Speciality Bites with
Paul Hargreaves
Chief executive of Cotswold Fayre
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“A reality check”
09 October 2017 Speciality BitesI was encouraged to see so many start-up food businesses represented at the Bread & Jam Festival last week. My Last Word article in this month’s Speciality Food Magazine reflects more on the sheer numbers coming into the industry at present -
“A proliferation of start-ups!”
26 September 2017 Speciality BitesI am not sure what the collective noun is for start-ups, but proliferation will do for now. When I started our Young Entrepreneur of the Year Competition six years ago, there were hardly any young people starting businesses. The... -
“Inflation – good or bad news?”
18 September 2017 Speciality BitesGenerally, the improvement in the strength of sterling was viewed with some relief in my office, but only for fairly selfish reasons. The vast majority of our range is British or Irish, but at Christmas we import more product from... -
“Face to face sales – dead or alive?”
12 September 2017 Speciality BitesI enjoyed my weekend after not having one last week. It will be the same for many who were exhibiting and setting-up the show last weekend. As always, I spent the rest of the week exhausted and “peopled out”, but it... -
“It’s showtime!”
29 August 2017 Speciality BitesSo, despite the hottest weekend of the summer, it is nearly over. I always feel that the Tuesday after the Bank Holiday weekend feels like normal service is resumed, and judging by the number of cars on the M4 this... -
“Green or red?”
21 August 2017 Speciality BitesEarlier in the summer, we surveyed our suppliers on various environmental questions related to their production processes and energy usage as part of re-certifying our B Corp status. We were encouraged by the number of positive answers from suppliers, many... -
“Passing the baton on”
14 August 2017 Speciality BitesThose 10 million of us who watched the 4 x 100m relays at the World Athletics Championships on Saturday night could not fail to wonder at the British teams. Two medals, silver for the women, and gold for the men,... -
“Copying as a route to success?”
07 August 2017 Speciality BitesDid you know that in the early days of hamburger restaurants springing up all over the world, Burger King would never venture into a virgin market. Their strategy was to allow McDonald's to go in first, create the appetite for... -
“Beware the scammers!”
31 July 2017 Speciality BitesIt’s been with us for a while, but those that use emails and the internet to try and extort money from hard-working business people seem to be becoming more sophisticated. There is the long-standing scam of the letter sent to all... -
“Investable?”
24 July 2017 Speciality BitesWe have just judged the finalists for the Cotswold Fayre Young Entrepreneur of the Year. The quality of the six short-listed candidates for the semi-final was absolutely superb, the best ever - things have come on a long way in...
