We have a very special episode this week in which we interview Ted and Betty Vlamis, the founders of the Qualatex brand who made Pioneer into one of the biggest names in the balloon and party industry. It is safe to say that they are balloon royalty, and it’s a real treat for us to talk to them. So without further ado, onto the first question we asked them:

How did you get into the balloon industry?

Ted and Betty we were out of work and looking for something to do, when they came across Pioneer who were primarily producing surgical gloves for the medical industry. Pioneer did also produce latex balloons, as the manufacturing process of the two products was similar. However, they were trying to run the balloon side the same way as the medical side, which just wasn’t working. Ted and Betty bought the manufacturing plant and a customer list along with it, deciding to do something different. Betty says that “everyone thought they were crazy” for trying new things but that they also “loved it from the very start”.

What piece of advice would you give to someone starting their own business?

Betty says that “you need to learn as much as you can about the basics… like any product, you need to know your product but more importantly you need to know your customers”. You need to find out who your customers are and what their needs are, then help them to be successful. This is what Ted and Betty did with Pioneer; if you can help your customers make more money selling balloons then they will help your business grow. Ted adds that the “only reason to be in business is to take care of customers”. If you’re a retailer, distributor or even a manufacturer, your job is to create the best possible experience for your customers. If you take that as the basic premise, then you have a very good chance of making a successful business.

How do you manage to maintain the passion, enthusiasm and drive to succeed?

Betty concludes that this is because they “work with fantastic people, we have a fantastic team and I think they keep us enthused about what we are doing”. The new ideas and innovations that people come up with, particularly in décor, help keep the industry fresh. When Ted and Betty started out, they never dreamed of where the industry would head and some of the fantastic things that people would come up with. Whether they’re balloon twisters, decorators, or anybody else in the business, it is the people that they work with who create so many great ideas that keeps them passionate.

Ted sees so much more that could be done: “Those of us in the business think that everybody knows about balloons and that’s not true, it’s only a small portion of the world’s population that really has any experience understanding balloons. So it’s our passion to say “how do we share that with more and more people?”

One of the mission statements that they put into the company is to have at least 51% fun, saying you have to be having more fun than anything else. This is something that we echo here at Balloon Market; why do something that you don’t enjoy?!

Is it true that Betty still approves every design?

No, in fact some designs Betty sees for the first time when she’s at the Spring Fair! The people that design, create and execute the designs for the balloons work in the creative department, and this comes under Betty’s wing. If there’s a new colour, she gets very involved and has to approve new colours but otherwise they have a tremendous team that create the great Qualatex designs all over the world. Sometimes the UK has very different designs to countries such as Mexico or Japan for example.

Of all the designs, what’s your favourite balloon colour or design?

Ted loves the 6 inch heart. He thinks it’s the most under-utilised balloon they have, and there is so much they can do with it. They used to take 6 inch hearts with them and leave them in restaurants as a thank-you. One time when they did this in Rhode Island, a waitress seemed very upset so Ted and Betty left a thank-you balloon and the waitress came up to them at the end saying she’d “had a lousy morning but that had made her day”.

One final important question that everyone is dying to know. You’re in the UK a lot but you live in the US… what’s the best chocolate? Hershey’s or Cadbury’s?

Cadbury’s definitely! Without a doubt, and the darker the better! They did say that they had been to Herhsey’s Pennsylvania and the whole town had smelled like chocolate, but they still prefer Cadbury’s.

It’s safe to say that Ted and Betty are an inspiration to anyone in the balloon trade, just taking that business and making it what it is! If you were up at the Spring Fair and you visited the Qualatex stand, you would have seen the new products that Qualatex are bringing in this year. They will be introducing these to the market over the coming months, and we will be getting those onto our website throughout the year. If there is anything that you would like right away, please let us know and we will start selling it as soon as it’s available.

That’s it for this week, see you next time!

Rob

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