Hatch Competition 2025

Exciting Opportunity for Aspiring Entrepreneurs and Local Businesses in the East Midlands!

Following a successful 2024, we are thrilled to announce the return of the Hatch competition, offering small businesses the chance to win six weeks of rent-free retail space at Derbion. This is a fantastic opportunity to boost your business and gain exposure in a prime location!

In addition to the rent-free space, the winning business will also receive free Marketing support from Derbion to help increase brand awareness and grow its brand.

How to Apply: Interested entrepreneurs have until Sunday, March 16, to submit their applications through the button below (or click here). After the pitch process, the lucky winner will be announced in April. The winning business will then be able to open their rent-free space at Derbion in the following months.

This marks the sixth year of Derbion’s Hatch competition, which has seen incredible success since its launch in 2019. Previous winners, including Design 44, continue to thrive at the centre, and other past local finalists such as 1NE, Project D, and The Hair Repair Club have gained significant exposure. Hatch has also helped entrepreneurs like Katie Astle and Spirit Crystals by providing pop-up opportunities during key retail periods like the holidays.

Hatch Competition 2025

Full Name(Required)

Email(Required)

Phone(Required)

Business Name(Required)

Address(Required)

Street Address Address Line 2 City State / Province / Region ZIP / Postal Code Country

Please tell us about your business, brand and marketing strategy.(Required)

Why and where does trading in a physical space at Derbion fit in to your business plan?(Required)

If you were to win this prize, what do you think will be the realities of running a physical retail place in a busy shopping centre environment? How do you plan on handling these? How would your supply chain cope?(Required)

Please tell us about the commercial viability of your business - how are you planning on investment and growth in the future? Running a physical space comes with major opportunities but also has some costs with it. What do you think these are and do you feel confident that you will be able to absorb these?(Required)

UntitledCan you provide us with a sense of how your brand would look and be represented in a physical shop space? Feel free to include pictures or mood boards via a file-sharing website such as Dropbox. Please include the link to your files in your answer.(Required)

What other support do you feel you’ll need to make trading at Derbion really successful?(Required)