Youth Zone Entrepreneurs go Cookie Mad

A team of entrepreneurs from Wigan Youth Zone are heading to the regional finals of the Young Enterprise competition. 

The Cookie Mad group have been selling their bespoke biscuit holder mugs everywhere from the Trafford Centre to European Trade Fairs to learn how to run a successful business.

At the borough finals at Wigan’s UTC last week, their hard work paid off when they were told they would be going through to the Greater Manchester finals. They also bagged the Best Trade Stand award at the event.

Steve Hitchen from One Stop Hire, who has mentored the group throughout the competition, said: “I am so proud of the Cookie Mad team for all they have achieved and the awards just seem to keep coming. Every member of the group has shown such commitment and enthusiasm and it’s great to see how much they have developed and how far they have come.

“I can’t wait to see what they can achieve in the next round of the competition. If we get through the Greater Manchester round it will be the North West and then National final. We’ve got some hard work ahead but also some really exciting challenges.”

The group, made up of Kian Brookes, Daniel Hurst, Chloe Leyland, Jessica Yeates, Abbie Carricker and Lauren Carricker, were formed at Wigan Youth Zone in the Enterprise and Employability suite.

With the help of Youth Zone Patrons Marketing Incentives they designed and ordered a batch of biscuit holder mugs with their unique cookie monster design.

Earlier in March, the group headed off to Vienna in Austria for a European trade fair to sell their products. Despite being the youngest team there, they beat 56 other groups of young people from across the continent to win the Public Choice Award after visitors to the trade fair sung their praises.

The Cookie Mad team have received guidance throughout the whole process by Steve Hitchen and John Caldwell from Youth Zone Patron One Stop Hire, and WYZ Enterprise Youth Worker Sikander Ali.

The group were runners-up in Wigan Borough competition meaning they automatically go through to the Greater Manchester finals as a commended team.

One of the judges, Nicola Blenkinship from HSBC, said: “Let this be the start of a journey for you, the start of something successful. Put the things you have learnt into practice and do something amazing with it.”

The Young Enterprise competition is the UK’s leading enterprise and financial education charity, who strive to empower young people to learn and work.

The Wigan Borough round of the programme was also supported by Martin Ainscough, Speedy Hire and Keytech.

For more information on the opportunities available in Wigan Youth Zone’s Enterprise and Employability Suite email sikander.ali@wiganyouthzone.org or call 01942 612061.