Meet the parents behind the runaway success of LaplandUK’s ‘secret in the forest’
Alison and Mike Battle were fed up with bad Christmas grottos – so they built their own immersive experience. They tell Jennifer Sieg how they’ve grown LaplandUK over almost two decades to become a Christmas staple.
A little Christmas magic
As parents of four, primary school teacher Alison Battle and her hedgie husband Mike had plenty of experience of Christmas grotto disappointments.
A Santa here and a reindeer there didn’t really do it for them – or their children.
“I just felt it could be so much better, that the market wasn’t really honouring this most precious moment for families and children, which to us is so bittersweet and a moment to really treasure and cherish,” Alison tells City A.M.
“If you are very good and have something special, it will spread very quickly.”
So they took each other’s skills sets – business and creativity – and turned them into LaplandUK, a now multi-million pound immersive experience based in Berkshire’s Swinley Forest.
Despite a lack of conventional advertising – the two didn’t want children to ever see any marketing for their ‘secret in the forest’ – growth was almost immediate from the launch in 2007.
Word of mouth did the trick instead, helped by little extras like personalised invitations in the post to each and every child whose parents have stumped up for a ticket, which now run from £59 up to £149.
The two sold 37,000 tickets in their first year of opening back in 2007.
Their business – which now encompasses three pillars: publishing, digital and retail – has seen a turnover growth from £1.1m in 2008 to £17.2m in 2023.
Just this year, LaplandUK sold out of its 160,000 tickets in less than a day.
“The key to success is having an amazing product, having something incredible,” Mike said.
“If you are very good and have something special, it will spread very quickly.”
More than a decade on, operations have certainly changed – and so have their day jobs.
But although the two have gradually built a team which swells to nearly 1,000 individuals around Christmas, they choose to spend as much time in Swinley Forest as possible.
Alison is speaking to City A.M. from the forest on what they like to call their ‘superstar day’ – a charitable day for children with additional needs – which she describes as “the most beautiful day of the season.
“More than anything we just love to see the joy it brings,” Alison said.
Given that it’s a growing family business – and two of their sons are now involved in operations – they say when a team member joins, it’s like joining the family.
“We build our own community and we build our own relationship with them,” Mike said.
The key to unlocking a successful business
Mike believes that for an entrepreneur to succeed, they must first choose a business to build that stems from passion.
“Start with something you love and you’re passionate about doing because if you’re burning the fuel of ‘we’re just trying to make a little bit of money,’ you’ll probably give up,” he said.
But to successfully grow a business, one must also grow with it, the two say.
Growth – both business and personal – comes with being a “student of business,” Mike said.
“You’ve got growth of the business, but what’s your personal growth? The business is going to outgrow you unless you keep growing.”
If their business were to grow at the pace it is now, Mike believes he wouldn’t be fit to run it in five years time without building on himself along with it.
For Alison, the “North Star” of the business, as Mike likes to say, it’s about being brave and powering through the inevitable challenges.
“I think if you are true to yourself and true to your values, and you’re honest and trying to do a good thing, people respect that, and if you respect them back then you’re going to have a good working relationship,” she said.
But innovation doesn’t stop for the two at just imagination, as they soon plan to expand internationally – reaching more and more children around the world.