A young Birmingham entrepreneur has launched an innovative natural food business with the help of city centre meeting and events venue thestudio.
Ben Smith, a 26-year old Aston University graduate, is aiming to start selling innovative fruit-based snacks through high-end coffee shops and snack food outlets before Christmas after tapping into the business skills and experience of Studio Director Emma Jennings.
Emma has been working with Ben as his mentor through the Birmingham Skills for Enterprise and Employability Network (BSEEN) programme, which helps students and young graduates to start up profit-making businesses or social enterprises.
Ben launched his new company Frumtious, based at Innovation Birmingham, in March this year to produce snacks containing tasty and healthy ‘superfruits’ that contribute to our daily dose of fruit and vegetables and help combat the UK’s obesity epidemic.
Emma has been able to pass on her business knowledge as a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses graduate as well as her expertise in running Studio venues in Birmingham and Manchester serving more than 60,000 customers a year.
Ben said: “I had already received help in financing my new company when BSEEN put me in touch with thestudio because of its excellence in catering for city centre meetings and events – and I have found Emma’s support to be invaluable.
“Emma has given me access to her design agency contacts for help with product branding and even held a product testing of my pots of real fruit jelly, all made from blended fruits with a vegan setting agent, at thestudio.”
He added: “I aim to sell Frumtious snacks as stand-alone products that you can enjoy on-the-go or that liven up porridge or yoghurt – and I am hopeful of having them on sale in high-end coffee shops and snack food outlets before Christmas.”
Emma, who regularly hosts BSEEN events at thestudio’s modern three-storey conferencing facility in Cannon Street, recently refurbished to create a new events suite and a large meeting room catering for 250 seated theatre style, said: “With my catering knowledge and the fruits of my Goldman Sachs business growth course, I felt that I was a perfect match for Ben who has worked terrifically hard and deserves every success.”
Business mentoring is a key element of the BSEEN programme, which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Aston University as lead partner in collaboration with Birmingham City University and the University of Birmingham.
Ben won the BSEEN Enterprise award for his start up business and has since won a place on the Virgin Media Digital scheme. He also runs BKSK Consulting, a social enterprise giving young people from low attainment backgrounds support in developing a company.
