21.01.05
Food Champions for Business Link

Cornwall is on a roll at the moment – recently voted the Observer's 'best place to be if you are a foodie - it is not surprising that Cornwall's food and drink producers have notched up an impressive tally of awards and prizes. During 2004, 60 national and regional awards went to 22 Cornish food and drink companies, ranging from the BBC Food and Farming Award to the Cornwall Tourist Board's award for regional distinctiveness, international and national drinks awards, the Soil Association awards and Taste of the West gold, silver and bronze medals celebrating some of the region's best produce.

What also sets these businesses apart is that they have all benefited from Objective One investment, and that without any hesitation, all said that their success and business development had been helped by the coordinated information, advice and technical support of organisations such as Business Link, Cornwall Taste of the West and the Cornwall Agricultural Development Team.

Perhaps one of the most impressive is the BBC Food and Farming Award's food producer of the year award, won by Roskilly's at St Keverne on the Lizard. Among the praise from the judges was that Roskilly's organic ice cream is "the best ice cream in the country". The farm's Croust House tea room has also appeared in The Independent as the "Best Place to Eat under £5". Grant aid and expert advice organised through Business Link has helped the family-run business to significantly increase production. New machinery has upped the volume and made throughput more efficient – changing from making small batches of product and freezing it to continuous production cycles.

"It has helped us to move up a stage with production," said Philip Tanswell, sales and marketing director of Roskillys. "We could not have done it without Business Link."

It is almost 20 years since the family-run organic farm, situated in the far west of the Lizard, started making ice cream as a form of farm diversification to bring in extra income. If it had remained only in milk production, it would probably employ family members plus possibly one other. Compare that with the 20 full time and up to 22 part-time employees that make ice cream, fudge, preserves, apple juice, work in the tea room or maintaining the visitor and tourism facilities on the farm.

"This support, and help with shows and marketing, means that we can develop new markets, which helps stop the peaks and troughs in production," he continued. "So we are able to focus on getting the product on sale to buyers in London and elsewhere."

"Roskilly's is a prime example of where this funding should be directed. Not only has it allowed the business to grow but has enabled the core farm business to keep trading" explained Business Link's agricultural contract manager Graham Woolcock. "Not only will the funding benefit Roskilly's but other local producers, as Roskilly's aim is to encourage other farmers in the area to produce various products for them."

Job creation is a key part of the Business Link's remit and one of the fundamental tenets of Objective One investment, and in every case this has been achieved and more.

At the award winning Camel Valley Vineyard, at Nanstallon near Wadebridge, employment has increased over the last four years to stand at the equivalent of eight full time jobs – plus grape pickers during the grape harvest. Sam Lindo, son of the vineyard's founders Bob and Annie, has no doubts about the impact that investment has had for the business, along with Business Link's technical and advice service.

"We are always pushing the boundaries with this business," said Sam Lindo, "and Business Link is an untapped resource. They have people there with a lot of experience and they can always put you in touch with someone who can advise on the best way of doing things.

"We would not have taken the business on to this stage without the grant or the business planning," he added. "That was really helpful. We would look at the plans and think 'that's not possible' but it has all worked exactly as predicted, if not better."

The investment in better quality winemaking equipment in 2002 has already paid off. That year's vintage sparkling wine, Cornwall Brut 2002, has won several awards including the South West Vineyard Association Ray Palfrey Cup for Best Sparkling Wine. Camel Valley also won the Cornwall Tourist Board's award for regional distinctiveness in 2003 and 2004, awarded for generating the most distinctively Cornish product.

Roskilly's is not the only dairy farm in Cornwall to have benefited from taking a close look at its business activities and deciding to find other ways of making the basic product, ie milk, earn a better return. Cheesemaking in Cornwall has been transformed in the last 20 years, with Cornwall producing around 60 artisan, or handmade, cheeses, ranging from the well known Cornish Yarg to baby goats cheeses and rind-washed cheeses.

One of the newcomers on the cheese block is Philip Stansfield, at the Cornish Cheese Company. When he and his wife Carol moved to Cornwall in 1999 they knew that cheese was a way to turn dairy farming into a profitable business. In 2001 the Stansfields launched Cornish Blue – the only blue cheese made in Cornwall – after months of painstaking research and trial cheesemaking.

In 2004 Cornish Blue won the Tesco Cheese Challenge award, beating more than 80 other British cheeses, and prizes at Britain's most prestigious cheese shows, the British Cheese Awards and the Nantwich Cheese show. From doing everything himself –milking cows, making cheese and marketing it – Philip now has three full-time and five part-time employees. He too was helped by advice and investment, both capital grants to convert an old bottling plant into his cheese factory and for support to exhibit at vital trade and consumer shows. As a result the business is poised to expand again, increasing both buildings and cattle numbers to meet demand.

"We would definitely not have taken the plunge without the grant," he said. "You feel more confident with this sort of support behind you, and it gave us the courage to take that big step. It also helped us to expand much faster than we would have done otherwise."

Carleen Kelemen, Director of the Objective One Partnership, said that these different enterprises were all "excellent examples" of the kind of businesses that Objective One is designed to encourage.

"Using Objective One investment means these food and drink producers can expand their businesses while spreading the word nationally and internationally about the great quality of produce that comes from Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly," she said.

What all these businesses have benefited from is the network of so-called umbrella groups, or gateway funds, set up to offer support and business advice and an easy route to Objective One investment. So Business Link works closely with Cornwall Taste of the West, to support small businesses such as these, often run as a solo operation, which means the producer has little free time beyond creating and selling his or her product, to either apply for grants or to stand back and assess how to take his business forward.

"We felt it was important to make the process as easy as possible," said Graham Woolcock, Business Link's Agricultural Contract manager. "It was also soon very obvious when we were setting up these schemes that there needed to be close partnerships between the groups. So that when a business was able to benefit from advice and grants for capital investment, they could then also go to Cornwall Taste of the West for equivalent marketing support to ensure that they got the full benefits of the investment. There's no point expanding production if you can't get out there and market the product to new customers."

Business Link and Cornwall Taste of the West share the work of Kerry Fowler, who is based in the Taste of the West office near Liskeard, but is the technical food adviser for Business Link. There is similar liaison between these organisations and other groups working in the farming, food and drink sector, pulling together Organic South West, Cornwall Horticultural Enterprises and the Cornwall Agricultural Development Team, based in Truro.

"The fact that various gateway funds and partnerships have made it easier for the businesses concerned to receive investment is also very good news." Carleen Kelemen said.

Business Link's capital grant scheme for food and drink businesses in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has been extended for a further two years, having exhausted its original programme worth over £4.2million, including grant funding of £1.8 million, with matched funding from private businesses and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. This has been topped up by additional funds from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, to the tune of £2.9 million, again to include match funding contributions from Defra and private businesses.

Graham Woolcock explained that in addition to business support, business planning and technical advice, his project is offering a new mentoring service.
"This is for businesses that we think might require or benefit from some 'hand holding' during the year they have received the grant," he said. "This is up to a maximum of £1000 and the client does not have to pay anything for this service."

Information on the Cornwall's Food and Drink Partnership Scheme Capital Grants Programme can be obtained from Taste of the West or Graham Woolcock at Business Link Devon and Cornwall on tel:0845 600 9966.

Editor's notes:

Business Link for Devon and Cornwall delivers the national Business Link service to the region under contract from the DTI's Small Business Service. Business Link provides a free information and enquiry service via an information gateway on the web www.blinkdandc.com and via the telephone on 0845 600 9966 to all businesses and those considering starting a business. Additionally It provides impartial business advice and support through a network of partner organisations, which it co-ordinates, and a register of independent business practitioners.

Press Enquiries:

In the first instance, should be directed to press officers Carolyn Daw on 01822 833488, mobile: 07866 697057, email: cdaw@marketing-pr.co.uk. Direct enquiries should be directed via the marketing department to Leanne Lidstone or Janice Brazell on 0845 600 9966.

Clare Morgan
Media Relations Manager
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Mobile: 07973 813647
Telephone: 01872 223439

cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk

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