Alpaca treks brought to Inverclyde following Business Gateway support

About the business

Situated in the beautiful Ardgowan Estate in Greenock, West Coast Alpacas offers an outdoor activity with a difference. Visitors can take part in off-road walking treks accompanied by the ever-popular animal, the alpaca.

Founded in December 2020 by Fred and Francesca Wade, the family run firm launched with the hope of diversifying the tourism offering in the local area and promoting an exciting option for the daily, socially distanced walk.

How Business Gateway has helped

Francesca Wade continued: “Through a range of webinars, Business Gateway has equipped us with the necessary skills to increase our customer-base and signposted us to a wider network to secure financial support from the council.”

As well as 1:1 start-up advice with a business plan, routes to funding, company regulations and marketing support, Business Gateway signposted co-business owner Francesca to a suite of digital training programmes such as Google my Business, a platform that drives customer engagement. As a result of these improvements to their online presence, West Coast Alpacas experienced a 60% increase in social media engagement and is fully booked until the end of March 2021.

In a bid to get to know their target customer, the family-run firm also benefited from market research reports, available on the Business Gateway website, that provided detailed information about statistics and demographics, allowing West Coast Alpacas to gain further insight during the launch phase.

What’s next?

The business hopes to add three more alpacas and to its family and run seasonal events throughout 2021 when it is safe to do so.