Prize success for college’s Young Enterprise company
A team of students from a Horsham college are celebrating after picking up a prize in the Young Enterprise area finals.
The youngsters from Collyer’s were recognised in the Best Marketing category in the showcase which this year took place virtually.
The Respire team – Maria Bensusan, Oliver Broom, Neil Burbidge, Matt Forster, Josh Lea-Clayton, Ella Lewis, Lorna Macrae, Alex Osz and Managing Director Anaya Wakefield – were awarded for their a ‘gym in a bag’ of resistance bands which enables customers to take care of fitness any time, any place.
Collyer’s deputy principal Steve Martell said: “Huge congratulations to the Respire team and massive thanks to Nick Broom and Dominic Wakefield for their professional business advice throughout the project.
“They are inspiring business leaders who have been so generous with their time supporting Collyer’s over a number of years. Without their guidance and sponsorship the project would simply not have been possible.”
The Collyer’s Young Enterprise team sourced packs of fitness ‘resistance bands’, which can be used to strengthen muscles and build fitness. They branded them with their own logo and produced a leaflet of exercises and sold the product for £9.95.
Prior to lockdown, the team achieved successful sales via various face-to-face opportunities – including a stall at Horsham Market, Collyer’s NG2U event, stands at various gyms in and around Horsham – then moved to online sales via their website when lockdown took place.
The group found that when people were at home more, the demand for their product increased and they have now sold all of their stock.
Collyer’s employability coordinator Lucy Hargreaves said: “Respire have managed to do a great job under very difficult circumstances, and learnt a lot during the process.
“We are also extremely grateful to Matt Ryan, the area manager for Young Enterprise in Sussex, South Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, who coordinated the process and kept the competition going in difficult times.”