that was ; now , over the past two-to-three years , everyone knows what that is ,” O ’ Toole says with a wry smile . “ There ’ s really been a start , stop , start , stop rhythm to commerce . During COVID-19 , everything completely shut down , and then , coming out of it , everything just shot back the other way . Now , we have macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges that continue to make business even harder .”
As a co-manufacturing company , the key to surviving and thriving in the face of such difficulty has been ensuring constant communication and collaboration with sourcing and supply partners ; luckily , O ’ Toole is determined to continue building and strengthening partner relationships for the benefit of the business and customers . But another core element has been willingness to adapt and reinvent .
“ To give an example , there are certain raw materials in our products ; our product ingredient makeup is highly clinically studied and there are ingredients that come from all over the world . If you have 30 of those ingredients in a product and one has a major constraint , you can ' t make that product ."
A cost-effective solution was identified to resolve this ingredient issue , though it required careful planning to ensure the formulation was not just similarly effective , but safe for consumption , too . Time had to be taken to ensure that the ingredients used
58 October 2022