Enterprising Worcestershire businesses celebrate after winning awards

Four innovative and ambitious businesses in Worcestershire are celebrating after being declared winners at this year’s Enterprising Worcestershire Awards.

The awards, held on the 18 September 2019, showcased the start-ups and thriving businesses in the region that have benefitted from the support offered through Worcestershire County Council's Enterprising Worcestershire programme.

The Enterprising Worcestershire Awards ceremony was held at Hogarths Stone Manor Hotel in Kidderminster. The daytime event was hosted by Free Radio's Richard 'Hursty' Hurst, and featured guest speakers Anita Hill, owner and founder of Comfyse, and Emma Jones MBE, founder of Enterprise Nation.

Worcester-based Brodrick’s Podiatry collected the award for ‘Best Start Up Business’, in the most popular category, due to their excellent use of resources, market research and diversification to meet local needs.

Beach Art Glass won the award for ‘Best Growth Business’ thanks to their sustainable approach to increasing sales, which has led to them reaching over 100 retailers worldwide. The Malvern-based designer and maker of luxury glass and silver jewellery also picked up the hotly contested ‘People’s Choice Award’ – a category that celebrates how businesses engage with their customers and is voted for by the people. Over 3100 votes were received for all entrants, with the results changing daily.

The award for ‘Most Innovative Business’ was received by Wychavon-based Craftibeer Limited for developing an online portal that connects small breweries with online customers through providing a premium craft ale subscription service.

‘Best High Growth Business’ recognises a business that has overcome early stage barriers to realise rapid growth potential and this year’s award went to Ecrubox Digital. The Pershore-based digital marketing agency has more than doubled turnover, profits and staff numbers since first receiving assistance through the Enterprising Worcestershire programme. This combined with their ambitious plans for expansion also led the judging panel to award them ‘Business of the Year’.

Enterprising Worcestershire Project Manager Samantha Preece said: “The event was a huge success and it was fantastic to celebrate the innovation and commitment to success that our winners have demonstrated. We would like to extend our thanks to all of the businesses entered in this year’s awards, and for their customers who voted in the People’s Choice award. We look forward to supporting more businesses through the programme.”

A full list of Enterprising Worcestershire Awards 2019 winners and runners up are shown below:

Best Start Up Business

Winners: Brodrick's Podiatry

Runners up: Jackson Family Funeral Directors

Best Growth Business

Winners: Beach Art Glass

Runners up: The Christmas Decorators

Best High Growth Business

Winners: Ecrubox Digital

Runners up: Baxter Williams and Acorn Polish & Floor Repairs Ltd

Most Innovative Business

Winners: Craftibeer Limited

Runners up: Herlig Marles Ltd Architecture

People’s Choice

Winner: Beach Art Glass

Business of the Year

Winner: Ecrubox Digital

Enterprising Worcestershire is a business start-up and early stage support programme operated and part funded by Worcestershire County Council in partnership with Worcestershire's six District Councils and match funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The programme supports start-up and early stage businesses through a combination of one-to-one support and workshops, covering topics from market research and business planning, to social media and legal essentials. Eligible businesses may also be able to access funding through the programme to purchase new equipment or develop their online presence.

Start-ups and early stage businesses in the region who would like to find out more about the support available can email Ellie Brown on ebrown4@worcestershire.gov.uk. More information about the Enterprising Worcestershire programme can also be found on the Worcestershire Business Central website.