Heavenly Tasty Organics, the Omagh-based manufacturer of organic baby weaning meals, will represent Northern Ireland at next month’s final of The Pitch competition to find the UK’s best small business.

The Tyrone company won the Northern Ireland heat, which was held last week in Liverpool as part of the regional event, and will now go forward to the UK Final in London on 16th November.

Shauna McCarney was successful against eight other small businesses from the Northern Ireland heat. Around 80 companies entered the UK event.

Invest Northern Ireland’s NI Business Info and Women in Business Northern Ireland are among The Pitch’s local partners. The competition is sponsored by digital business hibu and the Crunch and ICAEW accountancy organisations. Other partners include Dell and Scottish Enterprise.

Shauna McCarney, who formed Heavenly Tasty Organics in 2008 to offer young mums 100 per cent natural baby weaning products, said: “Winning the Northern Ireland heat in this important UK competition is a marvellous endorsement of my business and will help me immensely to raise the company’s profile particularly in Britain.

“We already have a strong base in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland especially with retailers such as Musgrave and SuperValu.

“Success in The Pitch will help me to develop sales from inquiries I’ve already received from potential customers in Great Britain seeking ‘free-from’ meal options for babies. My objective is to be selling my products in Britain within the next 12 months.”

Heavenly Tasty Organics has already won an impressive cluster of major awards for enterprise, innovation and quality from organisations including the Soil Association, the leading body for organic products, Women in Business in Northern Ireland and Maternity magazine in the Republic of Ireland.

The Pitch was launched in 2008 as part of the Bristol Design Festival and has since grown to a UK-wide competition for smaller businesses. The event enables owners of local start-ups and small companies to pitch their business to a panel of successful entrepreneurs.

The company which wins the national final next month will receive a range of prizes including mentoring and consultancy support.