AWARDS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
APRIL 2010
Our General Manager Mel, and Retail Manager Amanda donned their posh frocks and attended and evening of BAFTA-style glamour (well, nearly) at London Olympia’s Pillar Hall on Sunday 11th April. The Natural & Organic Products Fare is the biggest of it's kind in Europe, and hosts the coveted Natural and Organic Awards, in association with the Soil Association and Natural Products magazine.
They were absolutely delighted to receive the award for Best Independent Retailer, and we were also selected as runners up for the Organic Retailer Award.
This is a huge acheivement for us. We're not a big company, but we're busy and we're dedicated. I've not been able to assertain exactly who else was in the running, but as the industry's biggest award, I'm confident the competition would have been substantial, and from all areas of the country.
We were also runners up in the Organic Award, given by the Soil Association. Again, competition was high, and the lovely Cornish clothing company SeaSalt won it.
And the last accolade I want to share with you wasn't ours at all. Patrick Holden, Director of the Soil Association and Welsh dairy farmer, won the Outstanding Achievement Award, a wonderful affirmation for his contribution to organic food production and sustainability.
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Below is a press release sent out on Wednesday 14th April 2010 Bristol’s Better Food Company wins National Best Independent Retailer Award Bristol’s only organic shop, café and box schemes supplier has scooped Best Independent Retailer in the UK. The award was given to general manager, Melanie Taylor and retail manager Amanda Pitt, at an exclusive ceremony held at the Natural and Organic Show in London’s Olympia exhibition centre, on April 11. Better Food Company’s Managing Director, Phil Haughton, said: “We are delighted to win this national accolade in the face of strong competition from all over the UK. “It shows it’s still possible, despite the recession, to excel in retailing organic food if you offer quality at the right price for customers. “Our team has worked extremely hard to raise our already high standards at the Better Food Company and this award is testament to both our staff and loyal customers.” The St Werburghs-based company is the only large organic supermarket-style store and café in Bristol. As well as selling a wide variety of locally-produced goods, including a substantial amount of own-grown organic vegetables it offers a box-scheme delivered to local homes. Phil is the main grower of the supermarket’s fresh vegetables on land near Chew Magna and has spent more than 25 years working with organic food and farming in the South West. The Better Food Company has been runner-up for this national award for two years and accolades have been given by The Soil Association and in the Observer Ethical Food Award.
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Below is a press release sent out on Thursday 4th June 2009: The Better Food Company are finalists in national food award Thursday 4th June 2009 Bristol’s only organic supermarket, The Better Food Company, are finalists at the Observer’s Ethical Food Award as Best Local Retailer. The award, which initially asks for customer votes, is now in its fourth year and is seen as instrumental in bringing green issues to the forefront of consumer minds and recognising those who pioneer a sustainable future. ‘We are so excited to have got to this final stage’, says Phil Haughton, Better Food’s enigmatic MD. ‘It’s so important in these difficult times to be seen above the parapet, and it’s great that the hard work we all put in is being recognised’. At a ceremony in London on Wednesday evening, Sir David Attenborough won a life-time achievement award, and in a speech praised the work of businesses and individuals around the country working for a more sustainable future. The Better Food Company has existed in various forms for some 30 years, with Phil at the helm. Its current incarnation, as a large organic shop, café and veg box delivery scheme based in St Werburghs, prides itself on its community links, educational work and veg growing operation. It has also been in the final of other national awards, including the Soil Association’s Organic Food Award. Another local company, Bella and Fifi, a florist that specialises in local, organic and ethically grown flowers, was also short listed. ‘We’ve got a long way to go’, continues Phil, ‘but Bristol’s on the eco-map in indelible ink!’.