Member Article

Exclusive interview: Maria Whitehead, Founder of Hawkshead Relish

Hawkshead Relish produce bespoke handmade chutneys, jams and relishes in a restored 16th century barn on the edge of Esthwaite Water in the Lake District.

It has seen great success both in the UK markets and abroad with an annual turnover of £1.2m and 25 employees.

Lake District entrepreneur Maria Whitehead talks to Bdaily about what makes Hawkshead Relish different, the importance of enthusiasm and its plans to expand.

Maria said: “We aim to give the greatest customer satisfaction wherever possible. We love what we do and hope that this is reflected in the service and quality of our product.

“The biggest challenge for us is keeping ahead of the competition, being creative, and developing innovative products that lead the field in quality and flavour.

“The easiest thing for us is being enthusiastic about our products, we love what we produce and are very proud of them, but equally we have a huge passion for what we do and so spreading the word and marketing it is made much easier as a result.

“Travelling the country and the world telling people our story and getting them to taste our product is the best job in the world.

“We are always growing the business in one direction or another.

“We are now selling our relishes in 30 countries around the world, and we would love to expand into other foreign markets.

“Life is a series of crossroads, the trick is knowing which turn to make and not being too big to know if you have gone wrong to return and head in another direction.

“We constantly need investment to grow. As soon as we finish one project, another comes up and any capital soon gets spent on the next one.

“We look at various sources from regular bank loans, to grants and funding opportunities and we try and take advantage of any grants that are going to help us finance some of the bigger projects, especially when they are creating new jobs.

“I find the Business is GREAT website really helpful as a first port of call. It’s a brilliant source of information with a finance section that offers advice on the grants and funding routes available for small businesses.”

Hawkshead Relish is an ambassador for the Business is GREAT Britain campaign. Visitwww.greatbusiness.gov.uk to find out more about how government support could help your business.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophia Taha .