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Snoutwood Trotters – Bringing home the bacon

For a PDF version of this story please click Snoutwood Trotters

Snoutwood Trotters – Bringing home the bacon

Unusual birthday present inspires young couple to fulfil their business ambitions

Two pet Gloucester Old Spot pigs, bought by Rebecca Scott’s father as an unusual 21^st birthday gift for his daughter’s partner Liam Tickle, have inspired the young couple to find new ways to, quite literally, bring home the bacon.

From a tiny smallholding for those first two pigs in 2009, Liam and Rebecca have created the hugely popular free-range pork shop, Snoutwood Trotters, based at Laburnum Farm in Warrington.

Liam and Rebecca spent years sourcing the country’s best breeding stocks and now boast one of the finest free-range pedigree Gloucestershire Old Spot pig herds in the country. The awards cabinet is fit to burst, just like the flavour of their award-winning fayre; the farm is attracting hundreds of customers every time they organise one of their sell-out fortnightly pork sales; and families adore the pig paradise they’ve created together at the farm.

Despite Snoutwood Trotters’ success, from a start up in 2009 to the flourishing farm food business of today, Rebecca and Liam are keen to take the business to the next level – with the support of the Cheshire and Warrington Growth Hub.

“Neither Liam nor I come from a farming background – so far the business has grown organically – but we’re incredibly ambitious and ready to take the risks we need to in order to achieve some real growth over the next few years”, said Rebecca, who has only recently committed herself full time to the farm. “We’ve always sought out great advice, and the Cheshire and Warrington Growth Hub has been incredible support for us as we work our way through the next – and probably the most exciting and important steps – for our business.”

Critical to the next phase of the company’s growth is stripping out significantly high costs of outsourcing the butchery needed to deliver its award-winning produce.

Together with their Cheshire and Warrington Growth Hub business adviser, Rebecca and Liam have devised a business plan and sought a range of funding options to build their own on-site butchers shop – helping them dramatically reduce their production costs and giving them the flexibility to sell their pork products every day.

As well as bespoke one-to-one business advice for the two young entrepreneurs, the Growth Hub has sign-posted Liam and Rebecca to a range of funding options, including the five-year Cheshire LEADER Programme, a fund set up to help grow operations like theirs in rural areas of the county.

“We’ve grown steadily, but we know we can do so much more and, with the Growth Hub alongside us, we’re ready to go the whole hog to achieve our ambitions!” added Rebecca.

For more information about Snoutwood Trotters visit http://www.snoutwoodtrotters.co.uk. For a PDF version of this story please click Snoutwood Trotters

If you’re a small or medium-sized business ‘crackling’ with ideas and want help to grow, the Cheshire and Warrington Growth Hub can support you by visiting http://candwgrowthhub.co.uk.