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When cocktails meet desserts: Gosforth startup looks to take premium puddings UK-wide

Gosforth mum of three Lucy Anderson has combined her love for of desserts and cocktails by launching her own premium pudding business, TipsyPud.

The budding entrepreneur is hoping to take her venture, which encapsulates the spirit of a cocktail within a sumptuous dessert, nationally as her creations are now ready for market.

With ambitious plans to see TipsyPud available across the UK, the thirty six year old is using investment platform CrowdCube to raise the money needed.

Lucy said: “It has been a long journey to get where we are now with many ups and downs along the way, but when I look at the end products I know it has all been worth it.

“The challenge now is to attract the investment we need to help us launch TipsyPud nationally. The beauty of this platform is people can invest as much or as little as they want as every little contribution helps.

“I often invest on CrowdCube myself. I think it is a great way to make an investment and help new start-up companies. The traditional investment routes are often chicken and egg scenarios because you need to get to a certain point to obtain the money you need, and the smaller funding programmes are no good because you need more than they can give you.

“I have had so much help and support from the business community in the North East, from advice and introductions to people offering reduced cost services because they believe in me and the products I have created.

“I particularly want to thank Keith Gill, who has brought his wealth of knowledge in the food industry and has helped me build a team to take the product nationwide, and also Hedley McEwan and Elizabeth Shaw.”

Lucy has created desserts in a variety of cocktail combinations, using the flavours from the liqueurs the desserts are infused with, including the light and smooth Russian with mellow tones of coffee to the zesty lemon drop Martini with a strawberry twist. More desserts are currently being developed.

In addition to Keith Gill, the man behind the Phileas Fogg brand, the TipsyPud team comprises a partnership with Dot Blue Commerce; e-cpmmerce expert Jon Walsh, who is the EU marketing director of the John West group; and Michelle Kenny, an events specialist. There are also several local businessmen in advisory positions.

Lucy is hoping to move into new premises in the autumn and will look to create five jobs by the end of 2016.

Lucy added: “I am a mum of three and I know how difficult it is to juggle work and family lives. I can recall feeling devastated at missing my children’s school plays when I worked in an employee role.

“In my previous business I always valued my employees and respected their commitments. If they had a very important family or life event they told me about it and we worked around it, so as a consequence we had virtually no sick days and we all worked together as a team and everyone felt valued. It is another aspect I am passionate to create within TipsyPud.”

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