Kerry fights back from poverty to win national business award

* Award-winning Kerry Mackay at work on her Scrubbies products.

A young woman who rescued herself from poverty to start a successful business has been named as one of the UK’s most inspirational and dynamic female entrepreneurs.

Kerry Mackay from Glyn Ceiriog recalls that three years ago she had to use the food bank in Llangollen.

In 2019 she came up with the idea of starting ScrubbiesUK which manufactures a home-compostable alternative to the plastic sponge.

Over the past year she has won three awards for her initiative and in her latest accolade has been chosen as one of the top 100 business people in the UK by the f:Entrepreneur ‘#ialso100’ campaign. 

The campaign aims to celebrate the multi-achievements of women running businesses in the UK today. Now in its fifth year, it attracted a record number of applications during 2021. 

Scrubbies are washable, durable, reusable and affordable which reflects the sustainable heart of the business and the focus on putting people and the planet before profit. 

* Kerry's highly successful Scrubbies in their range of designs.

In November 2018, Kerry had to use the food bank for the first time in her life, and, as a working single mother, this was a devastating low point for her.

She designed Scrubbies in the following days and it is now sold to wholesale and retail partners with more than over 60,000 made so far.

Kerry won three other national business awards in 2021 including Product of The Year at the National Environmental Awards and using Scrubbies as a means to highlight both environmental and social issues having started her eco business whilst in food-bank poverty. 

On being featured in the #ialso100 lineup, Kerry Mackay said: “It's an incredible honour to be recognised alongside such inspiring female entrepreneurs. Hard work and sheer determination really do pay off, even if your only dream is to escape poverty.” 

Both f:Entrepreneur and Small Business Britain were founded by Michelle Ovens CBE, who is also the director of Small Business Saturday UK. 

“Congratulations to Kerry Mackay at ScrubbiesUK, and all of the brilliant female entrepreneurs featured in this year’s #ialso100,” she said.

“It is so vital that we recognize and celebrate the phenomenal contribution that women running businesses are making across the UK, and the far-reaching, positive impact they are having, not just on the economy, but on wider communities too. 

“The last few years have been hugely challenging for small businesses, yet despite this female entrepreneurship continues to grow and flourish in the UK, and is very much at the heart of the UK’s recovery.” 

* To see the full line-up of the 100 women featured in this year’s f:entrepreneur #ialso100 campaign  visit https://f-entrepreneur.com/ialso-100-2022/