top of page

Perthshire Social Enterprise Aims To Feed 100,000 People This Year



A Perthshire farmer feeding families in need with surplus deer is aiming to reach 100,000 people this year, after receiving support from Business Gateway.


Helen Stewart set up Fair Feast after taking over her family's farm near Pitlochry, home to protected moorland that needed regular deer culling to protect the fragile habitat. Rather than see the venison go to waste, she saw an opportunity to turn it into meals for families who needed them.


Fair Feast built a network of food banks across rural Scotland to distribute its venison. With support from food banks, deer managers and the public, the business scaled up operations, leading to the opening of what is believed to be the world's first social enterprise butcher's shop, on Pitlochry's high street earlier this year. Every sale in the shop is now matched by a donation to food banks, so growing the business means growing its impact too.


Venison is often seen as a luxury or an acquired taste, out of reach for families watching every penny. Fair Feast processes it into familiar, everyday products such as mince, sausages and burgers, making it easy to prepare and cook. The new premises also gives the business a permanent base for the first time, meaning produce can reach food banks throughout the year rather than only around seasonal peaks.


To support the business's growth, Helen received expert one-to-one support from Business Gateway adviser Andrew Webster, who advised on expanding into new premises and hiring and training staff.


He also signposted routes to funding and Fair Feast secured £5,000 from the Tay Cities SME Skills Fund and Perth & Kinross Council. Business Gateway also introduced the business to Scottish Enterprise, which has since provided further support through its Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service.


Helen Stewart, founder of Fair Feast, said:

“I could see how our business could genuinely make a difference, not just to the environment, but to families who were going without. What blew me away was how much the local community got behind us. People want to be part of the solution, and the support from Business Gateway has been a huge part of getting us to a point where we can properly scale up.”

Andrew Webster, Business Gateway adviser, said:

“Helen's vision and drive have created a genuinely unique business. She's engaged the whole community and is making a real difference to food poverty in Perthshire. It's been a pleasure supporting her through the shop opening, and I'm looking forward to seeing where the business goes next.”

To find out more about how Business Gateway can help your business, visit here.


Most Read

One Million Tins Of Baked Beans Delivered To Felix To Help Tackle UK Hunger

One Million Tins Of Baked Beans Delivered To Felix To Help Tackle UK Hunger

One million tins of baked beans will be produced for people facing food insecurity this summer through an innovative partnership between Princes, Waitrose, Alliance Food Sourcing (AFS), and Felix (formerly The Felix Project and FareShare).

Black Talent Awards Unveils 2026 Finalists

Black Talent Awards Unveils 2026 Finalists

The Black Talent Awards (BTA) has unveiled its 2026 finalists as the national platform prepares to mark its fifth anniversary, celebrating five years of recognising Black professional achievement, leadership, entrepreneurship and impact across the UK.

Radfield Home Care Shortlisted For Two British Franchise Awards

Radfield Home Care Shortlisted For Two British Franchise Awards

Radfield Home Care has been named a finalist in two categories at the 2026 BFA HSBC UK British Franchise Awards.

Categories

  • Dec 21, 2023
  • 2 min read



A Leeds-based golf mental performance coaching company is ending the year on a high after having more than doubled revenue, rapidly expanded its corporate network membership, trebled its player portfolio and recently launched in Scotland.


Underpin Sports, which is dedicated to unlocking higher performance by helping elite amateur and professional golfers cope psychologically with the pressures of competing across the globe, aims to further increase revenue by 50% in the next 12 months.


Its 72 Club corporate network is a major source of revenue for the business, with its membership increasing by 132% year-on-year. It provides a programme of events and strategic partnership opportunities to sectors ranging from finance to construction. The bulk of its membership is currently Yorkshire-based and includes firms such as Blacks Solicitors, Sagars and ProAktive Insurance.


In a further boost to its growth ambitions, the company has also recently expanded into Scotland and is headed up north of the border by Edinburgh-based Scott Dickson who is a well-known figure across the drinks, golf and whisky industry.


Other major milestones for the business include key senior appointments such as Sean Jarvis, who came on board as non-executive director earlier in the year. Sean’s leadership, sporting experience and expertise will help Underpin Sports drive its long-term strategic growth aims as he balances it with his full-time commitment as CEO of Leicestershire County Cricket Club (LCCC).


From a player perspective, Underpin Sports has launched its academy to provide closer support to the grass roots of the game and also increased its elite-level player portfolio from six to 20 in just 12 months, comprising 15 professionals and five amateurs. It has supported some of the game’s rising stars, including Charlotte Heath who was crowned leading amateur and winner of the Smyth Salver at this year’s AIG Women’s Open.


Growing the player portfolio has been enhanced by various commercial deals. Securing a key partnership with the Clutch Pro Tour - a feeder to both the Challenge and DP World Tours – has proved pivotal in helping the business forge greater relationships with up-and-coming talent competing on the tour.


Stewart Clough, managing director for Underpin Sports, said:

“The business is still largely in its infancy however it’s hugely satisfying to achieve record growth and play such a key role in the mental performance and career development of some of the UK’s rising golf stars."

“There’s a natural synergy between golf and business and so we’ve worked hard over the last year to develop a company which harnesses the widespread passion for the game but also provides an attractive proposition to corporate organisations. Our 72 Club network has made giant strides and it’s exciting to see it drive new commercial opportunities for those firms involved and enable them to get more involved in supporting the future of the amateur and professional game.”


“The exceptional performance, key senior-level appointments we’ve made and our recent expansion into Scotland hopefully signals our growth ambitions. We don’t want to stand still though and see massive potential to scale the business even further as we move into 2024.”


Most Read

One Million Tins Of Baked Beans Delivered To Felix To Help Tackle UK Hunger

One Million Tins Of Baked Beans Delivered To Felix To Help Tackle UK Hunger

One million tins of baked beans will be produced for people facing food insecurity this summer through an innovative partnership between Princes, Waitrose, Alliance Food Sourcing (AFS), and Felix (formerly The Felix Project and FareShare).

Black Talent Awards Unveils 2026 Finalists

Black Talent Awards Unveils 2026 Finalists

The Black Talent Awards (BTA) has unveiled its 2026 finalists as the national platform prepares to mark its fifth anniversary, celebrating five years of recognising Black professional achievement, leadership, entrepreneurship and impact across the UK.

Radfield Home Care Shortlisted For Two British Franchise Awards

Radfield Home Care Shortlisted For Two British Franchise Awards

Radfield Home Care has been named a finalist in two categories at the 2026 BFA HSBC UK British Franchise Awards.

Categories

Brewers Bury St Edmunds-West Is Now Open

Brewers Bury St Edmunds-West Is Now Open

Ready for store exclusive offers, all the best decorating brands under one roof and an expert team ready to serve all your decorating needs? Well, Brewers Bury St Edmunds-West is now open! Located on Unit 2, Arras Road, Blenheim Industrial Estate, IP33 3TX, the store is accessible off the A14 and situated next to Glasswells and Screwfix. To celebrate the opening of the new store, we’re giving out free goodie bags so you can get your hands on Brewers and Albany items. There will be free...

Windermere Dragon Boat Paddlers On Tour In France

Windermere Dragon Boat Paddlers On Tour In France

A charitable team of Windermere dragon boat racers has travelled to France to take part in an international festival.

Blackpool Hotel Teams With Local Distiller To Launch Exclusive Drinks

Blackpool Hotel Teams With Local Distiller To Launch Exclusive Drinks

Award-winning, family-owned Hotel Sheraton in Blackpool, has teamed up with a local distiller to create two bespoke spirits exclusively for hotel guests.

Recent Posts

bottom of page