Cornwall-based business, St Ewe Free Range Eggs, has won Best Rural Food Business at the national Rural Business Awards 2020/21, which was held online Thursday February 25.
The awards aim to recognise and celebrate the successes of businesses operating in the UK’s rural economy which, in England alone, contributes £261billion to the nation’s Gross Value Added (GVA) - equating to nearly a fifth of the country’s total economic activity.
St Ewe Free Range Eggs are a multi-award winning free-range egg producer and packer, based in Truo, and have been farming for over 40 years.
With family values at their heart and nutrition at their core, St Ewe have dedicated themselves to producing an eggs for everybody by developing unique brands, being mindful of their impact on the environment and ensuring their hens’ welfare is always a top priority.
Nikki Owen, Head of Marketing at St Ewe, said: "We are incredibly honoured and feel very humbled to have been awarded the title of Best Rural Food Business, especially poignant following one of the hardest years for rural businesses across the country.
"Our success is not just down to us, but our amazing team, producer farms, suppliers and loyal customers without whom we wouldn’t be able to develop and grow as a rural business.
"The unwavering support and positivity we have received from the local community this past year has been truly staggering and we just want to take this opportunity to thank everybody that has played their part."
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Jemma Clifford, Director and Co-Founder of The Rural Business Awards, said: "The last year has been tough for all rural businesses, but we remain amazed at the high calibre of entries to the RBAs and this has certainly continued in the 2020/21 year.
"The judges had a real challenge on their hands when picking the winners and every business shortlisted should be very proud of their achievement of reaching the National Final.
"Our winners have all shown great determination and have bright futures ahead - on behalf of everyone at the Rural Business Awards we congratulate them all."
Alongside their win, St Ewe have also been looking after the local community with their Shell Out to Help Out scheme which has, alongside local charities including CHAOS (Feed Cornwall), FareShare SW, The Hive and Newquay Orchard, contributed over 160,000 eggs to local communities and foodbanks.
Nikki Owen said of the scheme: "We started the Shell Out to Help Out campaign because 52% of our business is in food services and hospitality, and when the third lockdown came along that business disappeared overnight, and you can't furlough a hen.
We've got 180,000 of them laying eggs every single day, so to avoid food waste, keep staff employed and keep our producer farms going we've been popping up in locations all over Cornwall selling trays of 30 eggs for £3."
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