Suffolk Jungle Room, a shop and cafe with sites across Suffolk, has been named the winner of the Small Business of the Year award, sponsored by Fleximize, at the EADT Business Awards 2023.

The Suffolk Jungle Room is a high-end café and house plant shop with sites in Metfield, near Harleston and Wissett, near Halesworth.

Founded in February 2022 by directors Sam Coe and Tony Prince, the business calls itself ‘a houseplant haven’. It offers a high-quality, fresh and ever-changing menu of café products alongside the retail sale of a range of house plants.

The business currently employs six permanent staff members and a number of casual/seasonal staff across its sites. The new site in Wissett also includes a commercial kitchen, which allows The Suffolk Jungle Room to bake its products in house, helping to grow its offering and increase profit margins. 

The judges called The Suffolk Jungle Room a “thriving small business” that is growing quickly and said they look forward to seeing “where it goes over the next few years with its plans for expansion”.

They were very impressed by the business’ post-pandemic growth and said that, whilst it is only small, “the company’s investment in nurturing young people and fostering a vibrant sense of community is highly commendable”.

Samantha Coe, The Suffolk Jungle Room’s managing director, said that she felt “overwhelmed” to be named Small Business of the Year 2023.

“We now know we’re out there in the right places and it means we can start talking about scaling with enthusiasm and the support and knowledge that other people believe in what we’re doing as much as we do.”

Her advice for future entrants was: “Just go for it. We were contemplating whether to enter or not and it was one of our business mentors that said ‘do it’. 

“Even writing the award application made everything so clear and solidified our decisions to grow. Don’t take your foot off the gas, just keep going!”

About the sponsor

Fleximize is a multi-awardwinning digital business lender dedicated to providing UK SMEs with flexible finance, done properly.

Headquartered in Suffolk, the company launched in 2014 with a mission to make funding more accessible to SMEs, providing them with the financial flexibility they need to thrive. Since then, Fleximize has lent over £300 million to businesses across the UK, won awards, and helped thousands of business owners to fulfil their ambitions.

The company also serves the local business community through various events, initiatives, and partnerships to provide Suffolk business owners with the wider support they need to succeed.

The finalists

Kingsfleet

Kingsfleet in Ipswich is a chartered financial planning firm that provides bespoke financial advice to clients predominantly in and around Suffolk. It achieved B Corp status last year.

The judges were “highly impressed” with Kingsfleet and said that the business and its founder have shown their commitment to the local community and to staff’s wellbeing and development.

PredicAire

PredicAire is a software company near Lowestoft that has developed the first AI-powered management system, giving care providers in the social and domiciliary care sectors meaningful real-time data on residents’ health and wellbeing.

The judges said that PredicAire’s product “solves a critical real-world issue with AI in a reasonably undisrupted market”.

Satsuma Group

Satsuma Group in Wherstead, Ipswich, is a full-service marketing agency that works across all sectors. Founder Ellen Whiddup, a single parent, launched the business to utilise the talented workforce that doesn’t fit the typical 9-to-5.

The judges praised Ellen for “doing something that so many business owners shy away from”, which has contributed to the success of the organisation.

To find out more about all the winners, please click here.

For more on the EADT Business Awards, please visit the website.