- Elliot Hyams is the founder of SPS Pouches, a flexible packaging supplier created to help startups and growing brands access sustainable packaging innovations that are often reserved for multinational companies.
- He built SPS Pouches to solve a real market gap, tackling the lack of reliable information, high minimum order quantities, and confusion around what sustainable packaging actually works in real-world conditions.
- His leadership is defined by long-term thinking and strong judgement, making confident decisions even when it’s difficult.
- Elliot measures success through repeat business and customer trust, focusing on building lasting relationships by being transparent, reliable and easy to work with – a mindset that supports sustainable growth.
Website: https://www.spspouches.com/
Tell Me About Yourself and SPS Pouches
I’ve spent most of my career working for SMEs because I value seeing how quickly good decisions can make a difference, and I enjoy the challenge of competing with more established companies with fewer resources.
Early in my career, I noticed that much of the innovation in the plastics industry was only accessible to multinational and household brands, giving them a clear advantage when making decisions around sustainability.
This is why I launched SPS Pouches, a flexible packaging supplier that helps growing brands access sustainable solutions for their business based on evidence and performance, rather than marketing soundbites.
What Inspired You To Start SPS Pouches? What Problem Were You Trying To Solve?
Whilst I had always been very fortunate to be given a lot of freedom to implement ideas in other businesses, I relished the challenge to take on even more responsibility and build a business from the ground up. When looking at the pain points for customers purchasing custom packaging, it was clear that many new and growing brands were struggling to access good information, innovations in sustainable materials due to very high minimum order quantities and had a lack of practical understanding on what packaging would work for their products in the real world.
SPS Pouches was created to take responsibility for solving that problem, enabling businesses of all sizes to navigate evolving packaging regulations and compete with well-known brands as they scale.
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What Has Been Your Biggest Challenge So Far? How Did You Overcome It?
One of the biggest challenges has undoubtedly been maintaining good judgement and patience when growth doesn’t feel fast enough. Running a startup inevitably brings periods where things go wrong, costly projects take time to show results, and self-doubt creeps in which really kills your motivation.
Some of the best advice I was given was ‘just keep doing the right things’, and I’ve kept to that by prioritising a strong customer experience with clear processes, building relationships with potential partners, and constantly testing different ways to reach new customers through marketing and networking.
Can You Describe A Pivotal Moment That Significantly Shaped the Direction of SPS Pouches?
A turning point was walking away from what seemed like a huge opportunity at the time, but in hindsight it was the right decision. After spending months working on a project, the terms changed late in the process and going ahead would have represented a risk that wasn’t worth the potential upside of the project.
It was a difficult decision, but it made me realise that not all revenue represents progress. That moment shaped how SPS Pouches operates today, placing greater emphasis on long-term working relationships rather than chasing short-term wins.
How Do You Define Success?
For Your Business: For the business, success is demonstrated through repeat orders and forming long-term relationships. We work with many startups and growing brands operating on tight budgets and timeframes, so customers choosing to come back to us is a strong signal that we’ve been reliable, transparent and easy to work with. If brands continue working with us because we’ve delivered consistently and helped them make good decisions, that’s a good indication the business will continue to grow sustainably.
As a Founder: Aside from the potential financial incentives of starting a business, I’ve felt my confidence grow as the business has steadied, which has been really rewarding for me personally. As time has passed, there has been less need for day-to-day firefighting, decision-making has started to feel less pressured, and I now have more freedom to think clearly about what comes next.
What Advice Would You Give To Someone Thinking About Launching Their Own Startup?
There are so many lessons to learn, so you need to be willing to make mistakes. It’s important to be passionate about what you are trying to build and not underestimate how long it may take to achieve your goals.
One of the best decisions I made early on was to ensure I had experienced people to ask for advice who were at the end of the phone when needed, whether it be business-related or for technical advice.
Also, make sure to get involved in your industry trade bodies, you’ll likely meet people who probably know way more than you, and I’ve found that people are willing to help when you just ask!
What’s Next For SPS Pouches? Any Exciting Developments We Should Watch Out For?
In the coming weeks, we will be launching our new refill spout pouches that support volumes of up to 1.5 litres, a big improvement on the typical 500ml limit commonly seen in the flexible packaging industry.
I anticipate this will be particularly interesting for cosmetics, personal care and wellness brands that want to reduce waste and improve the resource efficiency of their packaging. This represents a meaningful step towards making liquid refill formats more accessible for growing brands, rather than something only larger players can realistically adopt.
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Founder’s Five with Elliot Hyams
Being a successful entrepreneur and startup founder is an impressive feat, but who is the man behind SPS Pouches? Here’s our exclusive Founder’s Five interview with Elliot Hyams.
1. Favourite Business Tool?
YouTube videos have been a great tool for learning technical SEO, which has drastically cut costs.
2. One Lesson You Learned the Hard Way?
The wrong customers cost you more than they pay – effectively, all revenue isn’t good revenue
3. One Future Trend You’re Watching?
The continued growth in e-commerce means that there are loads of startups being formed every day, which creates ample opportunities for my business to support new brands
4. One Quote You Live By?
“It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring“ – Carl Sagan.
5. One Book or Podcast You Recommend?
‘Elastic’ by Leonard Mlodinow – it’s great for anyone interested in understanding how their brain works and the processes that determine the way that they think
Want to be featured as TechRound’s Founder of the Week? Know someone who deserves to be recognised as a founder making waves in the startup landscape? Find out more about this weekly feature and how to get involved here.
