Lifestyle business can beat the recession

The recession has hit small businesses hard, but there are encouraging signs that many firms, especially those started as a result of a hobby or passion, are bucking the trend by continuing to grow.
Andrew and Hayley Gait-Golding

Healthy nibble: Andrew and Hayley Gait-Golding’s firm is thriving.

These ‘lifestyle’ businesses are typically small companies run by individuals, and experts believe they could be more resilient in difficult economic times.

Andrew and Hayley Gait-Golding launched Urban Fresh Fruit, which sells dried tropical fruit, early in 2006.

South African-born Andrew, 30, a former professional cricketer, and Hayley, 29, who used to be a personal trainer, share a passion for staying fit and eating healthily.

The couple, from Duffield, Derbyshire, saw a gap in the market for healthy snack foods. In the past three years they have seen their business grow steadily and they now employ two people and a consultant who was a former marketing director at Innocent, the hugely popular smoothie drinks company.

Read more — How ‘lifestyle’ businesses are beating the recession | This is Money