A Chat with Sarah O’Neill, Founder at Cotswold Collective

“Our mission is simple: make shopping local as seamless and rewarding as Amazon.”

Tell us about Cotswold Collective

Cotswold Collective is the community membership app that rewards residents and visitors for shopping local.

For £30 a year, Members unlock exclusive perks and discounts at more than 400 local businesses; from cafés, pubs and restaurants to boutiques, wellness studios, children’s attractions and experiences. The app gives people a digital membership card in their phone, always ready to use when they’re out and about.

At its heart, the Collective is about strengthening communities. Your purchases power local businesses and keep the Cotswolds thriving. Whether you live here, come for weekends or visit on holiday, the app makes it easier to enjoy the very best of the region while supporting the businesses that make it unique.

How did you come up with the idea for the company?

I’ve always been passionate about creating community and showcasing the incredible businesses across the Cotswolds. As a mum of two small boys, I spend a lot of time exploring cafés, attractions and local shops. I could see how much these businesses add to our lives, but also how hard it can be for them to compete against national chains and online giants.

I wanted to create something simple: a way to reward people for choosing local. An app with a digital membership card felt like the right solution, small but thoughtful perks delivered in a seamless, tech-driven way. It’s something people can carry in their pocket, always accessible and meaningful for both Members and businesses.

Tell us about your core product or service

Our core product is the Cotswold Collective app and its digital membership card. For £30 a year, Members gain access to an ever-growing network of over 400 local businesses.

That network is incredibly varied: from regional icons such as Cotswolds Distillery and Robert Welch, to destinations like The Broadway Hotel, Juliet in Stroud for fine dining, the bakery chain KNEAD and the premium pet food brand Cotswold Raw. Alongside them are countless cafés, boutiques, children’s attractions and family-run pubs that give each town its unique character.

What makes the app powerful is the sense of community it fosters. By joining, you’re not just unlocking perks for yourself; you’re joining a digital community that’s deliberately choosing to back local businesses. Every tap in the app, every perk redeemed, helps keep the Cotswolds thriving.

What most excites you about the industry?

The Cotswolds is one of the most beautiful regions in the UK: glorious countryside, honey-stone villages and vibrant market towns. But what really excites me are the local businesses that bring it to life.

Our Partners represent the very best of the region: from artisan bakeries and family-run pubs to boutiques, wellness studios and experiences for children. They are at the heart of the community, and every time you choose them, you help keep the Cotswolds unique.

There’s also an important sustainability angle. Shopping local isn’t just good for communities, it’s good for the planet. Buying closer to home reduces travel miles, cuts packaging waste and helps protect the landscapes around us. The app makes that choice easier, embedding sustainability into everyday decisions in a way that’s simple and rewarding.

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome along the way?

One challenge has been keeping the model affordable on both sides. We deliberately set the Partner fee low at £30 + VAT a year, so even the smallest local business can join. On the Member side, we kept the price at £30 per year to ensure it’s accessible for as many people as possible. We want everyone to feel they can afford to support local.

Another big challenge has been the need to grow our Member base and Partner base simultaneously; one won’t thrive without the other. Balancing both sides of that equation, while keeping everything community-led, has taken time and persistence.

And of course, building our app on a very limited budget has been a hurdle. It forced us to be creative, resourceful and ruthless about prioritisation. But in many ways, those constraints helped us build a better product. It’s simple, intuitive and focused on what people really need.

What is your number one piece of advice to aspiring entrepreneurs?

I’d say don’t be afraid to let other people into your business. Cotswold Collective started with me but it has grown with Jacqueline, my Co-Founder. Opening up something so personal to someone else (initially a stranger!) was daunting. But it’s been the best decision.

Having a Co-Founder brings perspective, balance and resilience. We challenge each other, divide the load and celebrate the wins together. Entrepreneurship can feel lonely, but it doesn’t have to be. Sometimes the bravest move is to share the journey.

What can we hope to see from Cotswold Collective in the future?

The next step is our app’s second phase, to add new features that connect even more deeply with the community and visiting tourists.

We’re continuing to expand our Corporate Membership programme, where employers gift memberships to staff as a low-cost, non-taxable benefit. It’s a way to reward employees while channelling spend back into local businesses.

We’re also growing Friends of Cotswold Collective, partnering with more charities and community groups to ensure everyone can share in the benefits of supporting local.

Looking further ahead, our long-term vision is to franchise the model and our app so people can support local seamlessly in more pockets of the country. The principles are universal: strengthen communities, support small businesses, shop local and get rewarded. We want Cotswold Collective to be a blueprint for how local economies can thrive.