R&E Bamford eyes European expansion following Boost support
Having secured their first order from the trade show leads, Bamford's will be shipping products to Maastricht, southeastern Netherlands, in the next few months
Fourth-generation family-run animal feed manufacturer R&E Bamford has its sights set on expanding its export markets after receiving a range of funded support through Boost and its support partners.
Founded over 100 years ago R&E Bamford, employs 53 people and already has export markets in Ireland and Kuwait but is looking to expand its brands across Europe, including its premium ‘Top Flight’ brand.
The firm’s trade sales manager, Elin Lloyd, who joined the business 10 years ago in an administration role, now leads the trade sales side of the business.
With a vision to make 2024 the year Bamford’s launched its international growth strategy, Lloyd initially contacted the Department of Business and Trade (DBT) for export advice.
She was introduced to the Women’s International Networking (WIN) pilot, a DBT programme exclusively designed for female-led businesses and entrepreneurs. Through the programme Lloyd met Lynne Gillen, trade partnerships manager at DBT, who introduced Lloyd to Boost; Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub.
Boost is Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub and is led by Lancashire County Council. It has received £2.6m from the UK government for its current programme of business support through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund contributions of ten local authorities in Lancashire, in addition to funds from Lancashire County Council and the Department for Business and Trade.
Boost’s Business Advice Service met with Lloyd carried out a diagnostic overview of the company and determined that Bamford’s vision to scale the business through export markets made it suitable to join Boost’s Scale to Thrive service, which supports ambitious leaders who want to scale up and push ahead on innovation, investment, and internationalisation.
Lloyd then split the attendance at the masterclasses over the relevant team members at Bamfords, making it a company-wide resource involving all the team.
Gillen also introduced Elin to South Ribble Borough Council which provided Elin with helpful advice regarding Bamford’s export plans and secured funded export training sessions for Elin with the North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce.
The council was also able to offer financial support to upskill the Bamford team and to help the business become more energy efficient through the council’s BEE scheme and training grants currently on offer to businesses in South Ribble and funded by the UK government.
Backed by the wealth of support, Bamfords has now attended several trade shows in Europe in 2024 to help expand its international presence. The working relationship with the Chamber’s export specialists also helped Lloyd ship products to the trade events in Europe.
Elin and her team are now liaising with distributors to create potential new markets in Europe and the Middle East. Having secured their first order from the trade show leads, Bamford’s will be shipping products to Maastricht, southeastern Netherlands, in the next few months.
Lloyd said: “Exporting is a major decision for our business and part of the challenge to getting started is knowing how to seek the right avenues for growth. The big advantage about getting support is there is always someone out there who knows more than you on any topic, you just need to find them.
“The DBT, South Ribble Borough Council and Boost, have really opened doors for me, to help us scale the business. I would highly recommend seeking support to any scaling business in Lancashire, we are very fortunate to have such a wealth of connected support offerings and programmes to choose from across the county.”
Cllr Carole Haythornthwaite, lead member for Economic Growth and Environment, Lancashire County Council, added: “With a long history serving the public, businesses and now the export market, Elin and the team at Bamfords are clearly enterprising, innovative and ambitious to keep their business growing.
“I am delighted to see this example of business support providers working together to make sure businesses get the support they need and to make the best of opportunities they get. In this case to grow and expand into export while still providing an attentive, individual service locally.”
