Northampton business owner takes step back after 13 years – but will use platform to champion independents

A Northampton business owner has taken a step back after 13 years, but plans to use her platform to champion the county’s independents moving forward.

Beverley Ward founded the award-winning condiment business Vicky’s Kitchen in 2011, which was built on the idea of being proud of your heritage and culture.

Based in St James, Beverley worked hard to offer all natural condiments that were handcrafted in small batches to enhance every meal.

The business was born from the heartfelt feeling that ‘mum’s cooking is best’ and the name of the business is an ode to Beverley’s great grandmother Victorine Harris, affectionately known as Miss Vicky or Mama Vic.

Despite the success of the business for more than a decade, Beverley made the difficult decision to stop manufacturing and selling to wholesalers – and she got a full-time job six months ago.

Talking to the Chronicle & Echo, Beverley said: “We’ve stopped our manufacturing and wholesale due to rising costs and not being able to pass those costs onto customers.

“Everybody’s feeling the pinch and our stores don’t want to increase prices for their customers. We weren’t making enough profit in the business and had to make a call.”

Beverley is keeping her brand as she has worked hard to build a decent following, made up mostly by individuals in Northampton and London.

“I will be championing local food businesses, independent shops and producers, and farmers markets,” said Beverley.

She spoke of Indi Local, an app being launched by Vanessa Anderson in 2024 to make it easier to find pop-up events and street food vendors across the county and beyond.

Though Beverley’s aim will be similar to that of Indi Local, her focus will be sharing the stories of producers and businesses – as she knows exactly what that is like from running Vicky’s Kitchen.

When asked how her customers felt when they were told about the change, Beverley said: “They were disappointed but I don’t think people were surprised. They’re feeling the pinch and know how hard it is to carry on.”

Beverley believes her story shows the current reality for small and independent businesses, as she gets the same impression from conversations with producers nationally.

Even those who attend big trade shows are wondering how they are going to fund their future plans, Beverley told this newspaper.

You can expect to see meal inspiration from Beverley’s social media posts, which will remain on the Vicky’s Kitchen Instagram account moving forward. This will include a breakdown of food costs to help others with their meal planning.

As well as that, Beverley will be visiting independent businesses, producers and events to champion what they do and what their journey has looked like.

When asked just how important it is for people to continue supporting independents in 2024, Beverley said: “It’s extremely important. This county has a wealth of produce and that’s what people aren’t aware of.

“Every year I’ve done this business, more people haven’t heard of half of the producers and businesses. It’s important to keep talking about it as the quality is very high.”

To keep up to date with Beverley’s new social media content, visit the Vicky’s Kitchen Instagram page here.