The Business Exchange Bath & Somerset Issue 8: Summer 2018 | Page 33

CUMBERWELL PARK SHOWS COMMITMENT TO THE GREEN AGENDA Bradford-on-Avon venue Cumberwell Park has recently been recognised in several award schemes for their environmental work. Cumberwell Park offers a space for meetings, conferences and events as well as being home to a golf club for 1500 members. The family run business won the environmental category in the Bath Life Awards and their head of conservation, Jon Keepen was a runner up in the British and International Greenkeeping (BIGGA) Awards category of Conservation Greenkeeper of the Year. Judges at the Bath Life Awards praised Cumberwell for its “highly thoughtful conservation work: the commitment and range of work it does and the way it communicates its importance to members.” Conservation work The conservation work at Cumberwell Park covers a number of key areas. Jon ensures that the course is sympathetically managed for the wildlife as well as for the golfers to enjoy. There are a number of bird boxes installed on the course for raptors such as barn owls, kestrels and little owls, all of which have successfully produced young in recent years. This is a testament to the food sources available on the site. Other boxes are on the course to suit smaller birds such as the blue tit. The matrix of water bodies, grassland and trees benefit a wide range of species. Wild flower meadows and rough areas are cut and baled to enable flowers to flourish which in turn benefits the pollinators. Trees are integral to the course with both woodland and individual trees playing their part. Thousands of trees have been planted by the James family since the opening of the original golf course in 1994. Large lengths of hedgerows have been planted, and only last month 420 metres of hedging was sown on the orange course comprising 1,700 native plants to benefit local wildlife. Sustainability in catering The Cumberwell Park team is dedicated to sustainability in the catering side of the business. The meat is sourced by the head chef from a local butcher to ensure that food miles are minimised and other food products are sourced locally wherever possible. The venue has also been recycling waste for some years from both the catering and greenkeeping areas including cardboard, paper, plastic, cans, metals and cooking oil are all separated. Food waste is sent to a local anaerobic digestion site, minimising what is sent to landfill. Setting an example The team have recently installed a water fountain in their downstairs bar to enable customers to refill their reusable water bottles, therefore reducing the plastic water bottle requirements. Plastic straws have been taken out of circulation in favour of a recyclable alt ernative and further cardboard and plastic reduction is being investigated. Later this year they are moving to online membership renewals to save on the use of paper bills. Cumberwell Park is increasing its community focus in 2018 as part of a wider business plan. The events team is working with local companies and Wiltshire College to host fashion shows, craft fayres and other events whilst raising key funds for charities based in and around the area. 01225 863322 [email protected] For more info: www.cumberwellpark.com Branding refresh for Somerset’s Wild Beer Co. 2017 was a good year for the Evercreech based brewery, Wild Beer Co., seeing it win the ‘Best Drinks Producer’ category of the BBC Good Food & Farming Awards as well as a number of regional accolades. Following it success last year, the firm has recently invested in a branding overhaul of its cans and invested over £500,000 in new “state of the art” canning line machinery. The Business Exchange’s Nick Batten, caught up with Simon Dehany, marketing and strategic communications manager at Wild Beer to find out more. Who are Wild Beer’s main consumers? We mainly have two types of consumer – a specialist craft beer market who are not only familiar with our core range but also actively seek out and appreciate our more ‘esoteric beers’ - and a more mainstream audience who are slowly succumbing to the fact that maybe there is life after Stella Artois and Peroni after all! And your main competitors? There’s plenty of competition out there - including giants like AB InBev (brewers of Becks and Budweiser) and also local talent. Not to mention other categories like wine, cider and spirits. How are the new cans ‘state of the art’? The re-brand was done to add clarity and clear brand messaging. The previous cans, although colourful and playful, lacked the direct message that communicates the brand name and the beer itself. It’s essential to communicate this in order to maximise shelf space presence. Our cans are supplied by Crown who use the revolutionary SuperEnd ® ‘beverage end’ tech- nology which reduces metal use by 10%. The can is also decorated as a ‘soft touch can,’ giving it a more tactile and appealing feel. It is fully recyclable and the advantage over the bottle is that it prevents oxidation which effectively deteriorates the beer (leaving a stale taste). Also, it chills quicker and is more practical than glass in event situations. What is the increased rate of production? What are the firm’s ambitions for 2018 and beyond? Why did you decide to re-brand the cans? Our old canning line allowed us to package at a speed of 1800 cans per hour. The new CFT machine cans at 6,200 per hour with the potential of ramping that up to 12,000 cans per hour. To keep growing - to challenge the perceptions of taste and flavour and to spread the ‘Wild word’ into the greater public arena. We’ll also be focusing on the development of our new £10m brewery facility on the Bath & West Showground which looks set for a 2019 opening. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, where is the beer stocked locally? We are stocked in all good quality bottle shops around the South West (and the UK), you can find us in Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, and of course for the full range hit our webshop www.wildbeerco.com where we offer next day shipping. We also have our own bar in Wapping Wharf in Bristol, a venue in Cheltenham called Jessop House and numerous pubs and bars around the South West. For more info: www.wildbeerco.com 01749 838742 @WildBeerCo THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2018 33