Highlands and Islands Enterprise
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Case study

Spotlight on Knoydart

Knoydart Wild Venison on slate

A unique opportunity

Knoydart boasts some of Scotland’s most stunning scenery. Accessible only by boat or a taxing hike, the rugged and remote landscape can pose unique opportunities and challenges for those building a business on the peninsula.

Managed, primarily, by the community-led Knoydart Foundation, an entrepreneurial spirit is prevalent, with new ventures emerging to bolster local employment and sustainability.

Chef and crofter Kristy Brown joined Knoydart Trading to help kickstart the charity’s venison butchery subsidiary, Knoydart Wild Venison; while Yorkshire-born Louise Costello fell in love with Knoydart on a trip to the West Highlands, moving here to set up Coffee Knoydart.

While unique in nature, both new businesses had a shared ambition to showcase their offering online to those further afield but needed support with marketing and e-commerce. In search of bespoke industry expertise, they reached out to the Northern Innovation Hub’s (NIH) Food and Drink TechHUB for specialist one-to-one support.

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Developing strategies for success

Food and Drink TechHUB helps food and drink producers and supply chain businesses in the Highland Council area grow by providing free business support, technical advice and events.

Louise worked with Food and Drink TechHUB over six weeks to get a handle on their marketing and e-commerce strategy, identifying ways to increase traffic to the Coffee Knoydart website; and Knoydart Wild Venison received support with developing their value proposition, identifying their audience and building a communications strategy.

Raving about their experience, Louise said: “It was so refreshing. You can often get tunnel vision working in a business by yourself. A lot of what coach Kerry [Hammond] was saying was a lightbulb moment – I thought yes, that’s what I should be doing – and now I have the knowledge and skills to execute it.”. While Kristy added: “Some things Kerry said, while they seem straightforward, I wouldn’t have thought about in a million years.”

Food and Drink TechHUB armed us with the knowledge and skills to succeed.

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Online sales offer massive opportunities

Looking ahead, both are eager to implement newfound strategies. Louise plans to elevate her online presence, while Kristy aims to refine social media engagement, armed with the knowledge gained from Food and Drink TechHUB.

Talking about the wider benefits of accessing Food and Drink TechHUB support, Kristy added: “Our location makes it difficult to collaborate with other businesses so it was great to get valuable insight into the market. There are additional charges that others who aren’t so remote don’t have to consider, as well as complexities with regard to staffing and finding the right expertise. Our location also shapes how we move forward, and Food and Drink TechHUB was able to offer us a network of support.”

NIH’s range of programmes are delivered by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and funded through the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal.

Find out more about the Food and Drink TechHUB support here

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About the Northern Innovation Hub

The Food and Drink TechHUB (formally the Highland Food and Drink Innovation Network) is delivered through the Northern Innovation Hub, a funding programme designed to build on and accelerate business innovation.

The Northern Innovation Hub was awarded £11m from the UK Government as part of the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal. The deal is a joint initiative supported by £315m investment from the UK and Scottish governments, Highland Council, HIE and the University of the Highlands and Islands. This programme also receives financial support through the European Regional Development Fund Scotland Programme.

Explore all business support delivered through the Northern Innovation Hub.

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