North East dog treats entrepreneur scoops national award

Northumberland based Jasper’s Dog Treats has beaten off stiff competition from around the UK and been awarded ‘highly commended’ in the Best B2C (Business to Consumer) Start-Up category at the inaugural Ready for Business Awards 2013.

Ready for Business, the investment readiness start-up programme that supports new enterprises across England, has delivered more than 2,500 new jobs nationwide since its launch last summer.

The programme aims to create 6,000 businesses with 10,000 new jobs, is supported by the Government’s Regional Growth Fund and Barclays and is delivered by the Cavendish Consortium, a partnership between some of England’s leading enterprise agencies together with the National Enterprise Network; in the North East region, Ready for Business is provided by TEDCO Business Support through a network of local agencies.

The national finals, which were held at the House of Commons in London, saw the 22 start-up businesses from throughout England that had previously triumphed at regional level gather to compete for one of three prestigious titles.

The Awards were created to celebrate the cream of business start-up, enterprise and innovation and were attended by 150 invited guests including MPs, leading figures in enterprise support and representatives from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Jasper’s Dog Treats was established by Katie Kirkup from Ovingham in September and launched at this year’s Great North Run. It offers a handmade, healthy and practical range of treats as well as the ‘Dogs that…’ product range which focus on people who enjoy specific activities with their dogs such as hiking and running.

Katie is now putting in place plans for the future with proposed range extensions as well as the establishment of stand-alone production facilities in rural Northumberland, bringing much needed employment to the region.

The judging panel - which was facilitated by Kevin Horne, chairman of the Cavendish Consortium – featured David Hitchcock of Barclays, Amanda Hurford from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Titus Sharpe, chief executive of MVF Global and winner of the Sunday Times Tech Track 2013.

They selected Jasper’s Dog Treats to receive the highly commended accolade due to its innovation, clear product focus and understanding of the market place in which it looks to operate. They were also impressed by the commercial growth plans and potential for job creation.

Katie Kirkup of Jasper’s Dog Treats said; “Setting up your own venture is extremely hard work but to have our efforts recognised both at a regional and national level is a huge achievement and will spur us on as we move forward with our plans for the future.”

Kevin Horne, chairman of the Cavendish Consortium added; “In what was a highly competitive category, Jasper’s Dog Treats was truly worthy of its highly commended accolade and we wish Katie well for the future and the development of what is a well considered and commercial venture.”

The other local winners were Sarcriston based Remote HR Solutions which triumphed as the Best B2B Start-Up for the North East and Fastglass from Washington which was named as the region’s Best Growth Potential Start-Up.

Tina Lowes, Barclays regional business director for the North East said: “SMEs are the life blood of the North East economy and it’s great to see Katie’s business flourishing in the current climate. As a pet loving nation, owners are always seeking alternative and healthy options for their pooches and Katie’s business is also providing much needed jobs for the local economy.”

Ready for Business offers those looking to start a business the best preparation for success with concentrated support in the pre-start stages of their new business including intensive enterprise training via free Barclays Get Ready for Business Seminars, one-on-one help from a dedicated business advisor to explore and assess their business ideas and offer expert analysis into developing a business plan.

http://www.jaspersdogtreats.co.uk