THE eighteenth annual Scottish Wholesale Achievers awards recognised some outstanding contributors to the trade at a gala event in the Sheraton Grand in Edinburgh last night (13 February).
Among this year’s winners, Bidfood Scotland, JW Filshill and United Wholesale (Scotland) headed the field with three awards each.
CJ Lang & Son won two, while Booker and JB Foods took one title each.
There were two new awards for this year, Green Wholesaler of the Year which was awarded to Booker and Rising Star of Wholesale which was won by Jason Butler, operations support manager at UWS.
The green award judges praised Booker for its efforts to cut carbon emissions, reduce energy use, waste prevention and minimisation, boosting recycling and stocking a range of environmentally-friendly products.
Butler was singled out for recognition, following interviews with proposed candidates, for his passionate account of his achievements at UWS.
Lorraine MacPherson, symbol development manager at UW,S was named employee of the year after judges were impressed by retailer testimonials about her.
Among the supplier awards, AG Barr had the most to celebrate, winning four categories including Best Overall Service.
The company’s regional business development manager for Scotland, Steven McGarry, was named Supplier Sales Executive of the Year, it won Best Advertising Campaign – voted for by the wholesalers – for its Get Some Irn In You Campaign and completed it quadruple with the Project Scotland award, which highlights suppliers’ understanding of the wholesale industry, for its launch of Irn-Bru Energy.
SWA chief executive, Colin Smith, said: “Our industry continues to experience unprecedented change and I applaud our wholesalers and suppliers who continue to find new and innovative ways to grow their businesses and develop their staff, create new revenue streams and provide the best possible customer service.
“As a trade association, we are working to achieve the best possible outcome for industry across a raft of legislative issues, including the deposit return scheme.
“We are also working to create our very own SWA Wholesale Sustainability Charter and, of course, we have launched our new SWA Training Academy.
“Developing a skilled workforce and working with members to invest in the future sustainability of the wholesale industry is top of the agenda for us in our 80th anniversary year.”
Full list of winners
Best Cash & Carry – sponsored by JTI
United Wholesale (Scotland), Queenslie
Runner-up
Batleys Sher, Glasgow
Highly Commended
Makro, Edinburgh
Best Symbol Group – sponsored by JUUL Labs
Spar, CJ Lang & Son
Runner-up
KeyStore, JW Filshill
Highly Commended
Premier, Booker
Best Delivered Operation (Retail) – sponsored by Lucozade Ribena Suntory
CJ Lang & Son and JW Filshill
Highly Commended
Booker
Best Delivered Operation (Foodservice) – sponsored by Pritchitts
Bidfood Scotland and JB Foods
Highly Commended
Fáilte Foods
Great Place to Work – sponsored by AG Barr
Bidfood Scotland
Runners-up
Fáilte Foods and JW Filshill
Highly Commended
Lomond Foods
Best Licensed Operation – sponsored by Halewood Wines & Spirits
JW Filshill
Runner-up
CJ Lang & Son
Highly Commended
Inverarity Morton
Employee of the Year – sponsored by Philip Morris International
Lorraine MacPherson, symbol development manager, United Wholesale (Scotland)
Runners-up
Paula Middleton, marketing manager, CJ Lang & Son and Shirley Ruane, KeyStore area manager, JW Filshill
Highly Commended
Anne McDonald, technical and health and safety manager, Lomond Foods
Best Marketing Initiative – sponsored by Premier Foods
Bidfood Scotland for its ‘Grabbing Goodness’ campaign and JW Filshill for its ‘KeyStore Football Fever’ campaign
Highly Commended
United Wholesale (Scotland) for its ‘Warehouse of the Future’ campaign
Best Advertising Campaign
Irn-Bru for ‘Get Some Irn In You’
Project Scotland
AG Barr for the ‘Launch of Irn-Bru Energy’
Runner-up
JUUL Labs for its ‘Mission Scotland’ project
Highly Commended
Nairn’s Oatcakes for its ‘Savoury Snacking Goes Pop in Scotland’ initiative
Best Overall Service by Suppliers
AG Barr
Runner-up
JTI
Highly Commended
Heineken
Best Foodservice Supplier
Unilever Food Solutions
Runner-up
AG Barr
Highly Commended
Innovate Foods
Supplier Sales Executive of the Year, sponsored by Unitas Wholesale
Steven McGarry, regional business development manager for Scotland, AG Barr
Runner-up
Hazel Boyd, Heineken
Highly Commended
Jamie Shiel, Angus Soft Fruits
Rising Star of Wholesale, presented by Scottish Wholesale Association
Jason Butler, operations support manager, United Wholesale (Scotland)
Runner-up
Molly Borys, category marketing mananager, Inverarity Morton
Highly Commended
Lauren Ingram, bakery manager, Lomond Foods
Green Wholesaler of the Year, sponsored by Zero Waste Scotland
Booker
Runner-up
Sutherland Brothers
Highly Commended
Lomond Foods
