Family business D&F McCarthy Ltd was named the Wholesaler of the Year at the Re:fresh awards, held at the London Marriott, on Thursday.

Founded in 1877 by Thomas McCarthy, who had emigrated from Ireland, the wholesale business was taken to Great Yarmouth towards the end of the 19th century, where Thomas’s son Dan settled and started up a fruit business that has remained in Norfolk until today.

The early days were kept busy with the summer holiday season and supplying the huge Scottish fishing fleet that used Great Yarmouth harbour during the winter months. The client base may have changed, but the family line continues. Thomas McCarthy’s great grandson John took over management in 1955, and now his sons, Martin, Simon, David, and Peter are the fifth generation of the family actively engaged in the running of the company.

McCarthy’s now has one of the largest selections of homegrown and imported produce in East Anglia. On the homegrown front, it is a certified wholesaler for the member producers of local promotional body Produced in Norfolk, and it has relationships with international suppliers stretching back decades.

Alongside its general produce range, the ever-changing and expanding portfolio of fresh lines include a wide selection of fresh herbs in catering and retail packs, and McCarthy’s is also able to provide customers with an extensive range of prepared vegetable options on request. Unusually for a wholesaler, the company also sells a range of fruit baskets, from the seasonal, to the exotic, to the gourmet.

The ethos of the firm is based on delivering a wide selection of services to its customer base. Whether they require advice on shop displays, promotional ideas, menu suggestions, calendars of produce availability, a lead on current prices, or many other services, personal help and support is the order of the day.

Finalists for the Capespan sponsored Wholesaler of the Year award were Bristol Fruit Sales, winner of the 2006 award, and Bradford Market’s Burbank Produce Ltd.

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