Catching your drift…

Matt Cumber started Drift five years ago as (sea) bass fishing began to take off in the UK and he wanted an alternative to expensive imported gear. Today he is look for buyers around the world, as he explained to TTW…

 

TTW: Why did you start Drift?

 

Matt Cumber: Back in 2017, I noticed that lure fishing for bass in the UK was really starting to explode in popularity. For years I’d been using costly imported tackle but it was becoming increasingly difficult to get hold of. My plan was to design products that worked just as well, whilst being offered at a lower price point to make lure fishing more accessible.

We launched our first product, the Drift Shad, into shops in summer 2018. It was a killer combination of a soft plastic body and a lead head in a range of colours well suited to our coastline. Our customers thought so too and our stock sold out within the first month!

 

TTW: What made you do this?

MC: My passion has always been encouraging more people to take up fishing as I believe spending time outdoors just does you good. Bass fishing, in particular, is a thoroughly engaging way to fish as it requires complete focus on what you’re doing.

 

TTW: How has the journey been so far?

MC: It’s been a real adventure. The business has grown strongly every year as we’ve designed an ever greater range of products that suit what UK bass anglers are looking for. We’ve also taken onboard sales reps who do a fantastic job of introducing our products into high streets across the country.

Looking ahead to 2023, I’m incredibly excited about our latest product line up. It’s our largest to date and has expanded but kept the focus on what works for our retailers. We’ve also spotted some future opportunities to apply our approach to other areas of the bass tackle market.

 

TTW: What were the main challenges for a small business like yours getting started in the tackle trade?

MC: A lack of reputation was a challenge initially. A persistent approach on my part, combined with retailers’ willingness to give us a try, helped us over that hurdle. Supply forecasting has been a constant challenge too, as we’ve worked hard to maintain good stock availability, whilst working within the post-Covid operating environment.

 

TTW: Do you have any standout products or best sellers?

MC: Our weedless Shoal Shads have been a huge success and rapidly overtook our original non-weedless products. We’re also about to launch our weedless DRX Sandeel and we’ve overhauled our packaging, which we know will drive even greater volumes.

 

TTW: Why should dealers stock your products?

MC: We remain true today to what we set out to achieve back in 2017; a product that is effective, tough and competitively priced. We can also deliver more quickly that our competitors, which helps to underpin a strong proposition for both dealers and anglers.

 

TTW: We assume you are looking for retailers or distributors around the world?

MC: We’re interested in international partnerships with both retailers or distributors that enable us to put Drift products into the hands of more anglers and get more people out there chasing bass!

 

Drift.fishing

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