A Staffordshire cake shop which has been endorsed by singer and television personality Stacey Solomon will be able to advertise its goods to millions after winning a competition run by Vodafone.
Scrumbles, based in Leek, has won a bespoke social media marketing campaign on Facebook and Instagram after winning the Shout Out for Small Business campaign.
The initiative will see the business amplified across Vodafone's own social media channels and to potentially more than one million people. It will also receive online business strategy sessions with Vodafone's V-Hub business experts.
The cake shop won the prize after impressing Vodafone's judging panel - which included former Dragons’ Den investor and entrepreneur Piers Linney, Enterprise Nation CEO Emma Jones CBE and Vodafone's head of small business, Andrew Stevens - with its "ingenious use of digital technology" which helped to attract customers during the pandemic.
Sarah Barber, co-founder of Scrumbles Cake Shop, said: "We're so grateful to have won this fantastic prize. The knowledge of the Vodafone advisors will be invaluable to us and our business and we feel so lucky to be able to reach an audience the size of Vodafone's. Expanding into a digital market enabled us to keep our business running safely during lockdown and expand our customer base at the same time."
Sarah started Scrumbles with her friend and colleague Beth Charles in 2017 when they were working together at an insurance company.
After being made redundant, the pair decided to open Scrumbles Cake Shop in April 2019.
During lockdown, Scrumbles launched an online store on Shopify and took to social media to promote their products, launch competitions, increase followers and endorse other small businesses in the region.
The business has been such a success during the pandemic that Beth and Sarah are now looking to relocate to larger premises and hire more staff.
Anne Sheehan, business director at Vodafone UK said: "I’d like to congratulate Scrumbles Cake Shop who were worthy winners of this competition and I hope will go from strength to strength as a result of this social media boost.
"We launched the Shout Out for Small Business campaign to continue raising awareness of the brilliant things small businesses have done to survive the pandemic. While the pandemic has presented many challenges, the ability to engage with and attract customers online opens up all kinds of business opportunities."
