Hello! Thanks for talking with us today. Please can you introduce yourselves to our readers.

Hello! We are Rod and Ross, the founders of Corkers Crisps.

What is it that makes a packet of Corkers stand out from the crowd?

 We are quintessentially British, celebrating all that is great about Britain. Our unique variety of spuds are grown in unique fenland soil giving our crisps the great crunch! We have a real seed to hand story as all our potatoes are grown in our fields, the crisps are made in our factory on our family farm and they are dispatched right off our yard.

You guys are about to launch a new range of vegetable crisps. How do you intend to market this new product?

There is already a strong demand from them, so in some ways they will sell themselves! But we have a great sales team and exciting sales channels and with the help of our in house marketing team and our PR Agency we will do a mix of competitions, promotions and stunts, all to be revealed!

Do you feel that rural startups are often unfairly overlooked?

Yes definitely. Being in a rural area you are not in front of a mass populated area. You have a population of about 1000 in a 10 mile radius so it is very hard to find not just the audience and people backing our crisps but also the staff.

Think back to when you first started. Is there anything you wish you’d done differently?

 Yes. We had a lack of industry knowledge back then which held us back slightly. It’s been a great learning curve, but gaining knowledge on the job is the best way to learn. There is a quote that has always stuck with me (Rod) “an expert is someone who has made every mistake possible in a given area” and that’s definitely how we have managed to get where we are, trial and error.  So I guess, in a roundabout way, we wouldn’t change anything because we may not be where we are today because of it.

What is the best accompaniment to a packet of your yummy crisps?

What’s better than a big sandwich and pint of beer to accompany a packet of Corkers?!

What have you found the most challenging aspect of running your own business?

 One of the most challenging aspects is finding the staff. Finding people who are just as passionate about our brand as we are but with the knowledge we need to succeed. We also set up Corkers in the middle of a recession so there was a big struggle finding the right banking partners let alone the funding, we went from having free money to having no money and banks with no money is like a pub with no beer.

What advice can you give to other entrepreneurs who are thinking of setting up their own business with a friend?

Choose something you are both passionate about, having a friend with you in business is the only thing that will see you through the hard times and enables you to enjoy when times are good.

 Are ridge-cut crisps evil?

 Not at all! Ridge-cut crisps from our potatoes are the finest. They could play a part in Corkers future.

What excites you most about Corkers future?

More people stocking us, new and exciting ventures and introducing new products. There’s so much to be excited about!