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
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