A doughnut manufacturer, which supplies supermarkets including Tesco and Iceland, has created two new jobs and forecast a sales increase of £75,000, following support through the Lancashire Manufacturing Growth Fund.
Simply Doughnuts Ltd based in Blackburn, owned by Shiraz Master, produces long shelf life doughnuts, which stay fresh for up to 20 days and has received a grant to help the business grow.
The doughnuts have a natural advantage in retail environments because the longer shelf life reduces the risk of having to throw away products past their sell by date. They can also be ordered less frequently in larger numbers, reducing transport costs, stock control work and shelf stocking operations.
Owner, Shiraz Master, received one-to-one sessions over a 12-week period to help improve the businesses, this included help to evaluate existing systems, communication skills, strategy and planning and how to improvement current processes and operations.
The Lancashire Manufacturing Growth Fund, part of Boost; Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub, helps Lancashire manufacturing businesses increase capacity, improve processes, innovate and access new markets.
Boost; Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub is led by the Lancashire LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership) and Lancashire County Council, and supported by funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Shiraz said: “The support helped to improve the overall performance and profitability of the business and as a result we have created two new jobs and forecast a £75,000 increase of sales.
“We were able to identify where we had bottlenecks and seek solutions to improve this. We were also able to identify what we needed to do to maximise customer value while minimising waste.
“Additionally, we developed a marketing strategy covering areas including target markets and products as well as looking for opportunities for growth, focusing on short term and long term customers and how to effectively market our products to secure long term contracts.”
He added: “The support provided gave me the opportunity to seek expert advice in order to identify and overcome barriers within my business and to continue to thrive and grow.
“Upon completion of the programme I feel I have a lot more knowledge. Starting up and growing a business is never easy and having access to specialist manufacturing support has been invaluable.
“The advisor had a vast amount of knowledge and was able to address all my concerns. I feel like my time spent with them was highly beneficial and has given me the support and motivation to continue growing my business.”
Manufacturing advisor, Nigel Goodrich, said: “Simply Doughnuts is just one example of a manufacturing business identifying an opportunity to grow but needing help to get there and knowing what to do next – and that’s what we can help with. It’s great to see the business continuing to go from strength to strength.”
The Manufacturing Growth Fund supports small and medium sized manufacturers across Lancashire and is funded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to drive job creation, the introduction and launch of new products and to improve productivity. For more information and to access the fund visit www.manufacturingnorthwest.com
Boost Business Lancashire has received £3.8m of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Department for Communities and Local Government is the Managing Authority for ERDF. Established by the European Union ERDF funds help local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding
