Big investments in product development
Published: 7th Dec 2021
Garden furniture and garden structure specialist, Zest is using Glee 2021 to unveils significant levels of new developments in product design and manufacture, management systems and robust and sustainable supply.
The company has made a £400,000-plus investment in product development facilities and personnel. Zest has appointed Neil Sholes into a new role as Head of Product Design and Innovation and has built an ‘Innovation Centre’ at its headquarters.
Neil’s remit for Zest is to spearhead a dedicated team researching and designing new product in line with consumer trends, driving product sustainability and further developing key concepts such as ‘easy build’.
Product Innovation
The Innovation Centre is a state-of-the-art product design and development suite including research and concept development, the latest CAD design technology, a prototyping build area, a production studio, and a marketing zone.
Meanwhile Zest has also recruited an initial four staff with further appointments planned as it ramps up its commitment to supply and a new warehouse management system has also been installed, part of a digital implementation across the board to meet significantly increased demand.
Managing director, Steve Morgan commented:
“Being outdoors, feeling close to nature and enjoying our outside spaces has become more important than ever; and our current products are massively in demand. Customer satisfaction and innovation are both key to Zest and we are investing in both new design ideas and in further enhancing our systems and processes.
“Our goal is to ensure we remain ahead of the game in both product development and consistent, reliable product supply as we expand our range of award-winners.”
The Zest range is made from natural slow-grown sustainable FSC® (C114990) timber and crafted for comfort and style using DFMA (design for manufacture and assembly) principles. The company sells to garden centres, online retailers, and major UK groups.