Running a growing business today comes with a multitude of pressures—from rising costs to regulatory complexities—while still needing the space to innovate and expand. Sarah Guest, Managing Director of Rowan International, shares her insights on the key challenges shaping the excess stock industry in 2026 and beyond as well as the opportunities emerging from them.
Despite being a small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) with just 54 employees, Rowan International faces business rates charged at the same level as major global corporations like Amazon. The changes in 2026 have added £100k in cost alone, with no benefit or added value to the business. It's a significant pressure and just one of the many challenges confronting Rowan and other wholesalers today.
Brexit has also brought further complexities. Last year, Rowan handled 15,000 pallets moving between the UK and the EU, saving hundreds of thousands of product from going to waste. However, this effort involved us completing 1,600 customs documents and paying over £450k annually in fees – all such movements were totally free before Brexit so this is a cost we've had to absorb.
Other rising costs include increases in national insurance and rent. While I'm eager to invest in new talent to help our growing business, the non-recurring nature of Rowan’s operations means any new commercial employee typically takes six months to start contributing meaningfully. So we've had to ask this question: can the company afford to bring on new staff under these conditions? To balance these pressures, Rowan is turning to technology and AI to ease administrative burdens and free up staff time for higher-value work. The goal is to give employees back about 25% of their time, enabling them to focus on tasks that require human insight rather than overtime or weekend work.
Some of the tools being used include AI-driven note-taking software like Fathom, document drafting assistants including Gemini, and Large Language Models (LLM) such as ChatGPT that help summarize and process information more efficiently. This smarter allocation of tasks helps Rowan grow while controlling costs.
Seizing new opportunities through diversification
In 2026, Rowan is expanding its product categories while also sourcing new regions to work with. Recently, Rowan is pleased to have opened new markets in countries including Malta and Slovenia. Rather than relying on the same manufacturers having the same issues year after year, we're testing new areas for expansion and to that end have recently acquired a significant amount of high-quality homeware from a business who've had trouble with their supply chain. If successful, these new categories can only diversify Rowan’s offerings and give us more an exciting opportunity to grown.
Moreover, challenges such as the worrying news of the blockages in the Strait of Hormuz have created excess stock of products beyond traditional fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), including food and drinks. Rowan’s mission is to solve these problems by finding alternative sales channels for companies, thus preventing excess stock from ending up in landfill, and supporting the circular economy.
Navigating regulatory changes: the PPWR challenge
The EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is an EU law aimed at reducing packaging waste and promoting sustainability. It sets requirements covering packaging design, recyclability, recycled content, labelling and reuse which manufacturers. While an admirable regulation that - as a company focused on sustainability - we support, it can create urgent challenges for manufacturers which may lead to more product going to landfill. One well-known food & drink company had to reformulate the coating on their cans, creating a limited window to sell their existing stock on the open market.
Rowan was able to step in when they asked for help, using our two warehouses – in Essex and the Netherlands – to hold thousands of pallets and thus get the product on the open market before the deadline kicked in, effectively moving a year’s supply in just a short number of weeks. By acting quickly and offering flexible support, Rowan helped this manufacturer get the pre-regulation product into the right hands without contributing to landfill waste.
If there's one piece of advice I can give suppliers, it's to encourage them to speak to Rowan early. Pick up the phone and we can discuss what we can do for you, we're always quick to adapt and think out the box in order to take on new stock and get it to the best customer possible in the time required. But the earlier you speak to us, the more we can do!
Emerging product trends
We've seen a few categories emerge and sell well for us in the last few years. The sports supplement category is booming in the discount retail space, including sports nutrition. Products including whey protein, creatine supplements, electrolyte drinks and other supplements are increasingly seen as everyday essentials by consumers, with retailers including discount grocers dedicating more shelf space to them. We're also trying out brands in the functional drinks category.
In addition, the UK pet products market shows steady growth, especially in premium, health-focused offerings. Owners are treating pets like family members, driving demand for natural food, supplements, and specialized products.
Emerging trends like the rise of weight-loss drugs may reduce impulse purchases of snacks and confectionery, impacting certain retail categories. Businesses such as Rowan may well have to rethink convenience store offerings such as chocolate and crisps if the demand for them continues to decline. Our job is to be innovative, entrepreneurial and keep our finger on the pulse of what is happening and adapt with it so that consumers continue to find the things that they want in the shops that are on their doorstep.
The combination of rising costs, supply chain disruption and regulatory changes creates a complex environment for the excess stock industry. Yet within these pressures lie significant opportunities. By embracing technology, enhancing operational efficiency, and diversifying markets and product categories, businesses like Rowan International can not only adapt but thrive amid disruption.
Resilience remains the key to success in this dynamic marketplace.
