A NEW crisp company has started up in South East Cornwall thanks to a £120,000 business grant.

The Cornish Crisp Company based at Kelly Bray started production on Thursday using locally grown potatoes with the aim to produce 100,000 packets this year.

The company will support local charities and organisations by donating 1p from every bag of their crisps.

Support

A penny from every sale of 'Agitater' (salt and vinegar flavour) crisps will go to Surfers Against Sewage, 'Spectater' (salt and black pepper flavour) crisps to the Hall for Cornwall, 'Gratertater' (cheese and onion) crisps to the Cornwall Community Foundation and 'Commontater' (ready salted) crisps to Ashes and Sparks, a Cornish-based organisation.

The project was able to go ahead thanks to the award of a £120,000 business grant from the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE).

The venture is the brainchild of public relations consultant Sue Wolstenholme, who decided that the good reputation of Cornish potatoes should not be restricted to crops straight from the fields, but could be used for high-quality processed foods as well.

Sue, who runs Ashley Public Relations, said: "The new business will employ three full-time staff and buy all its potatoes in the county. We are already talking with local growers who will be producing varieties of crisping potato specifically for the business.

"We really wanted to work in partnership with local organisations from the very start. Many of our charities and arts organisations in Cornwall are struggling to survive at the moment, so we are hoping that we can give them a bit of a boost and raise awareness of their good work through sales of the crisps."

Eco-travel

Waste vegetable oil from crisp frying will be used to produce bio-diesel, which will be used for company and staff vehicles. Employees will also be encouraged to cycle, car share or walk to work.

Rob Hatt, head of food and rural affairs at the South West RDA said: "This is a really interesting project which will provide extra employment, benefit local growers and further strengthen the region's reputation as a producer of quality food.

"It is also committed to be as environmentally-aware as possible, using a green tariff electricity supply and recycled materials where possible."