Renee Roberts, from Laindon, Essex, used a Start Up Loan from Let’s Do Business Finance to take her new catering business RiRi’s Cookout to the next level.

Growing up, Renee Roberts had loved to cook, and mastered many delicious recipes with her aunt for the enjoyment of their family and friends. Cooking up a variety of dishes from Caribbean comfort food to classic desserts and cakes, Renee and her aunt had dreamed of one day having a food business to turn their favourite hobby into a full time job. Studying for and graduating from her Photography degree at the University of Portsmouth in 2022, while also working as a healthcare assistant, Renee didn’t know what her future career might lead to – but always had the idea in the back of her mind.

With the passing of her aunt at the end of 2022, Renee thought it might be the time to take the leap and do something they had always talked about – making a business out of their popular and beloved recipes, and bringing comfort food to the masses in Essex.

***“We both loved cooking, and we talked about starting a business one day. After my aunt passed away, that gave me the motivation to make a change and take the leap”***

*- Renee Roberts, Owner and Founder of RiRi’s Cookout*

Cooking up a storm

In February 2023, Renee officially left her job as a healthcare assistant and began to lay the foundations for a potential food business. Putting out feelers for demand, she began to sell takeaway-style boxes of her and her aunt's recipes, as well as classic sprinkle-cake trays and dessert boxes – and was blown away by how well received her Caribbean twist on takeaway food was.

"I was offering something different to the normal takeaways we have in Essex. We have Chinese, Indians, Fish and Chip shops, but nothing like this, and people loved it. I saw that gap in the market and knew it had potential to grow into something bigger"

Growing quickly in popularity, she knew that there was real potential in the venture for a full blown operation – and began to think about how she could take it further.

A dash of luck

By chance, while scrolling TikTok, Renee came across a video from a business coach talking about Start Up Loans for new businesses and how the scheme can help you to grow. Intrigued in the idea that she might be able to unlock funding to invest in the growth of the business and to get it off the ground, she began to research her options.

After a quick search online, she came across the Government Start Up Loan website, which directed her to finance providers of the Start Up Loan Company in her area. It was here that she found Let’s Do Business Finance, and decided to get in touch.

“It was scary to think about taking out a loan at first, as I hadn’t taken out finance for anything really before – but I thought, if this gets approved, it means someone believes in my idea too, and that means something”

Let’s Do Business Finance, one of the official Business Support Partners of the Start Up Loans Company and British Business Bank, is able to provide Start Up Loans from £500 up to £25,000, alongside other business finance across several regions in the United Kingdom. A social enterprise and not-for-private-profit, Let’s Do Business Finance is built on a ‘people first’ approach – looking beyond the numbers and focusing on the people behind the business and the potential of their business idea.

After getting in touch and deciding that a Start Up Loan was the right direction for the business, Renee began to create her application for RiRi’s Cookout.

“I found the application to be quite straightforward, and it didn’t take that long – considering I hadn’t applied for finance like this before, the amount of time it took was understandable.”

Start Up Loan recipient - Riri's Cookout, Essex

Approved for a Start Up Loan of £15,000, with £10,000 available from the end of May and the other £5000 available from August 2023, Renee got to work straight away – purchasing a second-hand horse trailer for renovating into the new mobile home for RiRi’s cookout.

After collecting the new trailer from Devon, Renee and her partner began to renovate – refitting and wiring up the kitchen to make it fit for purpose, and able to safely serve food to their customers. This took a few months, and allowed for plans for the business to fall into place – shortly after, RiRi’s Cookout secured a spot outside Laindon train station for three days a week, serving the passing trade and cement their place as a local food vendor.

Hungry for more

Trade was increasingly positive, with the new trailer in tow allowing Renee to take RiRi’s Cookout to new heights and locations when she wasn’t based at Laindon Station, like an event in Brixton and a local beer festival. A hit at these events, and now with a 5 star hygiene rating in tow, it has created excitement for the future of the business, with the potential for trading at even more festivals and events next year.

In the next few months, Renee plans to build the business even more – spreading word in the local area about RiRi’s Cookout, making it available for delivery orders on Deliveroo to create more steady trade, and increasing marketing activity with the help of her family and friends. As for the future of RiRi’s Cookout, the options are limitless – with the people of Essex having a growing appetite for her dishes, and more potential areas for the business to serve now that she’s gone mobile.