We’ve won a business award…and here’s why it matters

We scrub up well, don’t we?!

This is a picture of us, Anne-Marie and Richard, just last week, collecting our Welsh Women’s Awards 2022 trophy for Food Entrepreneur of the Year, and to say that we’re chuffed to win this fantastic business award is an understatement.

You see, we don’t think that having a trophy on a shelf (or even a blog about a trophy on a shelf) will make people buy more jam. Neither will it make our jam, chutney, or preserves taste one little bit better. No, the win for us isn’t having something else to dust. Winning a business award is far more valuable than you might think.

Business awards – what are they?

Over 1,000 organisations in the UK offer business awards. These are accolades offered to organisations and individuals who have developed outstanding initiative in their sectors. Many companies who offer business awards also offer the chance to go to glamorous award ceremonies, meaning the company makes money on the sale of tickets, and the award winners get a blinkin’ good night on the town! And, let’s face it, if you’re in a business like ours, where we’re either covered in soil from picking our fresh produce for our Farm Shop or covered in ingredients from the jam kitchen, putting on a posh frock is an enjoyable novelty!

Why do we love our business award?

Beyond the gorgeous meal and bubbly that we got to enjoy at the ceremony, this business award means the world to a small business like Farmers Food at Home. We started with a small batch of jams and preserves, and now we’re winning awards! But we’re especially thrilled because we were nominated for our business award. This means that one of our customers took the time to contact the company and recommend that we receive an award for the hard work, effort, and quality control that we put into every aspect of our small business. Being nominated for an award from our customers means we’ve done more than just provide food. Just like the wonderful reviews we receive and the media coverage we’ve had over the pandemic, being endorsed by real people who can see the blood, sweat, and tears behind what we’re offering as a small, rural business is priceless us.

Why the process of the business award matters

Business awards aren’t easily won. We’re not trying to blow our own trumpet here, but the process of vouching for your nomination is rigorous. Each detail of our business, from hygiene to profits, goals, dreams, and business plans, is scrutinised to ensure that the nominee deserves to be considered by the judges.

While this process is onerous and may seem like just a lot of hassle, it’s actually a fantastic process for small businesses to go through. We’ve been running our company for quite a few years now, and like most people who have persevered through a pandemic, you can get tied up in the here and now of ordering jam jars and feeding the chickens and working out how to add that great image of the cake you just baked onto your Instagram reels. Phew!

The process of verifying your nomination gives businesses the opportunity to take a step back and evaluate the successes of your business, the weak spots that need attention, and give focus to where your business has been and where it’s going next. Having the opportunity to reconsider your goals a few years into your business can be invaluable as a tool to help you grow, learn, and succeed in a new economic climate.

Why our business award means a better service for our customers

The in-depth investigation into our business, and the subsequent winning of an award because of it, isn’t just a ‘yay’ moment for us. It means that our customers can be sure that the products that they’re buying, and the service they receive from Farmers Food at Home, really is the best!

And that chance to step back and look at where we’re going only means that we can offer an even better service moving forward. As we write this, an extension is being added to the Jam Kitchen so that we can offer an even bigger range of our award-winning products for the winter to come…so watch this space!