Paddlesworth Produce are Rural Business Awards Finalist

Paddlesworth Produce is in the running to be named one of the best rural businesses in the UK after being shortlisted for a Rural Business Award. Despite only opening in April of this year, Paddlesworth Produce has been nominated for two awards including the Best Rural Start-Up Business and Best Rural Food and Drink Business in the South East. The Folkestone-based company will battle it out against fellow rural businesses, entrepreneurs and enterprises from across the region for a place at the national final. Paddlesworth Produce brings together many Kent-based small businesses and producers to create Breakfast Boxes and BBQ Boxes, which they sell online for UK-wide home delivery via subscription or as a one-off treat or gift. The business idea came to owner Katie Anderson last year after moving to the area and being in awe at the range of fantastic food and drink that our county produces. The first Breakfast Boxes were delivered this Easter to addresses across the country and the BBQ Boxes were added for the Summer season. The boxes can even be found in local self-catering properties as optional extras for the guests visiting our beautiful county, to give them a true taste of Kent. Not one to twiddle her thumbs, Katie is also releasing the Sunday Roast Box this August with local, free-range meats and pesticide-free vegetables. She is hoping that the new boxes will bring people together again, over what she states is “undoubtedly the best meal of the week”. The Rural Business Awards 2019/20, in partnership with Amazon, will mark the Awards’ fifth year of celebrating the success of businesses across the UK’s rural economy – a segment which employs in excess of 3.4 million people in over 750,000 businesses in England alone. Speaking after being shortlisted for an award, Katie Anderson, owner of Paddlesworth Produce said: “A lot of hard work has gone into turning my business idea into a reality and I haven’t made it easy for myself, constantly pushing my business to be the best it can be. This Summer I created the Paddlesworth Produce Promise, which means that everything I sell must be produced in Kent, plastic-free, free-range and only made from natural ingredients. I created that promise to ensure that my business is something I can be proud of and being nominated for this award feels like a recognition of the effort I have put in from the outset. I cannot take all the credit of course and a huge thank you goes out to every one of my suppliers, customers and supporters who have made this all possible." Director and Co-Founder of The Rural Business Awards, Anna Price, said: “The 2019/20 Awards have seen record numbers of entries and it’s encouraging to see so many rural businesses express a desire to celebrate their successes. On behalf of everyone at the Rural Business Awards, we want to say well done to Paddlesworth Produce and all the shortlisted businesses, and wish them luck ahead of the regional finals.” The Rural Business Awards is hosting a series of regional finals in the North, East, Midlands, South East, South West, Wales and Northern Ireland, throughout October and November 2019, ahead of the National Final next February. To find out more about Paddlesworth Produce, go to www.paddlesworthproduce.co.uk or to learn about the Rural Business Awards visit www.ruralbusinessawards.co.uk