As Overall Produce Trader the company was rewarded for its breadth of commitment and its sharply focused strategy.

Since BerryWorld started 10 years ago its volume of UK strawberries has grown fivefold, its UK raspberries tenfold and this year it will sell over 1,000 tonnes of blueberries - around 60 per cent of the market.

The company is actively developing new product lines and has established a department dedicated to this aspect of the business, last year collaborating in the launch of two new products.

On the marketing front BerryWorld is an active participant in promotional campaigns and works with breeders in this country and overseas to develop new varieties and types of fruit for the marketplace.

To secure the Waitrose Primary Marketing Organisation of the Year the company impressed the judges with its ability to manage a 12-month supply of berry and currant fruits to the UK’s leading retailers.

BerryWorld has acted to consolidate its customer base, now supplying just four leading multiple retailers - a bold strategic move that has paid off.

Its grower suppliers are a similarly hand-picked bunch, which allows it to cement its relations with its growers and to plan for the business’s long-term development.

The organisation also runs a management training scheme for graduates and holds what it maintains is a unique benchmarking meeting once a month at which its grower suppliers share information like harvest costs and crop yields to benefit from each other’s experience.

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