This year’s Re:fresh Overall Produce Trader of the Year, as sponsored by Tesco, is the JR Holland Group. Made up of five different companies: JR Holland & Son, JR Holland Flowers, H2H (Produce) Ltd, Gateshead, H2H (Produce) Ltd, Leeds, and JR Holland - Food Services, group has undergone a period of massive expansion in the last decade, the basis of which was the solid foundations set by current owner John Holland and his father in the early 1980s.
The traditionally-run business that father and son initially founded still to this day operates a highly successful wholesale market-based cash and carry in Gateshead, catering for independent retailers, convenience stores, secondary wholesalers and catering suppliers.
One of the larger areas of the JR Holland set-up, Food Services has been the driving force behind recent growth. Acting purely as a chilled distributor, the business has benefited from major investment including purpose-built high-tech facilities such as chilled warehouses and a modern fleet of refrigerated vehicles. As well as fresh produce, the portfolio includes prepared vegetables and potatoes, bakery, meat, delicatessen and dairy products.
JR Holland - Food Services provides for a variety of different customers, including all of the 12 local authorities in the North of England, major national catering firms such as Sodexho, Aramark and Compass Granada, restaurants, ferry companies and bars. Its celebrated clients see it cross the regional boundaries to supply both the Geordies at Newcastle United and their Mackem rivals at Sunderland AFC.
The flower arm of the business was established in 1998, quickly budding to become the North East’s largest flower and plant wholesaler. Under the direction of managing director, John Soulsby, a leading horticulturist and world champion show leek grower, sources and sells flowers from all corners of the globe from a modern, clean, customer-friendly environment. Extensive investment in the storage and handling facilities has inspired a loyal customer following and allowed the business to bloom.
H2H was acquired from WCF Produce Ltd in 2000, bringing it back into the fold it left back in 1977, when John Holland Sr sold the business. Many of the current staff have worked through both JR Holland eras and have demonstrated outstanding longevity and loyalty, bringing a tremendous breadth of knowledge and experience to the company’s modern vision.
And the most recent addition, in March 2004, was H2H - Leeds, which rose from the debris of the old Ernest White business in the Yorkshire Produce Centre.
"The Wise Old Owl of Leeds" was one of the industry’s most widely respected family businesses and under the guidance of managing director Ian Palfreyman, H2H has built on the same foundation and values as the rest of the JR Holland family, and caters for the region’s independent retailers, convenience stores, secondary wholesalers and catering suppliers.
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