'Use us or lose us': Northampton spice company sees business support surge but asks for public backing

A Northampton business has seen their summer income slashed by 80 per cent as events are cancelled and pubs shut.

Sera Harman launched Bite Me Spices six years ago after going gluten free for medical reasons.

Supermarket shopping had become an uphill challenge as she tried to find ingredients to suit her diet but to no avail.

Sera began to start making her own spices at home and ditched the idea to study for a PhD to become her own boss.

Now she has a line of gluten free ketchups, relishes, BBQ rubs, powders and spices all for sale in biodegradable packaging.

For the past six years she has been touring the countries food festivals with Bite Me Spices, relying on the business as her only source of income.

In March, she had finally reached a comfortable position to look for a commercial kitchen and had a bigger dream to open up a deli.

But when Boris Johnson announced the news of a lockdown on March 23 she clung to hope but feared what her business might become if pubs and restaurants did not need her produce.

The Chronicle & Echo's new campaign - 'Your Town Needs You' - aims to shine a light on our small businesses and calls on the people of Northampton to support the things that make town unique.

"We did supply a lot of pubs and caters but obviously due to the lockdown it has gone to nothing really," Sera said.

"I think I probably had a bit of a cry, I just spent the last six months battling back from a serious health problem and things were getting back on track.

"I think I lost 80 per cent of my income that I would expect over the summer as mainly pubs, restaurants and festivals have all been postponed or shut down."

Sera's business has not qualified for any Government grant so she is relying solely on online orders to keep Bite Me Spices afloat.

"It's been a rollercoaster, there have been times where it's felt like it's just too hard but there have also been times where we've had an awful lot of local support.

"Local businesses are really trying to help other local businesses by doing collaborations with our products.

"We are posting eachother's dishes and do hopefully more than just keep going but we don't quite know what the future holds unfortunately.

"If local people want local businesses to stay here when lockdown is over they need to use us now really. If you support a local business you're putting money into the local economy - it has a ripple effect.

"Northamptonshire has amazing produce and we are relying on everybody to support us."