Positive signs of recovery for Worcestershire company

A Worcestershire signage company, which started life in an attic bedroom 12 years ago, is seeing signs of recovery after a tough year.

As the main signage contractor to Malvern’s Three Counties Showground, Ocean Blue Graphics, owned by Blake and Gemma Hobbs, produces banners, flags, marquee displays and roadside boards for events like the RHS Spring Gardening Festival.

It could only watch as one by one all its 2020 events were cancelled.

But this husband-and-wife team rethought their business strategy, contacted potential new customers and adapted their services to meet a new demand.

The resolve paid off, and they have also recently returned to Three Counties having won the signage contract for the NHS Vaccination Centre now located there.

Blake said: “Our business has been trading for 12 years and sometimes we forget how hard it has been to get to where we are, but we weren’t about to let a pandemic wipe out a decade of effort.”

The slowdown also gave the couple time to explore new business opportunities.

Gemma said: “We created a range of flatpack eco-friendly signage and branded packaging.”

Ocean Blue Graphics invested in a Summa flatbed cutter, which can make short runs of branded cardboard packaging for same day delivery.

“Many local food businesses and restaurants have been offering a takeaway service for the first time,” added Gemma. “Thanks to our new machine, we’ve been helping them with branded takeaway boxes to meet demand.”