A Gloucestershire food business specialising in dietary requirements has benefitted from the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
Award-winning Bay’s Kitchen creates sauces, soups, stocks, and gravies specifically designed for people suffering from dietary requirements. These include Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), as well as people on Gluten Free, Dairy Free, and Vegan diets. See the full range at www.bayskitchen.com
The loan, backed by Triodos Bank, will allow the business to expand its product lines. As well as this, the funding supports the creation of a brand-new sales and marketing role.
Bay’s Kitchen, based in Cheltenham, began trading in 2018. CEO and Founder, ‘Bay’ Burdett herself has suffered from IBS for many years. Following official diagnosis and medical advice, Bay switched to a Low FODMAP diet (find out more about FODMAPs at www.bayskitchen.com/low-fodmap-diet)
Bay realised that creating Low FODMAP meals from scratch was time-consuming and wanted to combat this.
As well as being Low FODMAP, Bay’s Kitchen’s dishes are developed by trained chefs and dieticians.
We spoke to Ben Haynes, Commercial Director at Bay’s Kitchen, who said “When we initially approached our high street bank for a CBILS loan, they immediately said no without even speaking with us. It is great that SWIG takes the time to understand the business. I was impressed with the process, as it matched the entrepreneurial culture we have at Bay’s Kitchen.”
SWIG’s business manager, Nicola Mapp commented “The impact of Bay’s Kitchen is incredibly far-reaching. Anyone with IBS, or similar conditions, will understand that many things can trigger an ‘episode’, the main triggers are diet and stress. For the people who suffer, diet can be a main cause of stress – so reducing worry over diets has had a big impact on their customer’s lives”.
We have business loan funding available in Gloucestershire and beyond.
SWIG Finance is a non-profit company that supports viable South West businesses that can’t secure sufficient funding from their bank. By empowering underserved SMEs to overcome their financial barriers, we are working to create a more balanced financial ecosystem.
We’re growing every year. In 2021/22, we lent £10.8m to 502 businesses, helping to create and secure over 1,000 jobs and generate £32.3m. For more information visit https://www.swigfinance.co.uk/social-impact-report-2022/
If you’d like an informal chat about your funding requirements, get in touch with our friendly and professional team to see how we can help: info@swigfinance.co.uk / 01872 227 930.