This month we met up with Chris Hannaway, Co-Founder of Overly, to see how the business has progressed since winning last year’s Young Food and Drink Entrepreneur of the Year scheme (previously known as Cotswold Collaborates)…


It has now been six months since you won the scheme, how has Paul’s mentoring helped you in achieving your business goals over this time?

The engagement with Paul and the team at Cotswold Fayre has been very useful in helping to develop the business and in turn has helped the Overly brand to find its way forward in a crowded market.


How did you spend the cash award?

The £1,000 grant enabled us to attend the Food Matters Live trade show, which is a very important event for us. It was certainly money well spent – our product even appeared on the big screen during someone’s presentation!


What have been the biggest changes to your business in the past six months?

Having been on shelf in a number of outlets for some time now we have received some constructive feedback in regards to our packaging. With this in mind we realised that our packaging wasn’t quite right for the market and are in the process of changing from the blue tetra pack to a clear plastic bottle.

We are also looking to re-evaluate our branding, so it is less youth-focussed and will appeal to a wider demographic.


What are your objectives for Overly within the next year?

In the next year we hope to secure listings with gym chains, universities and further grocers.