FOLLOWING in the footsteps of the London 2012 Olympics, the Glasgow 2012 Commonwealth Games, and to a smaller extent Yorkshire's Tour de France Grand Depart, this year's Rugby World Cup is set to bring an economic boost to the UK.

As host nation of the 2015 event, England is predicted to receive up to £2.2 billion in output from the event, translating into an additional £982 million of value added to GDP.

When the England team runs out onto the pitch at Twickenham later this month to face Fiji in their opening match of their World Cup campaign, years of training and preparation will be put to the test.

Charlie Simpson-Daniel had one day dreamed of joining them, having played with his brothers James and Mark for England at various levels, however a shoulder injury put an end to any hopes of a first team call-up.

However as kick-off looms Charlie is far from planning to sit in the stands as a spectator. Having always identified the England World Cup as the ideal "coming of age" for his dried meat brand Kings, he is now working to ensure the product is ready for the unmissable opportunity the event will bring for his protein rich snack.

And, having just secured national listings with six food giants, including all of the big four supermarket chains, Kings is positioned for glory.

The Kings brand was launched in 2012 by Charlie, Mark and James Simpson-Daniel, producing a high-protein air-dried beef snack known as biltong, from its base in Malton.

By November last year it had attracted the attention of global snack specialist New World Foods, leading to a buyout of the brand, and major investment in production facilities at Moor Monkton, and a redesign for the Kings brand.

Less than a year after its takeover, Kings is now working to treble its production, increasing staff numbers from 10 to 30 as it prepares to supply Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Tesco, Asda, WH Smith and Aldi stores across the country, as well as producing biltong and jerky products for three other brands.

Charlie, who is now sales and marketing manager at New World Foods, explains how Kings has grown from a sports nutrition product to a mass market snack.

He said: "I started Kings with my brothers Mark and James. We had all played Rugby for England at different levels, James has 11 caps at first team level, so sports nutrition was a big thing for us and a big part of our lives.

"We were touring South Africa when we came across biltong. People would eat it like how people eat crisps back home, they snacked on it.

"Our nutritionists looked into it and told us we could eat it as it was rich in natural protein and we thought it was great.

"I have always loved rugby but had a bad shoulder injury which meant I couldn't play. I had always thought there must be a batter alternative to protein bars, and decided to look into producing biltong.

"We made the first batch in our kitchen having researched recipes for the cure, and moved into a small manufacturing facility in Malton.

"We sold to Holland and Barretts and that had us at capacity. Scaling up to mass manufacturing and production was massive.

"At that time I was in my third year of a business management degree at the University of York, so things were pretty manic.

"The World Cup has always been the coming of age for this brand, we knew we had to make sure we had the capabilities to launch it in time for the event.

"When we met with New World Foods we knew it presented us with the perfect opportunity to grow Kings to the next level.

"We started it for a sports customer base, but we see it now as a snacking revolution. We are bringing all the benefits of a really healthy protein with all the taste of a good snack.

"It's all about education for us going froward. Only 10 per cent of people in the UK know what biltong is. Around 50 per cent have heard of jerky but they have a bad image of it. The challenge it getting people to buy it in the first place.

"Coconut water has recently gone through a similar transformation after targetting the health conscious market. I see us following a similar path."

The Kings facility uses 100% British and Irish beef and pork, which is cured in spices on site for 12 hours.

For the biltong the steaks then hang for six days in 35 degree heat, losing 50 per cent of their weight as they dehydrate, resulting in a snack with 50 per cent protein content, compared to only 30 per cent from tradition protein bars.

The jerky meanwhile goes into ovens for two hours slow cooking.

Roland Froebel, chief executive of New World Foods said: "Charlie has done a remarkable job. For someone relatively inexperienced to get the listing in the top six supermarkets is just fantastic.

"You either go niche and start in small outlets or you hit mass market, which is the approach we have taken. We hit the major retailers and they have supported it not just with a small launch, but they have given it a national listing straight away.

"We recognised a great brand, with a great link to the sports market. At that time New World Foods was looking to develop a brand to maximise the opportunities in the market place.

"We looked at the brands in Australia and America. The imagery that other brands created compared to what Kings gave with it's rugby links was clearly something to build on.

"The next stage for us is putting the product out there. Charlie is doing absolutely the right thing."