CREATIVE & DIGITAL

FRESH NEW LOOK

Redruth-based design studio A-Side is undertaking a radical rebrand for the Cornish Bakery.

The rebrand will “drive a cultural stepchange” for the company while targeting a younger breed of customer.

The refocussed brand vision will see all elements of Cornish Bakery’s estate transformed. At least seven new bakeries and three refurbishments will open under the new styling throughout 2022 and Cornish Bakery and A-Side have jointly commissioned two Cornwall and Devon-based artists, William Luz and Sophie Harding, to create unique artworks that will hang in every bakery.

A new Cornish Bakery website and reformed social media and digital platforms have also gone live

Cornish Bakery founder, Steve Grocutt, said: “Bakery is the new coffee shop and our carefully crafted, disruption-driven Cornish Bakery brand evolution will surprise many as it’s a major departure from our previous, multi-award-winning brand strategy. However, this powerful internal and external ‘re-set’ will pioneer our high-end proposition, activating a younger demographic in targeted geographies, all-the-while achieving our journey towards 100+ branches.” Cornish tech company Headforwards has been named as the first business sponsor of Cornwall’s City of Culture 2025 bid.

Cornwall is one of just eight areas in the UK longlisted for City of Culture 2025 status from an initial 20 expressions of interest from around the UK. The bid is being led by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership and the competition is run every four years by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

A RISING STAR

A Cornish company has been announced as one of Tech Nation’s Rising Stars in the south west.

Gunnislake-based audiobook innovator xigxag is the first platform to offer users the audiobook and eBook in a single format, with a ‘pay-as-you-read’ model.

The xigxag app offers thousands of titles from major publishers including HarperCollins, Hachette, Penguin Random House and leading independent publishers including Faber, Canelo, Boldwood and Chelsea Green. The xigxag team concluded two successful investment rounds this year, raising over £500k to power their ambitious growth.

Co-founder Kelli Fairbrother said: “It is an absolute honour for xigxag to be recognised as one of the hottest tech start-ups in the UK. Audio is a massive global trend, and we’re excited to help the publishing industry realise its full potential.”

Toby Parkins, director and co-founder of Pool-based Headforwards, said: “Digital technologies form a significant part of the creative sector and no more so than in Cornwall, where we are seeing the emergence of an exciting create-tech industry.

CULTURAL HEADFORWARDS

“We’re delighted to be backing Cornwall’s bid for City of Culture 2025 and look forward to making the case why Cornwall should win.”

The benefits of winning the title are significant. Coventry, which is UK City of Culture 2021, has attracted over £100 million in capital investment to support cultural projects, while Hull saw more than 5.3 million visits in 2017.

The shortlist for City of Culture 2025 will be announced next month, with the winning area revealed in May.

EMPLOYEES TAKE OVER

Penryn-based copywriting agency Radix Communications is now owned by its employees, after setting up an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).

Founded in 2007, Radix has risen to become one of the UK’s leading specialist B2B copywriting agencies, writing marketing content for technology companies worldwide. Directors Sophie Reynolds and David McGuire have sold 100% of the company’s shares to the new trust, which will hold them for the benefit of all employees.

Reynolds said: “As Radix continued to grow, it became clear that our hardworking people deserved to benefit more directly from their success. We’re one team, and this new structure feels like a good reflection of that. Now we’re ready for the next step of the journey.”

Reynolds and McGuire will stay responsible for running the day-to-day business while, as sole shareholder, the trust will give employees a powerful say in the strategic direction of the company. It will also be able to pay staff bonuses based on profits.

The two directors will be joined on the board of the new trustee company by two elected employees, Nick Prescott and Ben Clarke. SouthWestFD regional director and long-time Radix advisor Jeremy Kirk completes the board.

NO TROUBLE PARKING

A start-up which is working to become the go-to parking payment solution in the county has just seen its first partnership go live.

FindParkPay, founded by Tim Macknelly and Matthew Ratsey, provides a simple no signup platform, which looks to make paying for parking quick, easy and efficient for both customers and car park operators.

Their solution has just been taken for a sixmonth trial by St Austell Town Council .

Macknelly explained: “St Austell Town Council has been having issues with people using the current app they have in place, including complaints about download and set up time. Our Pay2Park system is an online payment system with no app required. The user simply scans a QR code and is taken directly to the payment options for that car park.”