Booths is top of the crops after being shortlisted for the title of Fresh Produce Retailer of the Year in the 2010 Retail Industry Awards.
It’s the first time that Booths has reached the final of this prestigious award which is given to the retailer which sells the best tasting, freshest and widest variety of fruit and vegetables in the UK.
Booths will now face national supermarket chains Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury’s in the final which will take place on 30th September at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in London.
Sponsored by Dole Fresh UK, the Fresh Produce Retailer of the Year award is designed to celebrate the best fresh produce on sale in this country.
Judges will reward the retailer who stands out from the competition and has shown the most innovation in delivering fresh produce to its customers. They are also looking for evidence of buyers building strong relationships with their growers and suppliers.
Chris Treble, fresh produce buyer at Booths, says: “It’s an honour to have made it into the final of this highly respected award. We’re the smallest contender to have reached the last four and it means a great deal to us as Booths is passionate about the quality of its fresh produce, much of which is sourced locally to its 25 stores.
“Many of the relationships we have formed with our suppliers have built up over decades and we work very closely with them to develop new product lines. We aim to give our customers all the choice and quality of a specialist greengrocer and make sure the produce reaches them as fast as it can from the soil to their shopping baskets. We think that’s what makes ours a winning recipe.”
Innovative produce on sale at Booths includes its dug today potatoes which are in store within seven hours of being picked which means they retain more of their vitamin content and flavour.
Local produce not readily found elsewhere includes Westmorland damsons, Yorkshire forced rhubarb and Southport marsh samphire. Every one of the tomatoes Booths sells is 100% British.
Because Booths doesn’t buy in huge volumes, it can source products from smaller scale growers. This means fruits such as Cheshire apples from the Winsor's farm at Willington, Lancashire strawberries from the Gore-Phillips' farm at Hesketh Bank and Yorkshire rhubarb from the Westwood's farm near Lofthouse are available in its stores.
Booths also stocks the finest fruit and vegetables from across Europe including Amalfi lemons, L’Autrec pink garlic and Sicilian blood oranges.
For the past two years, Booths has run a healthy eating campaign encouraging customers to eat their five a day. It also organises a school gardening competition called Grow Your Own which helps children understand where fruit and vegetables come from.
Now entering their 15th year, the Retail Industry Awards remain the only accolades of their kind where the whole industry gets together to recognise everyone from the smallest independent retailers to the largest supermarket groups. This year has been a record year for entries and the shortlist has been tighter then ever.