I’ve just finished my third year of business [really can't believe its been that long, its flown by!] and I must say I am only just learning the rules of print and photography.  That has to be  ‘little and often’. Take photography – I can have some brilliant product shots taken, but a few months [...]

  My best marketing investment ever in terms of Return on Investment [ROI]?  There is only one answer! My 99p Topps Tile which I used at Food shows to try out my new strapline of ‘Posh Pop’ before I committed more spend and resource to it.  Armed with my trusty tile and a piece of [...]

I love listening to Podcasts of Radio 4′s Bottom Line when I get a minute.  There’s some great little pithy videos on the BBC site called ‘Watch my Bottom line’, where the guests record a minute’s worth of business advice, which I love!  Its a little goldmine of great business learnings – go check it [...]

I was invited last Thursday to be a ‘dragon’ at Brundall Primary School.  I joined 6 other ‘dragons’ to put the budding entrepreneurs of Year 6 through their paces. We heard 7 pitches in total – ranging from T-Shirts to fitness videos.  And if truth be told – they were just amazing!  It was hard [...]

I rarely drink when I am out………….why? probably  because I don’t drink much alcohol to start with, and plus my driving license is much too important to me to risk loosing for a glass of wine. I make lovely soft drinks here at Breckland Orchard, I’m immersed in the world of non-alcoholic drinks, I love [...]

Last Friday was the third anniversary of having launched Breckland Orchard – yipeeee! My feelings change – on one hand it doesn’t feel brand-new, but at the same time three years in the life of a new brand and a new business is nothing at all!  I am loving the challenges and the pure enjoyment [...]

I was in Viriginia a few weeks back – lets be honest, it is hardly the cutting edge of coffee-shop trends in the US [I guess you'd have to go to one of the metropolis's to really see that] and also I was there on a Farm Shop conference. Nevertheless I was curious to see [...]

Did you spot Chloe and myself on BBC’s The Fixer with Alex Polizzi? The programme was about Denver Mill just outside Downham Market.  The Mill is run by Mark and Lindsay Abel, helped by daughter Sally and her fiancee Duncan.  Alex helped them to decide on the focus and priorities for Denver for the future. [...]

If you are going to open a ‘Ham’ shop then you really need to go for it eh?  If ever there was a shop which delivers what it promises on the outside then it’s the Ham Shop in Williamsburg. Its a really lovely fine food shop – full of ubiquitous hams [of course], speciality preserves [...]

Friday is the start of Feast East – and that marks exactly three years since Breckland Orchard started!  I can hardly believe it was March 2009 that this whole adventure began! I do remember vividly booking Feast East in January 2009, not knowing if I would even have a product to take to the show.  [...]