Gloucestershire’s next big food producer takes home investment of a lifetime, after winning a competition organised by The Midcounties Co-operative
Deborah Flint, producer of Cinderhill Farm’s sausage roll and ‘Foggy’ pasty, has secured a £10,000 investment and an exclusive product listing in all 52 Midcounties Food stores in Gloucestershire, after winning The Midcounties Co-operative’s inaugural Food Glorious Food competition.
Deborah, from St Briavels in Lydney, was crowned victorious after impressing judges with Cinderhill Farm’s ‘Sausage Roll of Exceeding Enormity’ and ‘Foggy’ pasty at a Dragons Den-style pitch and was awarded the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity every budding entrepreneur dreams of.
The cash injection and exclusive product listing will form part of the Midcounties Best of our Counties range and will help to get the growing brand into the hands of more shoppers with a love of quality, locally produced products.
Deborah will also receive business development support and mentoring to ensure the products are a success, as well as a marketing package to help launch them into the stores.
Deborah was one of ten finalists to pitch to the judging panel. All ten contenders, including Ella Rauen-Prestes from Fitbakes and Phil Penwarden from the Cheltenham Wine Company, received listings in Midcounties’ stores in the county, as well as a free, one-day business seminar at Hartpury University and Hartpury College.
Speaking about the win, Deborah said: “We’ve worked so hard to create the perfect sausage roll and can’t believe that our product has been crowned the winner of Food Glorious Food. We’ll be using the £10,000 investment to buy some much-needed additional cold storage and expanding our team so that we can bring Cinderhill Farm’s products to more people in our community and beyond.
“The competition has been such an exciting process and it was fantastic to meet all the judges on the panel, who are all incredibly inspiring. We’re proud to be flying the flag for Gloucestershire food and drink producers and proving that farming still has a huge role in the community here.”
The Food Glorious Food competition was designed to highlight all that is great about Gloucestershire food and drink and was open to an existing producer, a farmer looking to diversify or simply someone with a great idea.
Phil Ponsonby, CEO at The Midcounties Co-operative, said: “Our Food Glorious Food competition is all about showcasing what makes Gloucestershire food and drink some of the best in Britain, and we’re proud to be able to support Deborah and Cinderhill Farm to achieve their ambition.
“The standard of entries was incredibly high, and Deborah’s stood out to us as an innovative and delicious product. Her sausage roll and Foggy pasty use the highest quality ingredients sourced from her own farm and other local producers and she is committed to helping her community by employing local people. Deborah and Cinderhill Farm truly represent everything that our Best of our Counties initiative stands for.
“Look out for the products of all ten finalists on the shelves in 52 of our Gloucestershire stores as part our Best of our Counties range, which forms part of our long-standing support for local food and drink producers in the counties we operate.”
The Midcounties Co-operative Food Glorious Food campaign was ran in conjunction with Hartpury University and Hartpury College, Folk2Folk and The Growth Hub.
Find your nearest branch of The Midcounties Co-operative here.
