Own Business Day
Every year, on the second Tuesday of October (this year falling on the 11th) we celebrate Own Business Day- and this year, we’re asking you for your support! Read on to find out what it’s all about and why we need you get behind this fantastic initiative.
What is Own Business Day?
Own Business Day is rather special, and a chance for small businesses like us to really create a buzz around what we do each and every day. And a chance for you, our loyal supporters, to help make that buzz even louder!
Since 2018, Own Business Day has been a great opportunity for us all to celebrate and pay tribute to all the amazing independent businesses around the globe. Business that are making a real difference to local economies. Businesses that are investing in communities. Businesses that are creating, innovating and inspiring.
As the folk behind the campaign say : ”There is no joy without you,”- a sentiment we couldn’t agree more with!
This year, we want to encourage you to support the independent businesses you love, by enjoying them, sharing them with friends and shouting about the fantastic things they do. And of course, we’d be honoured if Hilltop was part of the celebrations too.
The Hilltop Story
Hilltop’s origin story might already be familiar to you- but here’s a quick re-cap, just in case.
After our founder, Scott, was given a hive for a birthday gift, he became fascinated by bees- and amazed that the honey he gathered from that first hive was quickly welcomed by local shops. Fast forward two years, and Hilltop gained its first employee along with a place on the shelves of countless independent farms shops and delis across the country!
The entire timeline of our journey so far can be found on our website, but safe to say there’s been a lot happening since that very first hive back in 2011. In 2020, Hilltop Honey underwent a major re-brand and became just simply Hilltop- which perfectly encapsulated the expansion of our range overall- including, of course, the very exciting launch of Hilltop Energy!
And from those humble beginnings, Hilltop is now homed very comfortably in new headquarters, in Newtown, Wales- a town we’re proud to call home. We’re a living wage employer, and we’ll always strive to be a business for good, not for profit. We want our staff to know how much they mean to us, how valuable they are how their hard work for Hilltop is appreciated each and every single day. Without our amazing team we would not be where we are today!
What we’ve achieved
So where are we today? Well, we’re multi-award winning, with seven Great Taste awards- an honour we’re so proud to have achieved!- not to mention official Organic approval from The Soil Association, Kosher certification by the KLBD, and a grade A from our first British Retail Consortium (BRC) audit back in 2019 (The BRC audit assesses our adherence to their global standard for Food Safety, ensuring all that we do is in compliance with food standards).
We were also lucky enough to be given the royal seal of approval in 2016, as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II selected our Welsh Blossom honey to be included in a very special truffle recipe to celebrate her 90th birthday!
2019 also saw us scoop a win at the St David Awards, taking home the trophy for Enterprise, which was an amazing achievement- and a fantastic, televised event too! Speaking of the big screen, did you know that Hilltop teamed up with the film, Goodbye Christopher Robin, back in 2017? This was such a lovely opportunity for us- we created special packs of honey giving customers the chance to win a luxury break to the real Hundred Acre Woods, Ashdown Forest.
We’re also proud be able to support our local community too, signing on as one of the main sponsors of Newtown Association Football Club for the 20/21 season. Our community efforts don’t stop at football though; 2019 also saw the start of a very special relationship, with an amazing organisation called The Honeypot Charity.
The Honeypot Charity work with young carers and vulnerable children aged 5-21 years, providing respite breaks and continuous outreach support throughout a child’s formative years. Young carers are given a break from demanding and stressful responsibilities at home and provide with a safe nurturing environment in which they can develop their full potential. 25% of profits from sales of our Adopt a Bee scheme go directly to the Honeypot Charity to help support this vital work.
How you can support us
So how can you support us on Own Business Day- and on every other day too? Shop online. Share our posts on Facebook and Instagram. Buy us in Holland & Barrett, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Tesco… full list of stockists here. Tell a friend. Sign up to our newsletter. Create a buzz about Hilltop!
Check out this archive image of Scott with some of our products, featuring our previous branding - We have come so far!
