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To insulate the business from any currency swings, Red Clay only sources its ingredients from within the US. These include sweet peppers, raw honey and white wine vinegar.<\/p>\n
“We started with all Southern products, and then as we’ve scaled, we’ve needed more peppers and more honey,” Ms Fienning says.<\/p>\n
Now, the company sources peppers from up and down the east coast of the US, from Florida to New York, and uses honey manufacturers in Georgia and Colorado.<\/p>\n
Back in the UK, experts say that currency volatility is just one of numerous challenges for small firms. “I would say in general small UK companies are being challenged on several fronts,” says financial commentator Todd Benjamin.<\/p>\n
“These include Brexit, a weaker currency if importing materials, higher labour costs due to wage inflation, higher taxation due to the chancellor’s announcement in the Autumn Statement, and an economy that is weaker for the foreseeable future.”<\/p>\n
In Istanbul, Pinar B\u00fcy\u00fckbalci, associate professor of entrepreneurship at the city’s Yildiz Technical University, says that global investors are increasingly wary of investing in emerging economies that have seen their currencies drop sharply against the dollar, such as Turkey and its lira.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n