Aycliffe Today Business Aycliffe Today Business Issue 40 | Page 18

18 | Aycliffe Today Business
The Lemon Top team (left to right): Design director Owen Smith,
creative director Arron Stoutt, head of mad ideas Mat Hall,
director Steve Gill and director Terry Kneeshaw outside the firm’s
new headquarters at the Incubation Centre along Durham Way
South on Aycliffe Business Park.
TOP
THAT
A
Martin Walker meets
Aycliffe Business
Park’s newest
creative agency…
n award-winning creative agency is
hoping to “break the ice” with local
companies after expanding to new
premises on Aycliffe Business Park.
Lemon Top Creative has moved into the
Incubation Centre on Durham Way South
after several years at Coatham Hall in
Coatham Mundeville, just on the other side
of the A1 (M).
The agency works with businesses all over
the world in a variety of sectors, but is best-
known for its works in the food and beverage
industry – and particular brewers.
To celebrate the firm’s relocation to
Aycliffe, Lemon Top has created its very
own beer, aptly named Ice Breaker Lemon
Top Ale, to serve as an introductory ice
breaking gift to prospective customers and
neighbours.
Bosses say it’s an exciting time for the
company, which was named after the famous
Redcar ice cream when it was formed with a
team of four in March 2012.
“We’ve watched the development of
Aycliffe Business Park over recent years, on
the periphery at Coatham Mundeville, and
we’ve always felt that we’ve wanted to be a
part of the community,” says director Steve
Gill.
“To do that we recognised that we’ve had
to relocate here, so we can become part of
the Aycliffe family, and expose us to a whole
new audience.”
Lemon Top boasts more than 80 years’
combined creative experience. Its team is
made up of directors Gill, Terry Kneeshaw
and Andy Mogg, creative director Arron
Stoutt and design director Owen Smith.
And the firm’s latest addition to the board
is Mat Hall – head of “mad ideas”, no less.
“We’re constantly trying to come up with
our own ideas and to be different,” says
Kneeshaw.
“We have the ability to create stuff from
scratch. We don’t use generic or stock
images – we create unique illustrations for
our clients. That isn’t unique, but we’re at the
top of our game when it comes to creative
brands, concepts and strategies.”
Since its formation seven years ago,
Lemon Top has worked with around 200
breweries, from household names to small
local firms including the likes of Molson
Coors and Boss Brewing.
The agency was awarded Supplier
Associate of the Year at the 2018 SIBA
awards, the annual celebration of the Society
of Independent Brewers, a trade organisation
for independent British brewers.
Lemon Top is also a member of the
Brewing, Food & Beverage Industry
Suppliers Association (BFBI), which is a