Latest news with #BranchingOut
BBC News
01-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Stowmarket Food Museum to bid for £1.5m towards redevelopment
A proposal to invest £1.5m in redeveloping a Suffolk museum is to be considered by Food Museum in Stowmarket wants to increase visitor annual numbers by about a third to 100,000 a year by Suffolk District Council is being asked for the sum as part of the museum's next phase of its Branching Out councillor Tim Weller, cabinet member for Environment, Culture and Wellbeing, said the investment would be "the catalyst for the next phase of the Food Museum's impressive transformation". He added: "It would mean the museum can deliver further improvements to the site and attract more visitors, while also enabling its commercial activities to support the delivery of its educational mission and community work." Preferred option The full cost of the project is estimated at £5.67m, with £3.95m already secured with match funding from the National Lottery Heritage Suffolk has been asked to contribute £1m in grant funding, as well as £533,000 in the form of a loan should the museum fail to fundraise council's report says approving the funding is the preferred option to avoid any delays and increase in of The Barn, Stowmarket's oldest-surviving building, along with the refurbishment of The Factory and The House are among the tasks museum wants official approval to start the work by September, with a view to completion by the end of March the meeting, cabinet members will be asked to endorse a further £100,000 investment to build accessibility features, including a disabled toilet, automated doors and a lift to the first floor of the refurbished council will discuss the proposed investment on 8 July. This article was written by a trusted journalist and then edited for length and style with the help of AI, before being checked again by a BBC Journalist. It's part of a pilot. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
RNZ News
30-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Venture Taranaki 'Branching Out' across the region
rural farming 23 minutes ago Michelle Bauer from Venture Taranaki's Branching Out programme shares exciting new opportunities for Taranaki landowners to diversify their farming and growing operations.
Scoop
27-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Cheers To China: Three Sisters Brewing Significant Export Growth
Award-winning local brewery Three Sisters has been toasting to international success recently, with booming demand from China a resounding endorsement to the quality of their beer. What began as a 10,000-can "sample" order in mid-2024 from a Chinese distributor has grown rapidly, with recent shipments increasing to 20,000 cans. "The initial email came out of the blue," says founder Joe Emans. "To be honest, when I initially saw the email, I thought it was spam. That's a really big sample order. It's nearly equivalent to what we'd normally produce every other month." The order wasn't just by chance however, as Three Sisters had captured the attention of the distributor thanks to their reputation for top-quality hazies and strong user ratings on the global beer app Untappd, where users can discover new brews and track trending favourites. This visibility helped them stand out in a crowded market. Fortunately, Emans followed up on that initial email - and the relationship has since flourished. "China has its own version of Untappd, so they're really in tune with their customers over there," says Emans. "Sours in particular have really taken off, making up around 60% of their orders, up from 30% a year ago." Emans is no stranger to adapting. Since brewing in his garage with his wife Sarah in 2017, the brewery has expanded three times thanks to some hugely successful crowdfunding campaigns, and they recently launched a popular taproom. Three Sisters has also won numerous national and international awards, including back-to-back Champion International Small Brewery trophies in 2023 and 2024 at the Australian International Beer Awards. Now, with demand approaching capacity in recent months, another expansion is already in sight. "We're a small brewery even by national standards, but we're flexible and curious," says Emans. "If we're asked for a beer that's a particular colour, with specific flavour notes - we'll make it. We're happy to tailor beers to suit the market, while keeping our creativity and quality at the heart of everything we do." Recent global market shifts, including US tariff increases, have made New Zealand beer even more attractive to Chinese distributors, alongside the country's growing reputation in the industry. The journey from garage to exporter hasn't happened over night though. "We've had some great help from the community along the way, including from Venture Taranaki who has provided some fantastic support - from providing co-funding for courses on crowdfunding campaigns which have been crucial to expanding our production capacity, to helping us tell our story as a guest on their Podcast series", says Emans. Venture Taranaki, the regional development agency, has also supported and explored the potential of a local hops industry through the Branching Out project. If you're a local business looking for advice or support, check out the range of services offered by Venture Taranaki here:
