Abbeydale sales director Dan Baxter turned to Growth Hub for support across a host of areas of the business as the brewery looked to continue their impressive expansion.
Dan said: “I attended a Scale-Up course lead by both Sheffield universities on management and insight and found it really beneficial. I met Neil Wilkinson there from the Growth Hub who offered to come down to the brewery to listen to what we wanted to achieve and see how he could help.
“We talked about what was needed and where we are as a business, and where we want to be. Neil was able open my eyes to the opportunities we had and helped me review the business as a whole; whether it was distribution, warehousing, design, trading, cashflow, everything was discussed and some real outside the box thinking came from it.
“We were able to put into place long term goals, identified a roadmap of getting there, and plan out step-by-step how to meet our ambitions. As well as some deep thinking on what the business could look like in 10 or 20 years time.”
“By the same token, realising and working towards new business and where the Growth Hub can assist in at as regards training and development. More importantly the resources that are potentially available to us. We are now reviewing our exporting and trade and investment activity. As a team we are now very much looking forward to commissioning our new canning facility and also focussing on the potential of our new brand – Heresy lager. We’re looking at expanding our ambitions in these areas with solid planning on not only launching a product but sustaining the ever growing demand.”
“I have big ambitions for the growth of the brewery and thanks to the help of Growth Hub I am confident we will achieve those ambitions. Even if it’s just an acknowledgement that what we’re already doing is putting us on the right track.
“I fully intend on keeping our links with Neil and the Growth Hub and know that we can turn to them if needed. For example, with our own canning machinery and will no doubt speak to Neil about using this in future business proposals and growth projections.
“For me, Growth Hub was an untapped resource. We didn’t know that this level of support, especially at no cost, was available to us. It’s been invaluable. The Growth Hub offered a wealth of expertise whilst understanding that there is no “one size fits all” approach and clearly tailored advice to the complexities of our niche markets in the craft beer world.”
Any business searching for support to develop their business should contact our Gateway Team on 03330 00 00 39 or growthhub@sheffieldcityregion.org.uk to be signposted to the relevant support available.
