Cornish Small Businesses Could Win Free Stand Worth Thousands at UK’s Biggest Retail Show

Eighteen small businesses are about to get a national platform that money usually can’t buy, and Cornish entrepreneurs are being urged to throw their hats in the ring.

Spring Fair has confirmed the return of its competition with retail entrepreneur and TV Dragon Theo Paphitis, offering 18 fully funded exhibition stands at Spring Fair 2027 at the NEC Birmingham. That’s up from the usual 12, and applications are open now.

📷Spring Fair x SBS Georgie, The Bridgefield Candle Company

How It Works

The competition is run through Theo’s #SBS (Small Business Sunday) community and is exclusively open to #SBS winners. Small business owners who haven’t yet won an #SBS accolade can still apply to join the community for a chance to take part. Full details and the entry process are on the Theo Paphitis SBS website, and the terms and conditions are also published online.

The competition closes on 21st June.

Theo Paphitis said: “I am thrilled to announce our continued partnership with Spring Fair. Year on year, the SBS x Spring Fair competition gives our winners a brilliant free opportunity to showcase their products, meet new people and grow their businesses. This year, we have even grown the opportunity, offering 18 stands in the #SBS Village, rather than our usual 12! I’m always inspired by the passion, creativity and hard work my winners bring, and it’s a real pleasure to meet them in person and hear their stories. Spring Fair is full of opportunity, and I can’t wait to meet the winning 18 at Spring Fair 2027.”

📷Spring Fair x SBS Jo Couch, Jo Couch Illustration

What Winners Get

Spring Fair 2027 runs from 7th to 10th February 2027 at the NEC Birmingham and pulls in more than 40,000 buyers and brands from across the retail industry. The #SBS Village gives winners a stand inside that, with no exhibition fee to pay.

Since 2018, more than 80 small businesses have been through the programme. Some have used it to land wholesale deals, others to find mentors, build contacts, or break into international markets.

Jo Couch of Jo Couch Illustration in North Lincolnshire said: “Spring Fair gave me invaluable visibility and exposure. I secured a partnership with US-based leading distributor Notes & Queries, who discovered my brand at the show and gained ten retail stockists, including Longleat Safari Park. #SBS has been a genuine turning point for my business.”

Paulomi Debnath, who runs Handmade by Tinni Paulomi in Essex, said she left the most recent show with nearly 100 leads and confirmed orders. “I’m leaving Spring Fair with confirmed orders, strong leads, new relationships, fresh ideas, and a very full follow-up list, but most of all, with a full heart and a deep sense of gratitude. It was an inspiring and genuinely career-boosting opportunity.”

Georgie from The Bridgefield Candle Company in Surrey used her stand to move her business from direct-to-consumer into wholesale. “Winning the stand gave me that push I needed to get my business wholesale ready. I am now in the best position possible to really grow this arm of my business. Winning this has shown me to always believe in myself and my business, always take the risk, and just go for it!!!”

For Jess at Floral Lifestyle in Buckinghamshire, the biggest win was a mentor with 40 years’ experience in her industry, on top of new wholesale contacts. “Spring Fair 2026 was the most incredible experience and I am so grateful,” she said. “Not only have I picked up orders and some great leads, all of which I wouldn’t have picked up alone, I’ve also networked with people in my industry that will help take my business to the next level.”

📷Spring Fair x SBS Paulomi, Handmade by Tinni

Why It Matters

Fay Tranter, Spring Fair’s Event Director, said the expanded village reflects the show’s wider commitment to independent retailers. “Working with the #SBS team has been an incredibly rewarding partnership and we’re proud to be deepening our investment in new and emerging retail businesses by increasing the number of fully funded stands from 12 to 18. Supporting the next generation of retail is central to what we do, and since 2019 this collaboration has enabled over 80 businesses to benefit from truly business-changing opportunities.”

For Cornish makers, designers and product businesses sitting outside the usual London and South East trade circuits, a free stand at the NEC is the kind of leg-up that’s genuinely hard to come by. Registration for Spring Fair 2027 is open at springfair.com.

Applications close on 21st June.

📷Spring Fair x SBS Jess, Floral Lifestyle