A Rossendale couple are set to make lots of dough after attending a free business start-up programme.
Chris and Amy Cheadle have launched their own business called the Northern Dough Co. They manufacture a range of pizza dough products for supermarkets to enable customers to make their own restaurant quality homemade pizza.
Being a new company with a new product, and limited resources, The Northern Dough Co needed to raise awareness of their business and attract potential new customers.
They were given expert help from the new start-up business growth programme Pennine LEAP which is aimed at helping businesses reach their full potential.
Run by Regenerate Pennine Lancashire and financially supported by the European Regional Development Fund, it provides businesses access to a four day Boot camp, Human Resources specialists, social enterprise coaching and international trade expertise as well as access to an experienced business mentor for up to two years.
The couple needed guidance on general running of a business accounts and financial assistance for a variety of marketing campaigns to increase awareness of their product and increase the number of stockists of their product
They attended the LEAP Boot camp and it helped them to organise current operations and analyse where attention was needed in order to grow their business.
Their freshly-made dough balls are currently being rolled out to High Street shops from Glasgow to London. And the couple are close to tying up a deal with Booths which operates a chain of stores in the North West, including Clitheroe.
Chris comes from a family of bakers. His dad Peter and uncle John, who are third generation bakers, run Rink Bakery in Stacksteads where the dough is made.
Chris, 30, who used to be a manager for comparison website moneysupermarket.com, said: “When running your own business it’s very easy to get lost in the detail, and lose focus on the bigger picture. The LEAP workshops gave me the tools and knowledge to not only question where I’d like the business to be in two, five and 10 years’ time, but also the tools to figure out how to achieve the vision.
“My wife Amy often used dough from the family bakery to host pizza parties in our home as an alternative to dining out. When the pizza parties became a huge success, and friends asked if they could take dough home to share with their own families, we decided to create a product that consumers could buy in shops and supermarkets.”
Pennine LEAP is available to businesses in East Lancashire. For further information about Pennine LEAP and the HR seminars, click here or call Regenerate Direct on 0800 612 2029.
