An Argentinian-inspired Asado Grill company based in Somerset has doubled in size, brought its manufacturing in-house and sold more than 1,000 products thanks to successive funding delivered by SWIG Finance.
The Somerset Grill Co was launched in 2020 with a government-backed £7,000 Start Up Loan and has since received further SWIG Business Loan funding of £107,000 to help the business grow and keep up with demand. Start Up Loans is part of the British Business Bank and offers personal loans of up to £25,000 and free mentoring to help anyone start or grow a new or early-stage business.
Asado is a traditional Argentinian grilling technique involving cooking meat – succulent steaks and chicken wings, for example – slowly over an open wood fire or grill. More than just eating, it’s a social event. Somerset Grill customers “appreciate food and cooking, especially the theatre of cooking with fire,” says company founder Ben Naylor. How it works: chuck wood in the back and cook on the embers for hours, basting with the juices. “The food tastes so much better,” Ben enthuses.
The business idea was born when Ben was working as deck officer onboard the 126m super-yacht Octopus and making use of its custom-made asado grill. “When I got home, I looked into getting one of my own,” he recalls. “But it cost around $30,000, and it got me thinking: there must be a lot of people like me who would like to cook that way but couldn’t justify the expense.”
Ben and engineer brother Tom set out to design an asado grill that would be within financial reach of all keen outdoor cooks and fit perfectly into customers’ gardens. Their prototypes were created in a shipping container in Taunton, and the original products imported; by 2021, they had brought manufacturing in-house and moved to larger premises. Today, they occupy 4,000 sq ft and have a showroom just off the A303.
While the original design appealed to the direct individual customer, the company received so many requests from pubs and restaurants, the Grande range was created to serve that market. Earlier this year, a smaller sibling joined the clan: the portable Asado GO! which at £895 takes the beach barbecue to a whole other level. Serious folk will want to invest in the Cor-Ten option, which sees steel treated with minerals to last longer against the dreaded rust. This technology has been used on the Angel of the North and the undercarriage of motorway bridges.
Somerset Grill Co also makes its own accessories, from rotisserie skewers and meat hooks to “chapas” – a metal griddle or plancha used for cooking – and outdoor products to work with other popular brands such as Big Green Egg.
Celebrity owners include England Rugby Player and TV pundit David Flatman, Somerset and England cricketer Tom Kohler-Cadmore and WBA Super-Middleweight world boxing champion George Groves.
Business manager Rachael Taylor saw Ben through the Business Loan process. “SWIG was awesome,” said Ben. “It’s good to have normal people at the end of the phone rather than AI sticking you through the system. Rachael made it all very simple: bang, bang, bang. Having to do a business plan makes you get your ideas in line.”
“Somerset Grill has been a fantastic scale-up story and I am really pleased that SWIG could help,” added Rachael. “In just a few years, Ben has not only designed and brought to market an affordable product aimed at the mass market, he has also worked very hard to bring the manufacturing process back to the UK.”
