This project was part-funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The AI Digital Catalyst was delivered by Lancaster University as part of the Cumbria Accelerator Business Growth & Innovation programme in partnership with Enterprising Cumbria. The ‘Cumbria Accelerator: Business Growth & Innovation’ Programme offers SMEs and pre-start entrepreneurs assistance and consultancy and was funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This was being administered by Westmorland & Furness Council and led by Enterprising Cumbria.

For artisan food producers, innovation often begins with tradition.

At Lovingly Artisan, an award-winning bakery based on the outskirts of Kendal, centuries-old craft techniques sit alongside an ambition to explore new ideas in sustainability, food education and digital technology.

Producing around 10,000 loaves and pastries each day and supplying customers through retail sites, food service, online delivery and national retailers, the business has built a reputation not just for exceptional bread, but for leadership around grain, provenance and food security.

Founded by Catherine Connor and Aidan Monks 16 years ago, Lovingly Artisan has grown from a lean to garden room at the side of the family home into a 56-person operation spanning three locations. These include two substantial bakeries, a newly installed flour mill and an integrated model built around grain growing, milling and baking.

That growth has been shaped by bold decisions, strategic partnerships and a willingness to explore new technologies. For Catherine, one of the most important influences on that journey has been Lancaster University.

Food for thought

Lovingly Artisan’s relationship with Lancaster University began around 2020, when Catherine joined the Cumbria Innovations Platform (CUSP), a six-month programme designed to support food and drink businesses across the region.

Delivered just as the pandemic began, the programme was forced online, but its impact proved lasting.

The sessions challenged participants to rethink their future goals, explore new growth opportunities and consider how technology could support business development. They also encouraged leaders to reflect on how wider forces such as climate change, public health and geopolitical instability might affect their organisations.

That early engagement helped sharpen the business’s long-term thinking and gave Catherine and Aidan the confidence to make major strategic decisions, including a substantial investment in a bespoke flour mill and new grain-growing partnerships with farming families in Penrith, the North East and Cheshire.

The results have been transformational. Grain that once travelled thousands of miles can now come from as little as 30 to 70 miles away. The business is preparing to launch its own flour and sourdough pasta, while building a supply chain that is more resilient to shocks such as Covid and the war in Ukraine.

Embracing artificial intelligence

Several years later, the relationship with Lancaster University entered a new phase through the AI Digital Catalyst programme.

Designed for senior leaders in SMEs, the programme supports businesses to explore artificial intelligence in a structured and practical way. It combines workshops on future strategy, digital innovation project planning and leading digital transformation, alongside the opportunity to develop a live AI-related project supported by a fourth-year MSci student.

For Catherine, the timing was ideal. She had been hearing increasing discussion about AI and its potential impact on business, but had not yet worked out what it might mean in practice for Lovingly Artisan.

“I came to the table with no experience,” she said. “I didn’t even have an AI account. It was a completely blank sheet of paper.”

That made the programme’s first workshop particularly valuable. By bringing together academic expertise and a diverse cohort of business leaders from sectors including care, professional services, stately homes, trades and food production, the sessions created both a practical and strategic introduction to AI.

“It was brilliant,” Catherine said. “The professors explained what it is, what impact it can have on the world, and what impact it can have on your business. We came in with nothing to share but everything to learn.”

The programme helped Catherine and her marketing manager, Jasmin Brown, see that AI was not simply something to be anxious about or left to larger organisations.

“It made me realise the importance of putting proper professional systems in place within the business and what AI could actually achieve for us,” she said.

The result was a roadmap for how Lovingly Artisan could introduce AI across multiple aspects of the business, from marketing and product development to health and safety systems, research and planning.

From awareness to application

As part of the programme, Lovingly Artisan was partnered with fourth-year MSci Computer Science student Chinaza Asiegbu, who supported the business in developing practical applications for its AI ideas.

One of the first projects focused on refining elements of the company website and strengthening how the business communicates its story online.

That work has complemented a wider ambition to create a dedicated digital and AI-supported marketing function capable of supporting the next phase of growth.

“It’s probably one of the first platforms we open up to start our day,” Catherine said. “It’s had an enormous positive impact. It’s become an essential tool in how we operate as a business.”

One of the most immediate benefits has been speed. Tasks that once took hours can now be completed far more efficiently, helping the business free up time for higher-value activity.

“Certain jobs that took me a day to do can now be done in 30 minutes,” Catherine explained. “That means I can move on to the next task much more quickly. When you’re running a growing business, that’s incredibly valuable.”

The next phase of growth

The business is now exploring a further student collaboration focused on developing an educational YouTube platform.

The aim is to create thoughtful and informative content around bread, grain, sourdough and sustainability, helping consumers better understand what they are eating and where it comes from.

“We want to do more educational broadcasts,” Catherine said. “Working with students feels like a great fit because they come with a blank sheet of paper and can think creatively about what we want to achieve.”

For Lovingly Artisan, the value of student collaboration goes beyond additional resource. It reflects the business’s wider culture of learning, mentoring and experimentation.

“We spend our whole business lives nurturing our team and our employees,” Catherine said. “Working with students creates a really positive dynamic where we can support them while also learning from their ideas.”

A valuable partnership

The opportunities to partner with Lancaster University have arrived at key moments in the business’s growth.

The CUSP programme helped crystallise a long-term vision around resilience, sustainability and leadership. AI Digital Catalyst is now helping the business understand, adopt and apply artificial intelligence in practical ways.

“This latest partnership with Lancaster University has come at exactly the right time,” Catherine said.

“It has stretched us and pulled us in directions we might never have explored, and we are seeing the benefits again. It showed us that these things were possible, and that little old us from Kendal could do them too.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have that resource on our doorstep, and I wouldn’t hesitate to collaborate through other opportunities.”

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK by investing in communities and place, supporting local business and developing people and skills. For more information visit the UK Shared Prosperity Fund Prospectus.

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