Background

Buttercrumble is a Leeds-based studio providing creative services including branding, graphic design, illustration, visual storytelling and more. Launched by twin sisters Chloe and Abigail Baldwin initially as a side hustle whilst studying, Buttercrumble supports children-focused and community-sensitive brands in an effort to make the world better through design.  

The challenge

The sisters wanted to build on Buttercrumble’s offering by positioning the company as a consultancy, partnering with clients at an earlier strategic stage to shape their vision from the outset. They also sought to focus on a select number of larger-scale projects, enabling them to dedicate more time and attention to each collaboration, rather than dividing their efforts across numerous smaller engagements. 

As owners of a socially conscious business, Chloe and Abigail also had the desire to reduce their environmental impact. Specifically, they wanted to reduce their carbon footprint, encourage suppliers to do the same, and help clients to understand the emissions associated with using Buttercrumble’s services.  

The solution

Through our Innovation service we carried out a deep-dive analysis of the business to map out strategic objectives, followed by comprehensive research into audience profiling, current and future trends, media visibility, industry events and external messaging.  

From here, we helped the sisters to identify campaign strategies, tactics, content ideas and KPIs. It was clear that in order to move into consultancy, the company needed to be seen as a thought leader. Buttercrumble created a book, The Brand Power Manifesto, which launched in May 2024 and teamed up with a marketing and PR firm to optimise its launch and promotion. We provided a £1,100 grant to support this work. 

For the environmental focus, we connected Chloe and Abigail with consultants Sustainable X. They helped Buttercrumble adopt a green business travel plan, develop a strategy for engaging suppliers and clients, and evaluate ways to cut their office-related emissions.  

The impact

The work we supported in helped to improve the co-founders’ resilience, safeguarding their jobs, and is set to open up employment opportunities to align with the growth of the business within the next 12 months. 

Thanks to the sustainability project, Buttercrumble predict that they’ll reduce carbon emissions by 23% to 4.98 tonnes by 2030. The aim is to achieve net zero by 2045 at the latest.  

“West Yorkshire Business Boost has helped us pivot into consultancy, which will open up new growth opportunities, while our new carbon-reduction plan will ensure we’re on target for a greener future!” Chloe and Abigail Baldwin, Co-founders

Learn more about our Export programmes

If you have a business based in West Yorkshire and are interested in working with our team of Innovation Managers, express your interest in our programme here.