arming around the country, QV Foods is a wholly owned subsidiary of AH Worth, a fourth-generation family business.
Arthur Hovenden Worth started farming around 1895 in Lincolnshire and quickly built up a large farming business.QV Foods was originally established as a co-operative in 1968 by 14 like-minded growers.At the time QV (Quality and Value) was its well-known brand, founded on the London wholesale markets.
In the late 1970s, Marks & Spencer decided to go straight to source and buy direct.“We were able to add value and develop pioneering products such as the four-pack baker with them,” says sales and marketing director Simon Martin.
“Key to the industry over the past 60 years has been consolidation and we don’t think that we have seen the end of it yet,” says Martin. “QV Foods is a perfect example of this, having taken over rivals MBM Produce and Taypack in recent years, together with the mushroom, garlic and sweetcorn specialist Greyfriars this year.”
As an integrated agri-business, one of the key areas QV Foods is working on is renewable energy. “We recently installed a 45kW solar array on one of our packhouses and we have just completed the deal to build a 1.4MW anaerobic digestion plant on our Holbeach site.
“Once operational next year, the AD plant will utilise vegetable waste and maize to generate enough electricity to power the vast majority of the site.”
QV and its new sister company Fresh Approach have been no slouches when it comes to marketing and branding either, creating brands such as Inspire for retail and Chippie’s Choice for the takeaway trade, and recruiting well-known figures such as TV’s Gregg Wallace to promote its products. -
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