Launching on Wednesday 4th May, the Metro campaign invites aspiring business owners to submit applications online, to win a host of prizes that will enable their businesses to grow.
The aim of Venture Candy is to provide budding enterprises with the exposure, profile and support they need to transform themselves into the talked-about brands of the future.
This is the second year of Venture Candy and is an opportunity for Metro, as the newspaper of choice for young urban professionals, to champion emerging new talent.
Metro will drive entries through in paper and online promotions beginning with a cover wrap on Wednesday 4thMay. Entrants will have two weeks to submit their applications across 5 categories: Design & Technology; Fashion & Interiors; Food & Drink; Health & Beauty and Green. A panel of judges, including Stuart Trevor, Sarah Beeny, Piers Linney, Jo Malone MBE, Tyler Moorehead and Richard Reed, will then select the best 3 from each category, from a list of the top 100.
The top 15 will then be featured editorially in Metro throughout a week, allowing its urbanite readers to vote for the people and products they want to see succeed. The winners will be announced on 20 July.
The five winners will receive a host of valuable business assets that will give them the business foundations they need to grow:
• £50k minimum ad campaign per category winner (£250k in total) in Metro
• Marketing and branding advice
• Ad campaign creation
• Exposure to high profile panel of successful entrepreneurs
• Business club membership
• Cloud based unified communications solution
Linda Grant, Managing Director, Metro, said: “As one of the UK’s most innovative media brands, Metro is proud to present a competition that celebrates entrepreneurship and creativity and offers readers the opportunity of a life-time to turn their business into a reality. We are looking forward to receiving entries from across the UK that have the potential to become the business success stories of the future.”
Sarah Divan, Head of Brand Extensions, Metro, said: “Following the success of last year’s Venture Candy, we are delighted to launch the competition for the second year. Our judging panel is made up of some of this country’s most successful business people and our urbanite audience will once again have the final vote to decide the five ideas to be awarded the impressive prize package. We are delighted that Metro will continue to champion the great British tradition of invention and creativity and invest in the next generation of budding entrepreneurs through this competition.”
