All for one – Peak District businesses turning to innovation and communities in a time of crisis

Surviving & THRIVING

Local companies reveal how they adjusted to the challenges posed by the coronavirus – and were able to offer a vital response to their communities.

Peak District Deli

The online deli, run by Ralph and Lauren Wilson, promotes high quality, locally produced food and drinks. It also caters pop up suppers, weddings and private dining events and supplies hampers to holiday cottages.

When Covid-19 caused an instant and dramatic swing to its business, Peak District Deli focused on its food delivery service across the Peak District and beyond.

Owner Ralph Wilson explains: “With over 100 Pop-Up Supper Club tickets sold and multiple weddings booked for this year – alongside private dining events - the sudden and complete loss of revenue due to the pandemic was shattering.

“The other side of our business provides an online shopping and delivery service selling exclusively Peak District produce. As the supermarkets struggled in the opening weeks of lockdown, our services quickly became diverted to reaching as many people as possible with food and drinks from the area.”

Peak District Deli travelled across all areas of the national park, visiting hundreds of customers and increasing its orders with producers – benefitting local communities and the local economy.

Ralph adds: “Many of our regular customers were in isolation during an incredibly difficult time. For some, we were the only people they saw or spoke to. For the producers, to be able to absorb the incredible demand placed on them was unprecedented. There has been a huge collective effort to meet everyone’s needs and take care of those in our communities who needed it most.”

Fischer’s Baslow Hall

The country house hotel and restaurant quickly adapted to offer an array of new services during the pandemic, including the launch of a wholesale delivery business.

Offering locally sourced fruit, vegetables and meat - via its premium “Baslow Beef Co” – to the local community in and around Baslow, the service was soon picked up and used by people living in the area.

The Fischer’s team also re-launched its “Max Packs” business – selling pre-packed quality meals directly to customers, as well as serving gourmet street food outside The Prince of Wales village pub and restaurant.

Director Neil Fischer explains: “The situation allowed us to diversify into other areas that we had talked about, but never White Peak Distillery

As the Covid crisis led to shortages of soap and sanitiser, White Peak Distillery adapted its spirits production premises to make hand sanitiser for key workers, including Peak District National Park rangers.

Brand manager Claire Vaughan says: “We can honestly say that hand sanitiser was not in our product development plans for 2020! But when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the UK, it quickly became obvious that there was a severe shortage of all PPE, including hand sanitiser, for many key and front-line workers.

“With access to the main ingredient – ethanol – and the requisite licences, we done. We had time to think and develop the business in more areas than we’d had the chance to do before – and to cover costs in the situation Covid-19 had left us in.

“As the company continues to evolve, we are pleased to say we will continue to offer

The craft distillery, based in Ambergate, specialises in handcrafted, small batch distillation of spirits, including whisky and gin.

these services to the local community.” used our know-how to take some of our alcohol planned for gin and other spirits, and divert it into making sanitiser.”

The company’s ‘Team Spirit’ hand sanitiser is produced to World Health Organisation formulation and the majority has been donated to key workers including the NHS, RSPCA, community nurses, schools, doctor surgeries, care homes and Peak District rangers.

“Following the overnight loss of trade, tourism and retail sales, we very quickly had to focus our main business around online sales and offering a local delivery service,” adds Claire. “Once lockdown restrictions were relaxed, we then launched an open air shop from the distillery main car park on Saturdays, for people to buy using click and collect on the website, or to come along and purchase safely. We will be working to support people to be able to shop safely and buy local in the run up to Christmas.”

Featherbed Tales

Glossop-based tech start up entrepreneur Caroline England (pictured) is helping children to feel connected with loved ones who cannot be with them, due to Covid restrictions or other reasons, through a family-friendly reading and story-telling app called Featherbed Tales.

An increase in digital awareness during lockdown – and a surge in demand for online products which enabled families and friends to feel connected – became the catalyst for Caroline to quickly scale up her plans for the series of recordable children’s digital storytelling books.

There are six tales in the current series of illustrated Featherbed Tales digital books, each featuring the fictional lives of wildlife characters as they have fun exploring the outdoors and nature. Parents, carers and relatives can narrate the stories themselves, using an app via the Featherbed Tales website.

Caroline says: “The aim with Featherbed Tales is provide smiles across the miles. Children find comfort and take delight in having books read to them, especially at bedtime. With so many family members and relatives living apart or across different households, Featherbed Tales offer children an enduring connection with the people they love most.”

NHS healthcare staff and play workers at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and Evelina London Children’s Hospital at Guy’s and St Thomas’ are also planning to use Featherbed Tales digital books with children in their intensive care and high dependency units.