Now in over 20 towns and cities, The Teenage Market is breathing new life into Britain’s traditional markets by attracting the next generation of young traders.
The Teenage Market was created by teenage brothers Tom and Joe Barratt in Stockport in 2012 and is now in over 20 locations across the UK. Their first event was an immediate success with over 70 traders and thousands of people attending. As a result of the event’s success, the brothers were awarded £55,000 by Stockport Council to develop the initiative into a sustainable business. Having been approached by other towns and cities to run the event, the brothers developed a licence package so that event organisers can benefit from having access to resources which make running The Teenage Market incredibly easy. 
Joe explains that his aim was to “make it so simple that market and town centre managers could create events from the push of a button.”
In order to achieve this, the brothers have invested over £25,000 in the development of a powerful digital portal for towns to organise, manage and promote events online. The portal gives each town their own profile page on The Teenage Market website with the ability to create events and accept digital applications from local young people who want to take part as traders or performers. The long-term benefits of running a Teenage Market are already being felt in places like Salisbury where young traders who have taken part in Teenage Market events are now paying to have a regular pitch at the city’s weekly market.
Abi Blake, from Salisbury City Council, explains that “the young people of Salisbury really identify with the Teenage Market brand and make each event unforgettable for the entire community.”
Since they started running events, Salisbury have had 130 young traders sign up to The Teenage Market website.
Joe explains that engaging with young people who are trading online is crucial, “The Teenage Market is all about identifying the next generation of market traders by attracting young people who are trading on digital marketplaces and showing them the positive benefits of engaging with their local market.”
For more information about The Teenage Market please click here.
