The Stickleback Fish Company Ltd

Stickleback Fish Company Ltd was established in 2005 and located south of Hatfield at Welham Green, the Stickleback Fish Company provides wholesale seafood to hotels, restaurants, pubs, catering companies and to the education and healthcare sectors. The business employs 50 people, is committed to sustainable practices, and was recognised by the Marin Stewardship Council (MSC) as the ‘Fresh Fish Foodservice Supplier of the Year’ for 2020.  

The Challenge 

Ross Arnold, the Managing Director, had been looking for support to grow the business and found out about the Get Growing 2 programme through the Hertfordshire Growth Hub website.  Having been in business for many years, Ross felt that what he needed was specialist support to help his business develop a communication strategy to help them communicate effectively with their customers, suppliers, and colleagues. He did not need any general business support which was available but wanted more specialist input. He joined the programme with a clear vision of what the company needed to grow which he communicated with his Growth Account Manager. 

The Get Growing 2 Programme is funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 

The Solution  

After meeting with the Growth Account Manager both Ross and his Growth Account Manager set about agreeing an action plan together which included working with a branding specialist to develop a service communication strategy. Through the Get Growing 2 Programme the firm received a grant towards the development of a stage one branding strategy that allowed the Stickleback Fish Company to communicate much more effectively with their customers, suppliers, and colleagues. 

The Impact  

With regards to the commercial benefits, Ross stated that Get Growing 2 (GG2) played a part in accelerating the growth of the business beyond the 15% per year achieved over preceding years. This growth in turnover will ultimately lead to the recruitment of new employees, said ross.  

Moving forward the future priority for Ross and the company is to continue growing, so the business will be seeking further support from other similar programmes to maintain their expansion drive and build on the momentum achieved to date.  

Overall, Ross felt that his experience of the programme was a positive one and would recommend Get Growing 2 (GG2) to other SMEs wanting to grow their business.  

Hear what Ross had to say about his support from our Growth Account Manager: 

“I felt the understanding and expertise in business management of the Growth Account Manager was really good and the support was just what I was looking for.” 

The Get Growing 2 Programme is funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Interested in finding out more about this programme – get in touch by calling 01707 952777 or emailing enquiries@hertsgrowthhub.com