AUSTRALIA | Australian Strawberry Distributors was named Woolworths Fruit and Veg Trade Partner of the Year.
Woolworths hosted its annual awards ceremony to celebrate the achievements and contributions of its many trade partners who have worked closely with Woolworths year-round to enhance the customer shopping experience and deliver innovation in their fields.
Australian Strawberry Distributors, which has farms across Victoria and Queensland, was recognised for its commitment to innovation, quality, and collaboration.
Australian Strawberry Distributors has been a leader in adopting innovative growing techniques like protective cropping. Their dedication to trialling new strawberry varieties has ensured a consistently high-quality product for Woolworths customers year-round and improved supply reliability.
"It's fantastic to see Australian Strawberry Distributors, a valued partner of over 50 years, receive this well-deserved recognition," said Woolworths Chief Commercial Officer Paul Harker.
“Australian Strawberry Distributors are a proud and passionate family-run business, and they pride themselves on producing quality strawberries and being incredibly dependable partners.
Harker said their dedication to Woolworths’ shared customers was truly commendable. They embodied what it meant to be a true partner by working closely to understand customers and innovate within the category. This collaborative approach has brought exciting new fresh produce varieties to market.
"We were surprised to be nominated and surprised to win it in the end—a big thank you to the family back home, who are behind all the hard work. We've been a supplier of Woolworths for many years and never thought we'd get up here but we finally did. It's unbelievable,” said Australian Strawberry Distributors Managing Director Jim Ripepi.
"We work very closely with Woolworths, and have done for a long time. They're a great trading partner of ours and that's based on a lot of trust, from both sides. We're proud to be a supplier of Woolworths."
Woolworths also recognised Hilton Foods as the Meat Trade Partner of the Year. Hilton Foods was the strategic secondary processing partner of Woolworths’ red meat business, Greenstock. It has facilities in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Bunbury, dedicated to processing high-quality fresh meat for Woolworths customers nationally.
Hilton’s vision and partnership have been instrumental in driving process improvements and innovation within the meat category. This included producing Woolworths’ extremely popular new range of delicious and affordable burger patties and improving packaging sustainability. It notably developed award-winning, fully kerbside recyclable meat trays that have already eliminated over 3,000 tons of virgin plastic from the supply chain.
The Woolworths Trade Partner of the Year Awards recognised partners across 12 categories:
- Overall Trade Partner of the Year: Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
- Account Manager of the Year: Amanda Barnes - MCo Beauty
- Better Tomorrow Award: Baiada
- Chilled & Bakery Trade Partner of the Year: True Foods
- Everyday Needs Trade Partner of the Year: Unilever
- Fruit & Veg Trade Partner of the Year: Australian Strawberry Distributors
- Grocery Food Trade Partner of the Year: Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
- Meat & Seafood Trade Partner of the Year: Hilton Foods
- Merchandising Team of the Year: Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
- New Product Launch of the Year: Mr Beast Feastables
- Trade Partner of the Year <$50m: Hismile
- Woolworths Category Manager of the Year: Matthew Teggins - Drinks
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