Nationwide Produce to host Festival of Fresh 2024

The diverse and fast-growing fresh produce supplier Nationwide Produce has been confirmed as the host of Fresh Produce Journal’s summer celebration, Festival of Fresh 2024.

The popular industry event, organised by FPJ, takes place on Thursday 13 June – on the pitch at Evesham United Football Club. That’s just a stone’s throw from Nationwide’s recently expanded Evesham depot.

With Festival of Fresh kicking off on the eve of Euro 2024, visitors can expect football-themed fun, fantastic networking opportunities, inspirational speakers, tours of Nationwide’s state-of-the-art depot, fruit and vegetable sampling, and delicious food and drink.

FPJ editor Fred Searle said: “We can’t wait to bring the industry together again, and we have some exciting plans to make the event even more dynamic and interactive.

“We want to give increased exposure to our exhibitors in 2024, and as always we will be celebrating the companies, people and ideas that make the UK fresh produce industry so great. What better place to do that than in the vegetable-growing heartland of Evesham, where so much of Britain’s fantastic produce is grown?”

He added that with the event taking place the day before the opening match of Euro 2024 in Germany, there are plans for a penalty shootout and other football-themed activities.

With a turnover of £176.7 million, Nationwide is one of the largest, longest established, and most expansive fruit and vegetable companies in the UK.

From its bases across the UK, Netherlands and Spain, the business grows, grades, packs, trades, imports and exports fresh produce – selling hundreds of different types of produce to over 1,000 customers across Europe.

At the end of 2022, the company completed a £3.5m expansion to its Evesham depot, which spans 38,000 sq ft and has space for 1,600 pallets, six cold stores and nine loading bays.

As mentioned, visitors can sign up for tours of the facilty, with a shuttle service running between Evesham FC and the Nationwide depot.

Festival of Fresh 2024 will build on the success of the event in 2023, hosted by the UK’s biggest fresh produce business AMFRESH at its new site in Alconbury Weald.

Celebrating some of the best innovations in Britain’s fresh produce business, the open-air festival featured a wide array of exhibitors and speakers.

Some 300 people from across the UK fruit and vegetable trade came together for a day of hard-hitting interviews, fantastic networking, and delicious food.

Tesco’s produce category director Tom Mackintosh drew the biggest crowd of the day, speaking candidly about why it was time for Tesco and other retailers to rethink their sourcing approach.

Contact Gülay Cetin and Lucy Kyriacou at advertising@fpj.co.uk to sponsor Festival of Fresh 2023, book a stand, or secure a tasting station. If you’re interested in speaking at the event, talk to Fred Searle at fred@fruitnet.com.

For more information, visit fruitnet.com/festivaloffresh.