In January 2024 we said goodbye to the founding Director, and my husband, Ian, after a 15-month battle with Oesophagus Cancer. His determination, positive attitude and stubbornness to try to face a mountain made me, his colleagues, friends and family proud. He is missed every day and will forever be the front person of Innpacked.
Ian set the business up in 2000 when he left a successful career of over 20 years in the trade. He started as a glass washer in a pub in Christchurch in the 1980’s after coming down from Scotland to visit his parents. He went on to co-own a group of pubs and nightclubs in Christchurch and Trowbridge. After leaving this company in the late 1990’s he ran a pub in Christchurch where we started our family.
He wanted to start a new venture and decided he had a lot of knowledge to share. He wanted to help others set up their businesses with the tools and enthusiasm needed to do it right. He knew training and consulting was the key. When the law changed, we moved to delivering the APLH and started to complete personal licences. The business grew organically as we offered other training such as first aid, health and safety, allergen awareness and conflict management qualifications. Most important to us was that delegates left with a qualification, but more importantly with some useful tools to apply to their daily jobs that made their life easier, and the customer experience better.
The business started generating Premises Licences with the support of hugely experienced consultants and over time (and with that little thing called Covid), we bought that in house, and it has gone from strength-to-strength year on year ever since. We have completed over 300 premises licences in the last 2 years, and they vary from hotels to pubs, virtual golf and entertainment spaces to wedding venues and pretty much everything in-between. Over the years we have also done several Premises licences for names you would know from TV and movies too!
Thanks to an amazing team, we got through 2024 while we negotiated life without the man, the myth, the legend and 2025 is about doing him proud, continuing to offer a personalised service and supporting our clients.
We miss him every day, but he will still form part of everything we do going forward.
Kelli Crockard – Innpacked LTD Company Director