Midlands based food gifting company creates new jobs via £200k funding

A Worcestershire based food gifting company has secured a £200k loan to support growth through increased marketing and product development, creating eight new jobs.

Ross & Ross Gifts Ltd, based in Evesham, secured the finance from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), provided by the FSE Group, Debt Finance Fund and backed by the Recovery Loan Scheme.

The company was created to address a gap in the market for “quality and original” gifts aimed at people using online sales to sell locally sourced food enhancing products, such as homemade Curing Kits, Food Hampers, British Roasts, British BBQ and Vegetarian.

Ross & Ross Gifts will use the funding to expand its product range, with each range offering a variety of flavours and products including rubs, dusts, oils, jams, salts, sauces and chutney.

The company aims to adapt products to new market trends as all products are designed and developed in-house by the founder, Ross Bearman, and then made by another local business. The Vegetarian range has been created in response to the recent increase in consumers choosing a more plant-based diet.

Ross Bearman, founder of Ross & Ross Gifts, commented: “Due to our existing set-up and the speed with which we can innovate new ideas whilst retaining the quality and premium ingredients that our target customer expects, we are in a strong position to take advantage of new trends and tastes.

“We are delighted to secure this loan to put the impact of Covid-19 behind us, allowing us to drive our expansion strategy forward and add a new focus on personalisation and corporate gifting, both of which have huge potential to grow sales.”

The corporate gift market is said to be worth £78m in the UK, and Ross & Ross will be concentrating on expanding its success in this market through sales of luxury hampers.

Andy Moss, head of fund, Midlands at The FSE Group which manages the MEIF Debt Finance Fund, added: “The business is currently operating a successful multi-channel sales strategy, split into Trade, Distributors and Online.

“The MEIF loan will support Ross & Ross Gifts to drive additional sales via these existing channels, through the engagement of further sales and marketing staff. It will also allow the company to keep ahead of its rivals by supporting in-house product development, ensuring innovation is always at the forefront of the brand.”