The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Gin maker’s spirits rise after £70,000 EDGE win
Tayside and Fife firms to fore at Scottish EDGE 11 pitching contest
An Angus spirits producer is set to ramp up production after scooping a £70,000 Scottish EDGE business growth award.
Kim Cameron of The Gin Bothy at Garlowbank Smiddy, Kirriemuir, said she was “overwhelmed” after her first ever business funding pitch ended in her £35,000 cash request being doubled by the panel of expert judges.
She said the money will be used to formalise The Gin Bothy’s production process and perhaps increase its workforce to ensure it can keep up with demand.
She said the success of a recent range of mini-gins had demonstrated the problem, with more than 10,000 units having to be fulfilled in just six weeks.
“I went in to the pitch and I asked for the least amount of money of anyone who had applied and they doubled it – I was just blown away,” Kim said.
“They had the confidence in me to grow this business and, in some ways, that meant more than the money.
“When you operate a rural company you can be quite disengaged from what is happening in entrepreneurial circles.
“But this has definitely opened my eyes to what is out there.
“What Scottish EDGE means is that I can start working more on the business as well as in the business.”
The Gin Bothy was one of a number of winners from Tayside and Fife as more than £1.1 million of funding was awarded through Scottish EDGE to high growth potential Scottish firms.
Bella and Duke, a Perthshire-based provider of bespoke pet food packages, received £50,000 while Fife-based unsweetened drinks brand Seltza took home £10,000 as one of the Wild Card EDGE winners.
Dundee online recruitment service Talbase was awarded £8,000 in the same category.
The aim of the competition is to identify up-and-coming entrepreneurs and companies and provide them with the cash and expert mentoring support to accelerate their business growth.
Each of the funding awards are made up of a 40% grant and 60% repayable loan. That cash is then recycled into the next round of the competition to help other entrepreneurs on their growth journey.
Scottish EDGE chief executive Evelyn McDonald said: “The calibre of businesses we’ve seen pitching has been exceptional and our judges had their work cut out deciding who should be awarded funding.
“We received a total of 242 applications for Scottish EDGE round 11 from around the country, representing businesses in every sector.
“The 22 businesses who pitched demonstrated a commitment and intense desire to grow their business and create jobs and wealth for Scotland and I believe many will achieve this.”
Entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter, a long-time supporter of Scottish EDGE, said: “Through EDGE we’re seeing a renewed spirit of entrepreneurship developing in Scotland, heeding our nation’s proud tradition as innovators.
“This is not just about money however, all entrants, win or lose, receive support packages to help them on their way and come back again to EDGE when they are ready to do so.”
The EDGE judges included Dundeebased Insights entrepreneur Andy Lothian and Rob Jones of FanDuel.