In early 2023, Bison Hill was awarded support through the Reigate and Banstead Business Support Grant. We’d been trading for just over a year — long enough to have real sales data and a clear picture of what the next stage of development required. The grant was small relative to what we’d invested in development. It mattered anyway.
What We Used the Grant For
Three things. Improved product photography — the October 2022 shoot had served us well but there were gaps in the feature documentation we wanted to address before approaching stockists seriously. First stockist sample packs — the physical materials needed to open a trade conversation properly, with samples, spec sheets, and wholesale pricing presented professionally. And trade show preparation materials — we were evaluating whether to exhibit in 2023 and needed to understand what that commitment looked like in full.
What the Grant Represented
Beyond the specific uses, the Reigate and Banstead Business Support Grant mattered because of what receiving it meant. Grant programmes at local authority level involve an assessment of the business. We were assessed as a credible local business with a real product and a viable future, not as a side project or a hobby operation. Twelve months from launch, that external validation from our home borough meant something.
It also helped fund the Artisan Food Club listing, which connected the Gaucho with a food-interested audience that was exactly the right fit.
Local Business, Local Support
Bison Hill is a Reigate business. We started at 15 Bell Street in February 2022. We’re still here. Local government support for local makers is not a small thing — it’s part of what makes a place a place where things get made. We’re grateful for it and not embarrassed to say so.
