FREE advice and training are being offered to Cumbrian businesses looking for information about how to export their products and services internationally.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can access a range of resources from Sarah Peak, Cumbria’s export manager with the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (CLEP).

The support includes The Export Academy – a free training programme to help small and micro businesses understand all they need to know about selling internationally. International trade expert Chris Baxter provides guidance through ten, one-hour educational sessions running twice a week during March. To find out more, email sarah.peak@tradenw.org.

SMEs can also apply for up to £9,000 of matched funding from the DIT’s Internationalisation Fund to prepare for overseas trade. The funding has a range of uses, including advice on: market research, market selection and entry; cross cultural negotiation; translation; intellectual property rights; international law; marketing; social media; routes to market; and due diligence.

The Westmorland Gazette: Jacqui Gale, MD of Wax LyricalJacqui Gale, MD of Wax Lyrical

The DIT’s ‘Export Champions’ are businesses that are dedicated to growing their exports, and who have made a commitment to helping other companies do the same – increasing prosperity and growing GDP by seizing the opportunities offered by trading in a global market. The Cumbrian ‘Export Champions’ highlighted below represent a wide range of sectors, and work with the DIT to complement their services, generously giving their time to motivate and assist other businesses on their export journeys and leading by example as they continue to win new international business and reach out to new markets themselves.

  • KENDAL NUTRICARE: The company produces Kendamil – the only baby formula made in Britain – using full-cream recipe without palm oils or fish oils, and containing human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs). International trade accounts for 85% of the £23m business, selling in 35 territories across South East Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Central Europe, with the support of the DIT.
  • OXLEY GROUP: Headquartered in Ulverston, Oxley Group is a world-leading designer and manufacturer of LED lighting systems and high-specification electronic components for the defence and aerospace markets. With support from the DIT, sales outside the UK account for 80% of turnover, covering 34 countries, with new markets being developed in Turkey, Korea, Japan, and Brazil.
  • PLAYDALE PLAYGROUNDS: Based in Haverthwaite, Playdale Playgrounds is the largest UK manufacturer of outdoor children’s playground equipment, with an £11m turnover. By engaging with DIT, the company trades in 50 countries, with 50% of manufactured product going abroad.
  • CLARK DOOR LTD:  A leading innovator in a range of specialist doors, Clark Door Ltd, based in Carlisle, has worked closely with DTI – receiving support with practical issues such as intellectual property agreements, international law, taxation and cultural barriers. Its products are exported to more than 45 countries.
  • HAWKSHEAD RELISH CO LTD: This award-winning company makes a wide range of relishes, pickles and preserves, free from nuts and gluten. The business supplies more than 500 independent stores throughout the UK and worldwide, with main export markets in Sweden, Germany, the Middle East, and the USA. Joint owner Maria Whitehead serves on the DTI Strategic Trade Advisory Group.
  • GRASMERE GINGERBREAD: Founded in 1854, Grasmere Gingerbread is a trademark-protected delicacy, freshly baked 362 days a year at the Grasmere Gingerbread Shop. As well as being sold over the counter, it is exported to every continent and all American states. The company’s advice to businesses looking to trade overseas is: “DIT is the best place to start.”
  • WAX LYRICAL: Based in Lindal-in-Furness, Wax Lyrical is the UK’s largest manufacturer of home fragrance, with luxury scented candles, reed diffusers, and private label collections for a global customer base. With DIT support, the company exports throughout Europe, the Middle East, Canada, Russia, Japan, and China, and aims to expand further in the USA and Asia Pacific.
  • The Westmorland Gazette:

SMEs wishing to find out more about the services offered by the DIT to enable them to sell their products or services internationally should contact Cumbria’s Export Manager, Sarah Peak, at sarah.peak@tradenw.org