Chutney Maker Preserves His Firm’s Future Thanks to TVCA Backing

A pickle producer has seen a big boost in sales with the help of business support and training backed by the Combined Authority.

Andrew Calder created Calder’s Kitchen with his family in 2015 after uncovering his Grandad Charlie’s original piccalilli recipe and selling a few jars to friends and colleagues.

A decade on, and now based in Darlington, the family-run business has gone on to win multiple awards with its range of handcrafted piccalilli jars and condiments.

And now the firm has seen its sales boom in just a few short months thanks to tailored support from Enterprise Made Simple via Adult Skills funding from the TVCA.

Dad-of-two Andrew saw the family business grow from a hobby to a popular venture through farmer’s markets, local events, festivals and word of mouth.

But a tough 2024 marked by bad weather hitting events sparked him to look around for support to boost Calder’s Kitchen online.

Andrew said: “The problem for me was it’s not my strength. I’m much more comfortable talking to people face to face – and I don’t know an awful lot about social media, and how to manipulate markets and reach our audience that way.

“I needed some training, and I needed to upskill, but I didn’t really know how to go about it.”

“I’d looked online and at companies that offered the training and resources with some of them in the USA, and some in the UK.

“I realised was it was extremely expensive – thousands of pounds with no guarantees on a return on investment.

“I contacted the TVCA and they kindly put me in touch with Enterprise Made Simple.”

Andrew took part in the Digital Edge course at EMS which was fully funded and took up only eight days of training.

The 47-year-old said the short course in over four weeks in August was exactly what he needed.

“I think it’s probably the best thing I’ve done – and we’re only into October now,” he added.

“What I learned on the course, I was able to start implementing straight away – they had experts who came in from the industry and they told us all about the things we needed to do, from telling your story through different mediums, from email marketing, through Facebook and social media, and understanding who your customer is.

“I think from that point on everything else just kind of fell into place.”

The historic link to Andrew’s grandad sees Calder’s Kitchen nod to Second World War serviceman Charlie in the firm’s branding and story – with Charlie’s image featuring on every jar.

Armed with the advice and knowledge from the marketing course, Andrew put early plans into action – creating Facebook Ads and boosting subscriptions to the Calder’s Kitchen newsletter.

His efforts have seen order numbers rise sharply.

Andrew added: “It’s had a really big impact in a short space of time, and it makes me think, when I look at our business, that we need to have e-commerce at least 50% of our sales.

“That’s where I’d like to be in the next 12 months, because we can influence it. We’re in control.

“We’re not chasing supermarkets – that’s not us.

“We know who our customers are, they shop in garden centres, farm shops, and shop at the local butchers, like here in Cockerton.

“They are our target audience.

“It’s something that we want to do Monday or Friday and I think if we can develop the e-commerce side, hopefully we have a few more weekends off so we watch the kids play football and do nice family things – rather than be flogging ourselves on freezing cold Christmas markets for too much longer.

“That is my ambition.”

Business training company Enterprise Made Simple (EMS) was awarded funding in partnership with ETC and TVCA to deliver the support to help businesses grow.

It supports business owners with all aspects of digital marketing to build confidence and manage their online presence to reach new audiences and, ultimately, secure more sales.

Andrew has lived in many parts of the North East – and praised the access to funding he’d sourced with the Combined Authority’s help.

Andrew added: “If you’re a business in the Tees Valley and you’re not aware of the funding that’s out there, or you just feel as if you need to upskill, there’s all sorts of business support available.

“There’s everything from accounting to just general good practice – and if you’re starting with business from scratch, I’d say get the advice from the beginning.

“I would 100% recommend people to get in touch with the Combined Authority to find out what sort of funding and training might be out there.”

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “We’ve got brilliant local firms across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool, and it’s great to see one of our small businesses benefiting from the backing we’ve given. Andrew and his family company show just how deep our ingenuity runs – and how support through our programmes makes a real difference to bottom lines.

“Getting more firms access to this support is vital if we want everyone across our region to feel the benefit of what we do, so I’d urge people and business owners to get in touch with our brilliant business support team to see what help they can offer.”

Cllr Lisa Evans, Leader of Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and TVCA Cabinet Member for Education, Employment and Skills, added: “This shows what’s possible when business owners get the right support, training and skills. We need to ensure we’re working together to help businesses build confidence, sharpen their digital skills, and reach new customers.

“I want as many businesses as possible across the Tees Valley to take advantage of the fantastic and broad range of support on offer – and picking up new skills and tools is an important part of that.”

To find out more about business support available, go to: Contact us – Business, email [email protected], or call 01325 792600 and ask for the business support team.