When former business strategist Debs Lamplugh swapped London boardrooms for cosy bedrooms and homemade breakfasts in the Gloucestershire countryside, it wasn't long before guests were raving about her homemade, freshly baked granola.
After deciding to take the plunge into selling it by the bag, her business — Dursley-based Forthay Granola — has gone from strength to strength with access to fully funded, expert support and guidance from the county's leading business network, The Growth Hub Gloucestershire.
With her products on farm-shop shelves across the south west, garnering multiple Great Taste awards and a special feature on Ainsley Harriot's ITV series Good Mood Food, SoGlos sits down with Debs to hear how The Growth Hub has helped her take her business from the farmhouse kitchen to the brink of national expansion in 2024.
Debs, tell us a bit about Forthay Granola – how did you come to start the business?
My husband and I left our corporate jobs in London in 2018, I was recovering from cancer and we moved to Gloucestershire for a change in lifestyle. I had the slightly crazy idea of making our family home into a bed and breakfast!
One year down the line and the B&B was a great success, offering a stunning rural location, wonderfully comfortable beds and a delicious, locally sourced menu. Part of our breakfast offering included my freshly baked, gluten free granola packed with honey, nuts and cranberries.
Guests loved it and often asked if they could buy it by the bag! I was so busy with the B&B and developing the business, however, I didn't have time to research the granola business too — creating a brand, sourcing local ingredients and exploring suitable packaging.
Whilst I had considerable experience working with medium-size established organisations to create a people development management strategy, I didn’t have any experience in a food start-up business.
When Covid-19 struck in 2020, the B&B was regrettably forced to close. This did, however, give me with the perfect opportunity to focus on creating the granola business. I filled my car with bags of granola, drove around the local area visiting farm shops and community stores and was blown away with the support I received from local businesses and how willing they were to give it a go!
Today, Forthay Granola produces freshly baked, award-winning, hand-chopped granola and muesli. All of our products are gluten free and coeliac friendly, 100 per cent natural, free from refined sugar and use a maximum of 45 per cent oats and cereals, to ensure they are bursting with flavour as well as healthy nuts, seeds and dry fruit. Each blend is freshly baked for every order by our small team at 'Granola HQ' in Forthay, North Nibley.
We presently supply over 140 farm shops, delicatessens, cafes and hotels around the south of England. We have plans to expand nationally, with a new courier partner, nationwide stockists and a new product launch on the horizon; and we’re also creating bespoke blends for retailers — including Selfridges — with joint branding.
Why did you decide to make contact with The Growth Hub in the first instance – what kind of help or guidance were you looking for?
The granola business was growing fast and successfully supplying approximately 30 farm shops and delicatessens, but I was looking for business support to advise and guide me through the next stages of growth and development, plus local networking opportunities. I did an internet search on 'start up business support in the Gloucestershire area' and came across The Growth Hub.
Encouraged to contact my local hub, The Growth Hub Cirencester, I immediately received a warm welcome. The team were genuinely interested in my business, despite being in lockdown and unable to have face-to-face meetings.
How did
The Growth Hub team help you to achieve your goals?
I arranged for my initial Zoom discovery meeting with lead business navigator Stephen Meyer — and immediately knew my business was in safe hands. Stephen was incredibly supportive and really excited about my business — he loved our story and was impressed with how much it had grown in a short space of time.
We discussed next steps for my business and what it really needed, which was an e-commerce website to sell my granola online. He supported me in my application to access EU funding, which was successful; and I was assigned a Growth Hub guide to support me in all aspects of building my website with a web designer. Stephen also introduced me to lots of local businesses that later became stockists.
How else has The Growth Hub helped you to grow your business?
The Growth Hub has assisted me in so many ways. When looking for premises, I had no idea of the equipment I needed or the layout of a commercial kitchen. The Growth Hub connected me with other local food producers to receive advice and look around their premises — this was invaluable and saved me a fortune in costly mistakes.
Once I'd found the ideal premises for 'Granola HQ', near our B&B, I was introduced to SWMAS — the South West Manufacturing Advisory Service — who assisted me in kitting out my commercial kitchen by match-funding the price of my enormous baking oven and assisting me with my kitchen layout.
I have also attended a wide variety of training events across The Growth Hub network, covering fundamental subjects including social media, marketing and bookkeeping plus the annual Net Zero conference, all of which have been incredibly useful in supporting the success and growth of my business.
In 2023, I asked Stephen about a business course I had heard of, Help to Grow — a 12-week course that is 90 per cent government funded, covering everything from business values to technology, finance and people — and whether it would be appropriate for me, with my business still being so small.
The course, delivered at The Growth Hub Gloucestershire by the University of Gloucestershire in April 2024, absolutely transformed my business and catapulted Forthay Granola to the next level.
During the course, I sourced new integrated and streamlined accountancy systems; was introduced to a customer data platform to help me understand my online customers' preferences and behaviour — increasing my online turnover by 50 per cent in three months; sourced a national service delivery partner, something I had been looking to do for 12 months to support my stockists nationally; updated my granola packaging pouches to be 100 per cent eco-friendly and recyclable; and worked with a mentor to create a wholesale online portal on my website, which is going live in January 2025.
How will you use The Growth Hub's services in the future – and why would you recommend it to other businesses in the county?
I have worked with The Growth Hub from the very beginning and received unrivalled business support — fully funded and independent. At every stage of my businesses growth, I will continue to tap into The Growth Hub to 'steady the ship' and double check that I’m not missing anything. I always receive the warmest welcome and it’s a safe place to be honest, vulnerable and share information. It's also great for networking and training. The amount of knowledge and expertise in The Growth Hub is wonderful and if they don’t have the answer, they know someone who will.
