An entrepreneurial 18-year-old has won a major contract to supply Tesco with his home-made jam.
Fraser Doherty has already impressed the retail world by helping breathe life into the old-fashioned industry, and his sales now stand at 40,000 jars a month. He is now looking for staff to recruit to his business.
Doherty has also been chosen to represent the UK in the Global Students Entrepreneurs Awards in Chicago on November 2.
As a schoolboy, Doherty used to make his grandmother’s jam recipe, which has been around in his family for generations, in his Edinburgh suburb home.
Now, with his company Doherty’s Preserves, the teenager is bringing out new flavours using so-called super fruits, such as blueberries and cranberries. Instead of adding lots of refined sugar to his jam, Doherty only uses natural fruit juice to sweeten them
Tesco jam and preserves buyer Danielle Peirce said: “Fraser’s jams have injected new life into one of the world’s oldest foods, which have been around since at least Roman times. Some younger people associate traditional jams and preserves with something they would find in their granny’s kitchen, but we think that by using so-called super fruits, Doherty has tapped into a potentially new audience.”
Doherty said: “It’s been a truly amazing year for me, and the speed of growth has totally taken me by surprise.
“The Tesco contract means more people than ever before will be able to try my jams, and will hopefully lead me to taking on staff for the first time.”
Doherty’s Super Jams cost £1.43 for a 212g jar. They come in three flavours: blueberry and blackcurrant, rhubarb and ginger and cranberry and raspberry.
The Super Jams go on sale today in 230 Tesco stores across the UK.
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