Photo: Ruth Huxley (managing director of the Great Cornish Food Store and founder of industry body Cornwall Food & Drink) and Bex Tonks (Farmer and CEO of St Ewe Free Range Eggs) at one of the St Ewe farms in Cornwall.
Businesses across Cornwall are experiencing significant growth and development thanks to the new Great Cornish Food project.
This project has already approved applications for grants of up to £5,000 for twenty-five food and drink producers, demonstrating how small grants can make a big difference.
St Martin’s Vineyard: Brewing Success on the Isles of Scilly
One of the grant recipients is St Martin’s Vineyard on St Martin’s, Isles of Scilly. Owned and managed by Holly Robbins and James Faulconbridge since 2020, the vineyard also sells bottled beer brewed by Holly. The new investment will allow Holly to triple production of popular ales such as Ganilly and Menawethan, named after two nearby smaller islands.
Holly expressed her gratitude, highlighting how the grant is essential for the sustainability of their business. “It is enabling us to invest in a new brewing system. That’s so good for us in so many ways because wine production is limited by the number of vines we have and by the variable weather,” she said.
St Ewe Free Range Eggs: Scaling Up to Meet Demand
In stark contrast to the small-scale operation of St Martin’s Vineyard, St Ewe Free Range Eggs, based at Grampound Road near Truro, is set to double its production to six million eggs per week by the end of the year. The family-run company, which currently supplies three million eggs a week to various outlets, is using the grant to develop the skills of its nearly 70-strong team.
CEO Rebecca Tonks highlighted the transformative impact of the grant on employee training and development. “This grant is transforming what we can offer employees for their training and development, ranging from health and safety to general wellbeing,” she said. It will also help St Ewe share scientific data about egg quality with farmers, resulting in less waste and improved profitability.
Boosting Cornwall’s Agrifood Sector
The Great Cornish Food project is delivered by the team behind the Great Cornish Food Store in Truro and funded by the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Ruth Huxley, managing director of the Great Cornish Food Store, explained the project’s goal: “Our aim is to channel a significant element of the Good Growth funding directly into a range of businesses from the Isles of Scilly to the Tamar Valley.”
Huxley also emphasised the simplicity of the application process and the intentional focus on relatively small grants. “We want to show how a cash injection even of this size can transform a business if it’s well thought out,” she added.
The project is already showing promising results, with a diverse range of food and drink producers investing in their businesses and looking forward to the positive outcomes.
The Road Ahead
As the Great Cornish Food project continues to distribute grants, the future looks bright for Cornwall’s food and drink producers. The project stands as a testament to how targeted financial support can bolster local businesses, foster innovation, and drive sustainable growth in the agrifood sector.
For more information on Great Cornish Food go to www.cornwallfoodanddrink.co.uk and www.greatcornishfood.co.uk
