Lancashire's 2014 Export Champions revealed

UK Trade & Investment North West has unveiled its export champions for 2014.

Seven companies from Lancashire – some of whom continue in the role from 2013 - will join the group of successful international firms across the region being recruited by UKTI North West to help and advise new companies on their export journey.

New to the Lancashire Export Champions is Goody Good Stuff based in Heysham.

Goody Good Stuff produces a vast range of sweets made with a pioneering plant-based hydrocolloid, contains no gelatine, gluten, nuts, soy or eggs, making it suitable for a huge range of dietary requirements from kosher and halal to coeliac and vegetarian.

Despite only being established three years ago, Goody Good Stuff currently exports to 28 countries, with over 20,000 stockists worldwide. Exports account for 65% of turnover, and the brand continues to grow. In the USA alone Goody Good Stuff is stocked in 13,000 stores, including 98.5% of all 7-Eleven stores, making it the retail chain’s most popular and far-reaching national roll-out in a store where the average roll-out is just 30%.

Accepting the offer to become a UKTI Export Champion Melissa Burton, who established the company after moving to the UK to study at Lancaster University, said: “I am delighted to be working with UKTI to promote the benefits of exporting. Currently exports account for a huge percentage of our success story, and I have worked closely with UKTI over the last three years to make this happen.

"It is vital to understand your target markets overseas, to research properly and to make the effort to develop a good relationship with buyers and distributors. UKTI can help with this and also with language and culture issues. I am proud to become an Export Champion for Lancashire and look forward to helping other companies enjoy success overseas.”

The role of the Export Champions is to offer peer to peer support in addition to the wide range of individually tailored professional services available from the UKTI team, as well as promoting exports generally.

The Export Champions programme is unique to the North West, and is part of a drive to create 1,000 new exporters for the region. The group includes both large and small companies from a range of sectors, covering all parts of the North West.

Other export champions in Lancashire include Flexcrete Technologies Ltd from Leyland, Graham & Brown, manufacturers of wall coverings, and ACDC LED, which designs and manufactures architectural lighting solutionswith successes including the London Olympics, Landmark Tower in Dubai and the Al Deeble Tower in Qatar. Also on the list are Swimfin from Burscough, What More UK Ltd from Burnley and aviation company Euravia Engineering and Supply from Kellbrook.