Award-winning Worldwide Fruit is reaping the benefits of the trend for branded apples. The company, which has won gongs for championing British produce and supply chain excellence from Waitrose and Marks & Spencer respectively, also sources produce from more than 1,000 growers across the world.
While avocados have proved tricky for the company due to high raw material prices not being matched by an increase in price to its customers, Jazz apples have been growing in volume, and are expected to continue that way
Worldwide Fruit’s chief executive, Steve Maxwell, says: “We’re focused on being our customers’ first-choice supplier, and this means delivering for both our retail customers and our grower/supplier customers. We’re lucky that our two shareholders, Enza and Fruition PO, are such forward-looking top-fruit businesses.
'We want to win with our customers by showing our desire to improve and differentiate. A main focus this year is to embed ‘Lean’ within our business to derive shared benefits. Alongside how we work internally, we look forward to continued great performance from Jazz apples, and are very excited about Envy going forward.”
In October the company unveiled its new warehouse extension to the Spalding production unit. The investment is a crucial plank in its growth strategy as it reduces the need for external third-party storage, thereby “providing a greater degree of control over fruit quality and reducing fruit handling.”
