Crunchy Carrots is a one-stop-shop for web design and branding, with expertise in UX, UI, design, social media, and visual imaging. With a base in Falkirk and a network extending across Scotland’s central belt, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, the digital marketing firm is expertly placed to help small-to-medium enterprises market themselves online, with a dedicated, hands-on approach.

Having successfully operated for over five years, founder and managing director, Scott Henderson, initially approached Business Gateway in 2016 for help and advice on strategy planning and financial projections. Scott was able to benefit from 1:1 support from dedicated business and HR advisers, as well as guidance from Scottish Enterprise’s financial readiness experts, and structure-based coaching from Skills Development Scotland.

Having previously benefited from the Business Gateway service, Mr Henderson got back in touch after learning more about the move to net-zero following COP26, and wanted to find out how he could secure carbon neutral status. Scott was then signposted to Zero Waste Scotland, who carried out a full energy audit and helped Mr Henderson to purchase an air source heat pump through the SME Loan Scheme, which successfully reduced the business’ carbon footprint by 75%.

Support from Business Gateway meant Scott was also introduced to experts from Strathclyde University, who helped him learn more about how to reduce the business’ carbon emissions and offsetting. With sustainability close to the heart of Crunchy Carrots, Scott and his team now regularly plant trees to offset emissions generated from their everyday work.

Through Business Gateway, Crunchy Carrots has also benefitted from a range of development courses, which have been crucial for training and upskilling the team-of-ten. Skills Development Scotland’s Skills for Growth Programme, Business Gateway’s Expert Help strategy support, and Stirling University’s Help to Grow Management Course have all allowed the team to understand where they can add value to Crunchy Carrots’ everyday operations.

Access to funding, including a Falkirk Council Business Resilience Fund grant worth £4,789, a Falkirk Council Business Adaption Fund grant worth £2,500, and a DigitalBoost Development Grant worth £6,000 have also been used for training the team on sales and processes, which was critical throughout the pandemic.

Crunchy Carrots has enjoyed considerable success over the years and support from Business Gateway has been instrumental in the business’ growth ambitions, with a new office in Perth set to open this month.

Scott Henderson said: “Business Gateway has been such a fantastic support since I started Crunchy Carrots. My adviser was always quick to respond to any questions I had despite the challenges of the past couple of years, and this support has allowed us to access critical grant funding that has helped us become a carbon neutral business.

“I am very proud my business is now net-zero status, after we only embarked on this journey last year. I’ve no doubt this would have been far more challenging without the support from Business Gateway.”

Lesley Pickles, Business Gateway, added: “In today’s climate, achieving net-zero should be a priority for all businesses. It has been great to support Crunchy Carrots throughout their journey and I look forward to seeing what their future holds.”