Robinsons Pays It Forward After Winning Ceres Competition
Posted by Emily on 3rd Sep 2024
Robinsons Traditional Fish & Chips in Billingham, County Durham, is set to offer discounted meals to customers and provide free fish and chips to a local social club after winning a pallet of Ceres Natural Batter Mix.
Owner Martin Robinson, a fourth-generation fish frier, won the prize worth £1,400 in our August draw. While his initial thoughts focused on how the prize could ease the strain on profit margins, which have been impacted by rising fish and potato prices, Martin has decided to share the reward with the community that has supported his business since its opening in 2016.
Martin comments: “It was a nice surprise to get the phone call from Stelios to say I had won as I had put my order in as normal last month, unaware of the competition.
“Initially, I was excited, thinking how I could offset it against the business and increase our margins. With things being so tight, it would take the pressure off a little bit. But then I thought we can do something good with this and give back a bit.”
In a gesture of community spirit, Martin is passing on his winnings by offering a "Back to School" special, featuring a 20% discount on all online orders for a week. Additionally, he will be making a special delivery to a local social club, commenting: “Twice a year, we get a fish and chips order for between 60-80 old people who meet as part of a local Monday Club. We’ve been doing it for about eight years now so I’m going to gift them their next order as my way of saying thank you for their custom.”
Sharing the prize with Martin's second takeaway, Family Robinsons, just three miles away, both businesses will have approximately a two-month supply of free batter.
As a loyal Ceres customer for over eight years, Martin is grateful to Ceres for the prize and believes that being a good supplier involves much more than simply delivering great products. “It’s the service you get from Ceres that stands them out. If you’re stuck, Stelios is always willing to help.
“This is a fantastic prize, I didn’t want to accept it at first as I felt it was too much for a small company to give away. Eventually, I did, and it’s a great to have the option of giving back to our community.”