The founder of Muscle Moose, a unique range of protein-fortified snacks and drinks, has been crowned Great British Entrepreneur of the Year for North West region.

The founder of Muscle Moose, a unique range of protein-fortified snacks and drinks, has been crowned Great British Entrepreneur of the Year for North West region.

Claire Harper launched Harper Innovations in 2010 as the UK distributor of Smartshake before buying Muscle Moose in 2016 and quickly turning it into one of the most recognisable and fastest-growing brands in the protein market. 

It rounded off a successful night for Claire, who also named Food & Drink Entrepreneur of the Year earlier in the night. 

Now in its seventh year, the Great British Entrepreneur Awards celebrate the hard work and inspiring stories of entrepreneurs, rather than the business’ balance sheet. 

Francesca James, founder of the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, said: “Claire has a terrific entrepreneurial journey and really has led the growth of Muscle Moose into a disruptive company in an extremely competitive market. It’s such a male dominated industry and it’s fantastic to see Claire leading the way for female entrepreneurs in the space.

“As always the standard of entries in North West has been magnificent. The journeys these entrepreneurs have taken to get where they are is incredibly inspiring. I want to congratulate all of our winners in North West and wish them the very best of luck for the National Final in November. With over 3,000 entries this year across the UK, it really is a great achievement in itself to get to the regional final.”

Gordon Merrylees, managing director of entrepreneurship at NatWest, said: “NatWest is proud to support the Great British Entrepreneur Awards celebrating another year of amazing achievements for entrepreneurs starting and growing businesses from every corner of the country. Supporting entrepreneurs is a key priority for NatWest and our dedicated programme of fully funded accelerator hubs, mentoring, insight and bespoke coaching, is specifically designed to meet the needs of entrepreneurs who want to start, scale and succeed in business. Congratulations to all of the winners and to those who were shortlisted for one of these prestigious awards.”

The winners of each category will now go to the National Final of the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, which takes place in London in November.

Full list of winners for the North West:

Creative Industries Entrepreneur of the Year
Megan Jones | Curated Makers

Disruptor of the Year
Someyah Taheri | UrbanChain

Entrepreneur for Good Award
Francesca Hodgson & Andrew O’Brien | GoodBox

Entrepreneurial Spirit Award
Karl & Cathy Mason | Masons Yorkshire Gin

Entrepreneurs’ Team of the Year
Jack Badger Ltd

Family Business Entrepreneur of the Year
Ben & Mat Lyon | Lyon & Lyon

Food & Drink Entrepreneur of the Year
Claire Harper | Harper Innovations (Muscle Moose)

Health & Beauty Entrepreneur of the Year
Kal Bulbul | R10 Labs Skincare

Scale-Up Entrepreneur of the Year
Gary Gallen | rradar

Services Industries Entrepreneur of the Year
Michael Asher & Anthea Morris | Better2Know

Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year
Nathan Alexander | BODA SKINS

Start-Up Entrepreneur of the Year
Chris Renwick & Lucy Greenwood | Lucy & Yak

Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Charlotte Smith & William Vaughan | Bluefin Trading

Great British Entrepreneur of the Year (North West)
Claire Harper | Harper Innovations (Muscle Moose)