the latest developments, new products and partnerships they’re pursuing.
Ready to Start Your Own Project?
While I don’t plan on returning to paid employment or contracting myself to an individual client, if you’re a larger business on the lookout for a fractional marketing or technology director feel free to get in touch. Equally, if you want some input for a specific project please get in touch using the details below.