Total Produce has been named Britain's largest fruit and vegetable supplier in the FPJ Big 50 2015.
The inaugural ranking of UK fresh produce suppliers - believed to be an industry first - places Total Produce ahead of Fresca Group and Poupart at the top of the list.
MM (UK), AG Thames, Fyffes, G's, Berry Gardens, Univeg and Greenvale complete the top 10.
Total Produce's UK fresh produce turnover of £380 million was enough to see it top the chart. The UK division of the global giant is heavily active in both retail and wholesale markets, and has been growing its business through expanding its geographical reach as well as acquisitions and forming new divisions.
A number of foreign-owned companies have also made the list, among them Univeg UK (9), Greenery UK (34), Fesa UK (35) and Del Monte UK (39).
The FPJ Big 50 focuses on companies whose main business is fruit and vegetable supply, and is ranked by turnover as filed at Companies House. Firms supplying a wide range of products in addition to fresh produce, such as Bakkavor, could also not be included except where a dedicated fresh produce figure is publicly available.
FPJ editor Michael Barker said: 'We're delighted to present the first-ever ranking of UK fresh produce suppliers, celebrating the achievements of some of the greatest names in the industry. We're sure it'll spark passionate debate, and it couldn't come at a more fascinating time in the history of the UK fresh produce business.
'With the rapidly evolving modern supply chain, next year's FPJ Big 50 could see some substantial movement with the high level of merger and acquisition activity expected to take place over the coming months.'
Click here to listen to FPJ editor Michael Barker and FPJ Big 50 editor Martyn Fisher discuss this year's ranking on the Fruitnet Audio Edition podcast.
The FPJ Big 50 2015
(turnover as of 15/12/14 in brackets; click on the company name to read the commentary)
1. Total Produce(£380m)
2. Fresca Group(£328.2m)
3. Poupart(£327.4m)
4. MM (UK)(£320m)
5. AG Thames(£293.4m)
6. Fyffes(£287.2m)
7. G's Fresh(£258.8m)
8. Berry Gardens(£206.9m)
9. Univeg UK (£203m)
10. Greenvale(£196.7m)
11. Produce World(£186m)
12. Reynolds(£178.5m)
13. QV Foods(£176m)
14. Vitacress(£166.4m)
15. Albert Bartlett(£165.1m)
16. Fresh Direct(£145.5m)
17. IPL(£137.4m)
18. Minor, Weir & Willis(£137.4m)
19. Branston(£130m)
20. Wealmoor(£125.3m)
21. A Gomez(£124.5m)
22. SH Pratt(£117.7m)
23. Worldwide Fruit(£116.1m)
24. Natures Way Foods(£113m)
25. Kettle Produce(£101.4m)
26. Fenmarc(£99.8m)
27. Barfoots of Botley(£98.5m)
28. Compagnie Fruitiere(£93.5m)
29. Lincolnshire Field Products(£89.8m)
30. Finlays(£87.3m)
31. Nationwide Produce(£84.9m)
32. Monaghan Mushrooms(£80.2m)
33. Greencell(£77.7m)
34. Greenery UK(£77.4m)
35. Fesa UK(£71.9m)
36. Angus Soft Fruits(£70.4m)
37. Capespan(£66.3m)
38. Peter Gilding(£63.3m)
39. Del Monte (UK)(£62.4m)
40. IVG White(£57.8m)
41. S&A Produce(£57.1m)
42. Stubbins(£53.8m)
43. Florette(£53.4m)
44. Direct Produce Supplies (£51m)
45. Blue Skies(£50.7m)
46. Keelings Fresh International (£50.5m)
47. E Park & Sons(£49.5m)
48. Haygrove(£46.4m)
49. Freshtime(£46m)
50. JO Sims(£43.6m)
FPJ Big 50 methodology
The FPJ Big 50 ranks the largest UK-based suppliers of fruit and vegetables. Companies may be growers, importers or traders, but must be suppliers of fresh produce rather than retailers, caterers or other businesses whose primary function is selling direct to consumers.
The only fair and comparative way to measure size is by turnover, and the figures used have come from filings to Companies House or via the annual reports of public listed companies.
Where businesses have offered a significantly different turnover than the ones listed this has been explained in the commentary. For the purposes of fair comparison, share of joint ventures have been excluded where they are explicitly listed in accounts, as these figures are not readily available for all companies.
Companies file results for different time periods and therefore the most recent filed accounts have been used. Companies who have not disclosed turnover figures to Companies House could not be included.
To be included, companies’ chief business must be the sale of fruit and vegetables, hence companies with wide portfolios across multiple non-fresh produce groups have not been featured, except where a UK fresh produce turnover figure is available.
The FPJ Big 50 has been compiled independently by editors at the Fresh Produce Journal. All steps have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the list and that no companies have been missed out, however it is an evolving document that will be updated on an annual basis.
