Perfect Pie Ltd

How Brays Cottage used Go Digital to make buying its "Perfect Pies" easier

If you love artisan food, you may well be a fan of Brays Cottage Pork Pies, produced by Perfect Pie Ltd in Norfolk. Owner and founder Sarah Pettegree has built the business up over the last 14 years, from selling at local markets to supplying delicatessens and pubs across the country. Many customers also enjoy buying their celebration pies with personalised messages - and demand boomed in lockdown.

"That's when I finally decided that I had to get on with improving our online shop," explains Sarah.

Getting a Go Digital adviser

"The Go Digital offer of a £500 grant was too good to miss. Then we heard we'd get expert advice from Clare Millar at Whoop Marketing and the offer got a whole lot better."

Sarah already knew Clare through the Proudly Norfolk Food and Drink network.

"That meant she understood our business and respected our desire to maintain our reputation for creating premium products. However, she brought a strong commercial perspective to our discussions and acted as a critical friend when it came to our brand building.

"I'm not afraid of technology but digital marketing is so important that you really need expert guidance. At a basic level, for instance, Clare showed me how to make better use of email marketing to keep in touch with our loyal customers.

Seeing success

"I was concerned about being too pushy, but it turns out they really want to hear from us - particularly if we are launching a new product or partnering with a new stockist."

More fundamentally, Clare's detailed audit and action plan helped Sarah think through the process of improving the online-shopping experience.

"Our website had just grown since we set it up in 2007 and I knew we had to do something to update it," says Sarah, "but I didn't know where to start. Clare gave me the knowledge, confidence and encouragement to put our ideas into action.

"We have since invested the Go Digital grant and our own money in improving the look and feel of the mail-order side of the business. That is attracting new retail and wholesale customers and strengthening our reputation with our loyal fans.

"Overall, Go Digital is one of the best projects of its kind, with a refreshing lightness of touch when it comes to paperwork," concludes Sarah, "I'd encourage every small business in Norfolk to apply."