Artisan ice-cream, Dubai chocolate and Japanese-inspired drinks are just some of the wares being sold by entrepreneurial students in the University of Bath’s Pop-Up Shop Competition in the city centre this week (3-7 June).
Five student teams will take over a vacant shop in central Bath for a day each, competing to make the most profit.
The Pop-Up Shop will be open Tuesday 3 June - Saturday 7 June, 10am - 4pm in Studio 22, 22c New Bond Street, Bath.
The five teams selected to compete have been given a £500 loan and have worked with their own dedicated mentor to produce a business and marketing plan. The winning team will be the ones who make the most profit in the six hours of trading.
The teams who have been chosen to run the shop for a day are:
- Lemme: Japanese-inspired speciality drinks rarely found in Bath (Tuesday 3 June)
- Sweet Spot: Dubai chocolate strawberry cups (Wednesday 4 June)
- Matcha Morning: Matcha-flavoured hot and cold drinks and baked goods (Thursday 5 June)
- Fostoq: Pistachio ice cream, including ice cream slices, sundaes and fresh lemonade in celebration of Eid (Friday 6 June)
- RK: Streetwear fashion celebrating sporting culture (Saturday 7 June)
The Pop-Up Shop competition is a unique chance to gain real-world business experience in a supportive, encouraging environment that rewards entrepreneurialism.
Throughout the competition, students will build key transferrable skills such as collaboration, communication, and prioritisation as well as crucial technical skills in areas such as marketing, project management and business planning.
Siobain Hone, Graduate Enterprise Manager at the University of Bath, said: “Everyone knows that joining the University of Bath on a programme of study or research is a world-class academic experience and our Pop-Up Shop competition shows that it can be a uniquely rewarding, real-life entrepreneurial experience too.
“Our five teams are ready to take a risk and compete to see who can run the most profitable trading day with mentoring and specially-tailored workshops designed to help them reflect on and showcase their work for the future.
After all the teams have completed their trading day, they’ll attend dedicated workshops with the Careers team and reflect with their mentor to analyse their decisions and assess the effectiveness of their strategies.
They will then come together on 13 June for the Grand Finale, where the winning team will be announced, as well as the winners of additional awards for the Best Marketing Campaign and the Green Choice Award.
This competition is open to all students, from any course and has been designed to be a learning experience giving students fantastic skills they can add to their CV and LinkedIn profiles when the competition has ended. The students will also have the opportunity to have professional headshots taken and learn how to craft the experience for maximum effect on CVs, job applications, and their LinkedIn profiles.
Dorothy Lau, studying a Masters degree in pharmacy and part of Team Lemme, said: “Taking part in the pop-up shop has been an invaluable experience in developing entrepreneurial skills.
“Preparing during exam season taught us time management under pressure, while unexpected challenges—like working without a water basin—pushed us to think on our feet and solve problems creatively.
“Stepping out of our comfort zones, we reached out to local shops and even the Mayor of Bath to rally support for our cafe LEMME, helping us build confidence in networking and real-world outreach.”
Nandita Narula, part of Team Sweet Spot and studying for a BSc in Management, said: “This experience challenged everything I thought I knew.
“Logistics, marketing, and spreadsheets are expected, but leadership, instinct, and problem-solving - that's where I’ve truly grown.
“For the first time, I feel confident I can succeed as an entrepreneur.”
Helen Stringer, Director of Employability and Student Success said: “We're proud to support students in developing their entrepreneurial skills through the competition.
“This initiative empowers students to take real business risks, showcase their creativity, and gain invaluable hands-on experience.
“Their ambition and innovation reflects the strength of our University, and our enduring commitment to student enterprise, career readiness, and meaningful community engagement.”
Other programmes for Enterprise Bath include the Dragons’ Den pitching competition (where students can pitch for investment from an alumni panel), and the Alumni Innovation Award (where graduates are given a grant and support to develop their ideas into viable businesses).
For those students who have a fully formed business plan they can spend their placement year developing their startup with support from Enterprise Bath.