Growth is fueling Brunswick small businesses despite inflation, supply chain troubles

The Hippie Chick Granola Co. has reached its limit.

In the back of their small Oak Island bakery, owners Ken Guhse and Rich Montgomery, hand-make and package the all-natural granola that's sold at their storefront and shipped across the country.

But after four years in business where they've seen exponential growth, production is at capacity. It's a great problem for a business to have, and one that's becoming more common in Brunswick County.

"It's not a great time to own a business right now but the past four years it's been great to own this business," Guhse said. "COVID was really a boost for us."

Across the nation, small businesses have struggled to survive amid COVID restrictions, supply chain issues and rising inflation. But despite facing the same obstacles, some Brunswick beach town businesses say they've seen their best years since the onset of the pandemic.

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"For me, it was a blessing in disguise," said Matt Troetti, owner of Oak Island based Never Ever Boards. Troetti has been selling surf boards, paddleboards, wakeboards and skateboards online since 2018, and opened up a retail store a year later in May 2019.

"It really allowed me to hone in and focus on the online portion for a year, bringing in new products and finding out what the market wants," he said.

At the beginning of the pandemic, his online retail experience helped when his store was forced to close its doors. But as more competitors moved online, he had to re-adapt to stand out.

Troetti cultivated a loyal base of skateboarders by holding skate tournaments and becoming involved in the campaign to reopen the Oak Island stake park. The move fueled his growth and allowed him to be less dependent on tourism during the winter months when there are less people paddle boarding.

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Guhse said the Hippie Chick Granola Co. has a similar story, growing with each stage of the pandemic.

They relied heavily on online orders in the beginning, but soon in-person sales picked up with locals looking for a reason to leave isolation. As they added curb-side delivery and became sample-serving staples at local farmer's markets, their business diversified and relied less and less on the tourist season.

Just last month, Hippie Chick surpassed their August sales numbers, which are typically the best of the year. In the past year they've also started shipping nationwide, fielding orders from as far away as Washington and Puerto Rico.

"We're scared because we're even turning away re-sellers now," Guhse said. "We're at capacity now and if it's too much, if it stops being fun then we'll stop doing it."

Both business owners credit the area's rapid growth, which has made the tourist season longer and increased their full-time customer base. However, much of their success has come from how they've individually navigated their obstacles.

Never Ever Boards had problems getting products to sell, as surfing and skateboarding surged in popularity over the past several years from their inclusion in the Olympics and people wanting to get outdoors more.

Troetti said by keeping back-up suppliers for his back-up suppliers -- even before the pandemic -- he was able to keep inventory high enough to meet the growing demand.

The cost of coconut oil, used in most of Hippie Chick products, has increased by 70% in the just the past few months. In response, the company has raised prices.

"Unfortunately it seems most people were expecting that," Guhse said. "Nobody has commented so far."

Karen Sphar, executive vice president for the Southport-Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce, said while the area's growth has particularly helped tourism-based businesses, that hasn't been the case across the board.

"It's been a fortunate byproduct of being at the beach that we were insulated from some of the more tragic stories," she said.

"That doesn't mean it was easy because there was a lot of things that caused turmoil for our business community. But it is nice to be at the beach."

Reporter John Orona can be reached at 910-343-2327 or jorona@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Small businesses in Brunswick beach town benefit through pandemic