Villaggio Gelato

Funding and upskilling support from West Lothian Council’s Economic Development service has helped local business Villaggio Gelato achieve its growth goals.

Villaggio Gelato makes artisan, authentic Italian gelato, using the finest ingredients and traditional machinery. The business experienced impressive growth in its first year of trading, and Owner and Director, Marguerite Spina, was keen to keep the momentum going.

There were two-time sensitive growth goals for the business: to move into new premises and to update the Villaggio Gelato website. Working on these goals in tandem meant that costs were high and affordability was an issue.

To help with this, West Lothian Council provided funding through the Digital Development Grant. The Digital Development Grant is part funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and is aimed at enhancing the digital capabilities of West Lothian businesses. West Lothian Council’s Economic Development service administer the funding locally. This funding was used to give the Villaggio Gelato website an exciting update. This ensured customers could browse products and place orders easily, resulting in a more enjoyable online shopping experience. In addition, Villaggio Gelato wanted to reach a wider audience to draw more customers to West Lothian and therefore focussed on the SEO capabilities of the website in particular.

At the same time, the business secured its new premises and opened the Villaggio Gelato Beach Hut in Winchburgh. Having the updated website meant the premises could be showcased appropriately.

Another key goal of the business was to attend more events, as this would build Villaggio Gelato’s profile and introduce the products to more clients. To support this, funding was provided through the Trade Development Grant. This grant can be used towards eligible costs associated with attending exhibitions, including renting, setting up and running an exhibition space, stand, electricity, and marketing costs.

In addition to the funding support for the business, Marguerite has also benefited from training and upskilling support. She participated in Invest in West Lothian’s first Women in Entrepreneurship Programme, a 4-part course created to help local business women take their businesses to the next level. During the sessions, the participants re-evaluated the current positions of their businesses, identified achievable goals, and created a clear plan to follow. This was possible through the Expert Help Programme, which is part-funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. By the end of the programme, Marguerite had gained clarity into the next stages of growing her business.

Marguerite said, “Business Gateway West Lothian was more than a tick box exercise…I felt that as soon as I got in touch with them, they were interested in my business and genuinely wanted me to succeed. With access to resources, training courses and funding, the support I was offered was invaluable. I urge any business in West Lothian to make that first phone call to the West Lothian team, and couldn’t recommend them highly enough.”

Further information about the Digital Development Grant is available here and further information about the Trade Development Grant is available here.

To register interest and find out more please email - invest@westlothian.gov.uk