Made in Whitby Festival celebrates town’s businesses
The first Made in Whitby Festival has showcased the town’s businesses and local produce.
Whitby Brewery in East Cliff hosted two days of stalls, talks, demonstrations and live music in a celebration of “Whitby’s creative spirit”.
The event, funded by Anglo American and supported by the York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub, has been organised by a collective of Whitby businesses.
Darren Archibald, Director, Whitby Sea Salt, said: “The idea for the Made in Whitby Festival came from conversations with local producers and manufacturers with a view to showcase their skills, ingenuity and entrepreneurship that runs alongside and supplements the already very successful tourism industry.
“The festival has been a great success for all involved, with both stall holders and festival goers happy and smiling. We had interest to be involved from many businesses but could only accommodate a small number within the courtyard of Whitby Brewery. We are looking into the possibility of increasing the numbers of stall holders and festival goers at the next event with the help of very passionate organisations and businesses.
“We were looking at doing the festival at the back end of summer 2023 or early summer 2024 but with the support and energy of Anglo American and York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub we were able to bring it forward to July 2023. We have had amazing help from both these organisations.”
A variety of Whitby businesses took part in the festival, with some using the event to launch new products.
Vicky Bolton, Anglo American’s Social Programmes Manager, said: “Anglo American wants to support local economic growth and connect people to opportunities, supporting the creation of new businesses and supporting existing businesses to expand, develop and innovate.
“Made in Whitby is a fantastic opportunity for businesses from the local area to showcase their world class products and increase awareness of their offering, and Anglo American is delighted to be supporting it.”
Harriet Stainton, Business Relationship Manager at York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub, said: “Made in Whitby Festival has been a fantastic showcase of the town’s businesses, local produce and creativity. At the York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub, we connect businesses of all sizes to what they need to drive success and manage growth, so we were pleased to support the festival. It’s brought many businesses together and we look forward to working with them further to build on this success.”
Made in Whitby Festival ran across Wednesday 5th and Thursday 6th July.
Photography by Lucy at Acorn Marketing & Content Creation
Say ‘I do’ to getting your side hustle tax right
HMRC’s Help for Hustles campaign is here to help side hustlers get their tax right, quickly and easily - whether that’s wedding suppliers, parents earning from a hobby business or content creators making money from posting about the latest trends online.
CardioLogic Diagnostics Wins Innovation Supper
The fifth instalment of Innovation Supper saw Faye Singleton, Director of CardioLogic Diagnostics, take home the funding after delivering a compelling pitch for her life-saving business. Winning Innovation Supper has provided CardioLogic Diagnostics with seed funding that will help tackle one of the business's biggest early challenges: marketing. The prize money will support activities such as attending industry conferences and investing in paid advertising to reach more customers and raise awareness of the importance of accessible cardiac screening.
Strive Live Start-Up Incubator: Expression of Interest for Autumn 2026
Interested in joining a future cohort of Stive Live Start-Up Incubator? Find out more about the programme below, and register your interest to secure the first places when dates are confirmed.
Steps into Digital Voucher Scheme: Business Success Stories
The Steps into Digital Voucher Scheme helped businesses progress their digital transformation by providing one-to-one support that reflected their individual needs. Working with experienced digital providers, businesses were able to identify practical solutions and make meaningful improvements to the way they operated.
ETL Fluid Experts spark productivity boost with automation investment.
A North Yorkshire manufacturer of industrial filtration systems has dramatically improved production times after introducing automation to a key process, with support from Made Smarter. ETL Fluid Experts (ETL) secured almost £15,000 towards an automated wire processing centre, helping eliminate a major bottleneck in the production of wiring looms.
North Yorkshire manufacturers among firms investing £900,000 in digital tech with Made Smarter
From pizza dough and rally cars to signage, packaging and heavy machinery, makers are investing in growth and jobs. North Yorkshire manufacturers are among 19 Yorkshire businesses investing almost £900,000 in digital technologies to improve efficiency, create jobs and support future growth, with support from Made Smarter Yorkshire.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: The First Deadline is Fast Approaching
With the introduction of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA), the biggest change to the Self Assessment system in a generation is now underway. Although the mandatory start date of April 2026 has arrived for the first group of taxpayers, many self-employed individuals and landlords are still unprepared for the new requirements. Now is the time to check whether the rules apply to you and, if they do, ensure you have the right systems in place.
Fully Funded Training for Tourism and Hospitality Businesses - Level 2 Food Hygiene and Safety for Catering
The York and North Yorkshire Growth Hub are pleased to be partnering with North Yorkshire Council and the City of York Council on an initiative to support hospitality businesses from across the area to benefit from fully funded Food Safety and Hygiene Level 2 training and certification courses
Supporting Start-ups in York and North Yorkshire
Starting a business is exciting, but many first-time business owners are unsure where to begin and how to move forward. The York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub addresses this by providing accessible, fully funded support tailored to those at the earliest stages of their journey and beyond.
Largest crackdown on late payments in over 25 years as landmark Bill enters Parliament
Small businesses will no longer be left chasing money they are already owed, as ministers today [Tuesday 19 May] introduce landmark legislation to end the scourge of late payments and back millions of sole traders, freelancers, and family firms across the country.
Funding reaches £900K in bid to boost exports
The Mayor of York and North Yorkshire has unlocked a new wave of export funding for businesses, taking the total support up to £900,000. The third round of the Get Exporting programme is available for applications today (Monday, May 11) with £265,000 in grants for businesses to tap into.
🚗 The Growth Hub is hitting the road!
After the success of last year's roadshows, the Growth Hub is hitting the road again, traveling the region to bring the best of local business support to a town near you. Partnering with NatWest Accelerator, and joined by Business Support Advisors from North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council, the Growth Hub Roadshow is set to showcase what business support really looks like.