Northumberland luxury hamper business plans for Christmas rush with investment

A Northumberland luxury hamper business is preparing for what it expects to be its busiest ever Christmas with the help of a five-figure investment from the North East Small Loan Fund Supported by The European Regional Development Fund.

Heather & Bale sells a range of luxury handcrafted hampers and gifts to private and corporate clients right across the country, with the vast majority of its products being sourced from independent producers across Northumberland and North Tyneside.

Based in Alnwick, the business was set up by co-directors Carolyn Wilson, Susan Smith and Laura Millar in spring 2020, right at the start of the pandemic.

Despite the various restrictions and the hurdles of remote working, the team maintained its commitment to fulfilling orders, helping customers across the UK bridge the distance between friends and family when physical presence wasn’t possible, and managed to completely sell out of the first online product range several weeks before Christmas.

The business has continued to grow organically every year since, and it has now worked with regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers to bring in the capital it needs to accelerate its growth through the rest of this year and beyond.

The £50k investment will be used to upgrade the business’s digital marketing and advertising campaigns, as well as to support recruitment. It will also help further enhance the company’s presence in the corporate gifting sector, where it already works with clients including Paul Smith, Accenture and Broadchare Partners.

As well as selling via their own website, Heather & Bale also features on a number of other well-known online platforms, including Not On The High Street, Yumbles and FodaBox, and stocks around 150 different artisan gift designs and hundreds of artisan products at any one time.

The Heather & Bale management team was introduced to NEL by Geoff Maclauchlan at the Rural Business Growth Service.

Carolyn Wilson, director at Heather & Bale, commented: “Our commitment to delivering high quality products has always been central to our journey. We carefully select items that resonate with our own values, prioritise products that are a treat for the senses and maintain a shared commitment to sustainability.

“The success we’ve achieved so far speaks volumes about the effectiveness of this approach and underscores how this commitment to purposeful sourcing distinguishes us from others in our industry.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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