For Food & Farm Innovators
Agri-food Business Support Programme
Together with Mid and East Antrim Council we are providing farm and food innovators in the Mid and East Antrim area with a bespoke package of support to help them achieve their business ambitions and take their agri-food innovations to the next level. SPROUT is a unique business support programme designed specifically for innovators and game changers in the agri-food sector.
Solution/Activity
Each Sprout participant receives 30 hours of funded consultancy. This isn’t just 30 hours of meetings and listening to people talk, we work with each participant to identify the skills, expertise and resources they need to achieve their grand challenge and then source that support from our VentureFolk members and wider networks.
SPROUT provides each participant with a curated team of experts to help find, refine and launch an innovative agri-food business opportunity. This might include creative, technical, design, legal, or financial support - whatever is needed to help achieve the challenge that is set by the participant when they join the programme.
Status/Outcome
We’ve had the pleasure of working with a range of ambitious family farms, artisan food brands, innovative product inventors and passionate producers representing the best of agri-food innovators from across Mid and East Antrim.
Some examples of the outputs that have been achieved on the programme include:
Designing a brand identity for Slemish Market Garden’s new range of organic mushrooms including naming, logo and packaging design and launching social media channels.
Building a new online trade ordering system for Glenarm Redspark Lamb and organising farm visits for chefs and restaurateurs to grow this part of the business.
Helping Spear & Arrow Bone Broth to complete a brand refresh, secure their first wholesale contract and register as an InvestNI client.
Launching a crowdfunding campaign for Carrickfergus Cheese and creating a professional promo video to help raise awareness and drive donations.
