Simon O'Brien sales and marketing manager, Cricketer Farm "Put simply, you can either lose sleep over the prospect of a large company moving into your sector or seize the opportunity. We have learned over the years that where we innovate, other companies imitate. Being a smaller business means we are able to be flexible and respond quickly to the needs of our buyers. Focus on the unique strengths of your business or product; at Cricketer our product has provenance and regionality, which is important to retailers and consumers. We have a history, award-winning credentials and are committed to making fine quality products that set us above larger competitors, whose focus may be on margins and massive production runs. It is vital to understand your point of difference. At Cricketer, our traditional cheese-making skills, coupled with our knowledge of the healthy cheese category, sets us apart from other dairies." Parveen Vijh co-founder, Eat Natura l "The most important advice I can give small companies is not to be afraid of the big players and to stick to your guns. You need to let your consumers know that whatever made you into the company you are still applies today. Then, when a bigger company comes along, they will still want to buy your products and not make the switch. To achieve this, you need to accentuate the positives of your business and do things even better than before. So, if your brand is all about recyclability, then you need to be even more principled on the environment so that you stand out even further from the crowd. If it is about taste, improve your recipes or use better ingredients. When larger players moved into cereal bars, we worked to be more natural, more premium and more indulgent than before. Small companies should remember that bigger companies can enter their patch but they can't steal their soul. Just look at the success of Innocent."