Cornish Country Flowers

Company name: Cornish Country Flowers
Contact details: Jenny Rogers
Website: www.cornishcountryflowers.co.uk

The company need

Having started the business in 2008, with one polytunnel, and expanded production of flowers into 4 polytunnels for the coming season, the company had grown out of our existing packing and storage facilities. To market the flowers in perfect condition to the standard demanded by their major customers, they needed to be able to refrigerate the flowers and holly once picked.

A larger fridge and packing facility was required, as existing facilities enabled them to only sell a limited range of flowers and holly 10 months of the year. In summer the lack of refrigeration space led to spoilage and wastage in hot weather.

The company aim is to grow and cut a complete range of traditional Cornish flowers on their land all year round to enable them to produce a quality complete bouquet of locally grown, mixed seasonal flowers for retail or wholesale sale, and satisfy the growing demand for their flowers.

The business also needed a website capable of more than ebay sales.

What BIP proposed

That Jenny needed to:

1. Attend a combination of workshops on websites, marketing and finding and securing new customers
2. Undertake some training on developing her own website
3. Develop a business plan and apply for Local Action Group grant funding for a new packhouse and fridge
4. Attend some floristry courses to develop her own practical skills

What was delivered

Through working with an adviser on one to one basis at home at a time convenient to her and her young family, and by email, the following was achieved :-

A thorough business plan for Cornish Country Flowers.
A successful grant application.
A qualification - a NVQ Level 3 in Preparing for Business Enterprise.
Floristry courses and a bespoke website development course, partially fuded through the LANTRA funded Women & Work Programme.

Since her involvement with Business Forward Jenny has doubled her original business and branched into growing other flower varieties, including winter flowers like violets and anemones.

Timescales of work and when completed

July 2009 - March 2010.

Testimonial from Client

"The flower business has put me in control. It's so flexible I can be a Mum and still run a business. I already had the talent to grow flowers but the skills I have learnt are invaluable. Through working with the Business advisers at BIP, I have grown in confidence and I feel better equipped to tackle the marketing side and expand" Jenny Rogers.

Jenny has recently been featured in the local magazine Cornwall Today -  Click here to see the article