Bourne-based luxury gift company, Hay Hampers,has been named one of the UK’s top ‘Small Biz 100’ by Small Business Saturday. Hay Hampers has been selected as a trailblazer in the official countdown to Small Business Saturday, which takes place across the UK on 1st December 2018.

The achievements and contribution to the local community of Hay Hampers will be celebrated and spotlighted on Sunday 23rd September in the run-up to Small Business Saturday. This is part of the campaign’s mission to celebrate small business success, and encourage the nation to 'shop local' and support small British businesses.

The 2018 Small Biz 100 are drawn from every corner of the UK and reflect the vibrancy of the UK’s 5.5 million small businesses. Reflecting the latest in innovative start-up trends, from sustainable shopping, through to internationalisation, this year’s Small Biz 100 features a range of unique independent businesses, such as Hay Hampers.

Founded in 1984, Hay Hampers has been a family-run business for over 30 years.

Since July 2014, when the company was taken over by the Da Re family, Hay Hampers has become a synonym of exclusive, gourmet quality affordable to everybody and reached a distinctive high end positioning in the gift hamper market. In the last four years, Hay Hampers’ turnover has increased four-fold from £500.000 to £2 million.

Managing Director of Hay Hampers, Gabriele Da Re said:

“We are constantly looking for small, premium artisan producers from the UK and abroad as we believe that small businesses are the engine of our economy. For this reason, we support their business.”

Director of Small Business Saturday UK, Michelle Ovens said:

“The launch of the Small Biz 100 marks the exciting count-down to Small Business Saturday 2018. We are thrilled to highlight the dynamic, creative and inspiring small businesses from across the country, as part of our campaign to celebrate and champion the success of the UK’s small businesses. The Small Biz 100 showcases the companies at the heart of the UK’s economy, which we need to support now more than ever.”

In its sixth year, Small Business Saturday is the UK's most successful small business campaign, which last year saw an estimated £748m spent with small businesses across the UK on Small Business Saturday.

A grassroots, not-for-profit campaign, Small Business Saturday was originally founded by American Express in the U.S. in 2010. American Express remains the principal supporter of the campaign in the UK, as part of its on-going commitment to encourage consumers to shop small.

The #SmallBizSatUK campaign trended at number one in the UK on Twitter during 2017, reaching over 115 million people globally. The Prime Minister and the Mayor of London were among those publically supporting the campaign. Over 87% of local councils also supported the campaign.

Small Business Saturday also benefits from the backing of leading business organisations including the Federation ofSmall Businesses and Enterprise Nation. The campaign is also supported by Amazon, Indeed, Royal Mail, Vistaprint, Xerox, and Square.