Yorkshire jelly maker makes ripples in Westminster
Ryan Tindall’s Yorkshire jellies won the vote of approval from the country’s top politicians after he was invited to Parliament to tell MPs how fibre broadband has transformed his business.
The 22-year-old entrepreneur was one of twelve small businesses selected as case studies from around the UK to attend the two-hour event – held in the Terrace Pavilion at the House of Commons.
Attendees included Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, and the Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
Ryan, who runs his business Just Jelly – making traditional Yorkshire savoury jellies, from the family home in the village of High Hawsker, brought a selection of his special Beetroot, Rosemary, Mint, and Port infused jellies along for guests to try.
He said: “It was a great experience, especially to meet all the other businesses from around the country. It was a chance to swap experiences of starting up and pick up some business tips as well. I was impressed by the level of interest from MPs. I think it helped that I’d brought a selection of my jellies along for people to try. I got quite a lot of MPs promising to order some from my website and a number of them mentioned me on Twitter. Since doing the event I’ve had quite a few more orders come through via the website so that has been a nice bonus.”
Ryan joined the county’s fibre broadband revolution– after his village High Hawsker, was connected up to fibre as part of the multi million pound Superfast North Yorkshire project in April this year.
Since signing up through his internet service provider BT, Ryan has seen his home broadband speed boosted from around 1.3Mbps to a massively improved 60Mbps.
Ryan was also chosen as Superfast North Yorkshire’s 50,000th customer and to mark the event, was a special guest at this year’s Malton Food Lovers Festival where he was presented with a celebratory food hamper from multi Michelin starred Chef Jean-Christophe Novelli.
Ryan launched Just Jelly at the start of the year, running it from the family home. He said: “These days if you want to set up on your own you have to be online because that is increasingly how people first find you and buy things from you.
“We are a bit out in the sticks here so it is much easier to reach customers online. Before getting fibre the broadband was really slow. It’s so frustrating when you’re trying to do things like process orders or change and upload things quickly on the website.
“Both my parents use the internet, my dad uses it for book keeping for his work and my mum likes to shop online. The difference now is that we can all be online at the same time without worrying about things crashing or slowing down to a snail’s pace.”
To help boost his fledgling business, Ryan signed up to a specially tailored programme – run by the Superfast North Yorkshire project - offering free business support and advice on a variety of topics designed to help businesses harness the potential of high speed fibre broadband.
He said: “. The advisors sorted out a problem with my website and email that was potentially losing me sales and leads. I’m also learning how to make the most out of social media like Linkedin and Twitter, to generate more sales and drive interest to my website.”
Ryan was inspired to start Just Jelly after eating Mint Jelly as a child, made by his grandmother Elizabeth Tindall.
“She used her own recipe and as I kid I loved it, and had it with most of my meals. Once I started to get an interest in food and cooking I decided to have a go at making it. I started experimenting with different flavours to give it a modern twist.
“I sent her a selection as a gift at Christmas and she loved them. She didn’t realise I’d made them and even said she thought they were better than hers, so that was the seal of approval for me!”
Ryan, who already sells his jellies to delis, restaurants, gift shops and gastro pubs across the county, hopes eventually to attract interest from big supermarket chains and beyond.
“The great thing about the internet is that is brings the world right to your doorstep – now hopefully I will be able to bring a real taste of Yorkshire to a much wider audience.”
Work on the Superfast North Yorkshire project is well underway across the county with some 140,000 households and businesses across the county now able to access high speed fibre broadband. Combined with BT’s own commercial fibre network roll-out, the number comes to more than 300,000.
Through the project’s Business Support Programme, eligible companies (based on size, primary activity, turnover etc) can receive a wealth of support and advice aimed at helping their businesses to grow through better use of technology.
A series of workshops, master classes and one-to-one business advice is on offer – and it’s free. The programme aims to attract 2,100 businesses to the scheme by June 2015.
North Yorkshire businesses wanting to find out more and to check whether they are eligible for the Business Support Programme should call 0845 0020021, email enquiries@sfny.co.uk or visit www.sfny.co.uk
The Superfast North Yorkshire project was the first in the UK to deploy fibre broadband using Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) funds following the signing of a £36.4m contract led by North Yorkshire County Council and BT in July last year.
BT was chosen as the private sector partner in the project following an extensive selection process by the county council. The company is contributing £10 million towards fibre deployment in “non-commercial” areas whilst the county council is using its £17.8 million share of BDUK funds and a further £8.6 million coming from the European Regional Development Fund . The project is investing an additional £8m in funding to push the deployment of fibre even further with the aim to connect an additional 11,100 homes and businesses across England’s largest rural county with high-speed broadband by 2017.
The high-speed network installed by Openreach is available on an open, wholesale basis to all communication providers, therefore offering North Yorkshire households and businesses the benefit of real choice from a highly competitive market.
The majority of premises in North Yorkshire will be getting access to some of the best broadband speeds in the country via Superfast North Yorkshire and BT’s associated commercial roll-out. The high speed service will boost the competitiveness of local firms and offer new ways of flexible working, entertainment and learning opportunities for local residents.
For further information on the Superfast North Yorkshire programme visit www.superfastnorthyorkshire.com
Due to the current network topography, and the economics of deployment, it is likely that some premises within the selected exchange areas will not initially be able to access fibre-based broadband. Alternative solutions for these locations are being investigated.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/107803477@N08/sets/72157642004199605/
Notes to Editors:
Ryan Tindall,
Just Jelly
Contact: 07824166270
Email: info@justjelly.co.uk
Website: www.justjelly.co.uk
Address: 27 Prospect Field, High Hawsker, Whitby, N.Yorkshire, YO224LG
About Superfast North Yorkshire
Superfast North Yorkshire was created in July 2012 following the signing of the contract between North Yorkshire County Council and BT, which will see a total fibre broadband investment in the county expected to reach around £70 million.
North Yorkshire is the first county in the UK successfully to deploy Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) funds, which will be used to extend the roll-out of faster broadband across the county. The project will reach those areas outside of any commercial roll-out using a partnership approach to ensure all communities have access to the fastest possible broadband speeds.
The Superfast North Yorkshire project is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund Programme 2007 to 2013. The Department for Communities and Local Government is the managing authority for the European Regional Development Fund Programme, which is one of the funds established by the European Commission to help local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support local businesses and create jobs. For more information visit www.communities.gov.uk/erdf
About BDUK
Superfast Britain is a Government programme of investment in broadband and communication infrastructure across the UK. Run by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, this investment helps businesses to grow, creates jobs and will make Britain more competitive in the global race. The portfolio is comprised of three elements:
• £780m to extend superfast broadband to 95% of the UK by 2017
• £150m to provide high speed broadband to businesses in 22 cities
• £150m to improve quality and coverage of mobile phone and basic data network services
Administered on behalf of Government by Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), Superfast Britain is transforming Britain by promoting growth, enabling skills and learning, and improving quality of life.
For further information: https://www.gov.uk/broadband-delivery-uk
