Two Huron County Food Businesses Receive $5,000 Grants from Starter Company Plus Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 6, 2021

SPOKESPERSON: Glen McNeil, Warden 519.524.8394 x3224 warden@huroncounty.ca 

Two Huron County Food Businesses Receive $5,000 Grants from Starter Company Plus Program

Huron County, Ontario – The County of Huron, in partnership with the Province of Ontario, has awarded two Huron County entrepreneurs grant funding of $5,000 to support their start-ups and growth efforts through the Starter Company Plus program.
The Starter Company Plus program, administered locally by the County of Huron, provides business training, mentoring, and grant opportunities up to $5,000 for eligible participants to start, expand, or buy a small business.
Successful recipients of the latest intake for this program include:

• Les & Nel’s Kitchenette (Dashwood) – Les & Nel's Kitchenette is a new baking company that specializes in providing healthy baked snacking options for people with diet restrictions, including sugar free, wheat free and reduced carbohydrate options. Les & Nel's flagship product is a toasty savoury seeded teff cracker. There will be limited edition and seasonal flavour profiles of the original cracker available to purchase direct from Les & Nel's throughout the year. Other products currently in development with some scheduled to launch in the next 6 months are soda crackers, cheesecakes, brownies and pizza crusts. Les & Nel’s Kitchenette successfully received the Starter Company Plus micro-financing grant for start-up costs including kitchen and office equipment.
• Wilhelmina Bakery (Londesborough) – Wilhelmina Bakery is a new bakery in Huron County that brings a European pastry style into the market. The bakery offers fresh, made-to-order: cakes, specialty mousse and Bavarian cakes, entrements, custom designed cakes, small pastries, tarts and cookies. Monthly specialty pastries will also be available. The bakery will use fresh, local products when available. Wilhelmina Bakery successfully received the Starter Company Plus micro-financing grant for start-up costs, specifically specialty kitchen equipment.

As part of the process, Starter Company Plus program participants were required to submit a formal application, which included a business plan and cash-flow projections as well as participate in mandatory business training. The successful recipients were selected by the Grant Review Committee after delivering a 10-minute pitch for their business start-ups or expansion concepts.

The next intake for the Starter Company Plus program will open in the fall. Stay tuned for details.

For more information about the Starter Company Plus program, please visit ecdev.huroncounty.ca or contact Patrick Donnelly, Entrepreneur and Business Coach, at 519.524.8394 ext. 3307 or by email at pdonnelly@huroncounty.ca.

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The County of Huron asks the community to continue respecting all public health guidelines, including performing hand hygiene, practicing physical distancing, wearing masks and staying home if ill. Stay informed on the COVID-19 situation in Huron County by visiting the Huron-Perth Public Health website.