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 Our History  The Summerfruit Company is the soft fruit specialist division of Redbridge Worldfresh Limited, but its roots go way back in history to 1964 when American Fruit Importers was formed as a subsidiary to American Foods in Florida U.S.A. Over the following decades the business was established as a major supplier of soft fruit to the retail, wholesale and catering businesses in the U.K. AFI Market Sales was established within Western International, a London Terminal Market and AFI Direct Sales became the marketing agent for the U.K.’s largest soft fruit co-operative of the day responsible for over £18M worth of U.K. soft fruit in 1995. AFI continued to develop sales of soft fruit from worldwide sources to compliment the U.K. production and ensure 52 week continuity of supply to its customers. The history of the Summerfruit Company ran parallel with a business that was destined to acquire AFI. This business became known as Redbridge and a full historic account of the Summerfruit Company would not be complete without reference to the birth of this entity. Named in 1996, Redbridge can trace its origins back 124 years. In 1883, the days of Queen Victoria and Gladstone, ‘Francis Nicholls’ was founded as an independent wholesaler. For the next 80 years the wholesale business grew into a formidable force, responding to the changes in consumer tastes and demands and dominating the wholesale markets. In 1964 Francis Nicholls was acquired by Geest, a company that made its mark importing bananas from the Windward Isles. In 1995 a management buyout of the wholesale branches from Geest was initiated with the result that Francis Nicholls became independent once more. The new management team initiated an ambitious strategy towards growth through acquisition and diversification. Within a year a fruit importing company, Frumar was acquired. This company possessed the “Worldfresh” brand, which was later to act as the generic divisional identity. At this stage Redbridge Produce Marketing was formed. There were plans for further acquisitions.  In 1998, Redbridge acquired Cheshire Produce to enhance its delivered offering to Foodservice and Catering customers. A new Division, “Caterfresh”, was formed. Also in that year, Redbridge strengthened its position in soft fruit by acquiring AFI Ltd, arguably the industry’s foremost authority in strawberries. This business was the first in the U.K. to import strawberries for the Food Industry, creating a year-round supply of soft fruit. With a keen eye on optimising efficiencies and focusing on customer service, two successful divisions – AFI Ltd and Redbridge Marketing Limited - were merged to create a trend-setting customer proposition that delivered substantial growth over the following years. The newly created division “Redbridge Worldfresh Limited” organised itself to provide unbeatable customer service and established specialist offerings as a first step toward realizing this goal.  Business units were created overseas (in Spain, Holland, and New Zealand) as well as in the U.K. The company responded to the growth in strawberries, raspberries and blueberries by further investing towards specialisation. The Summerfruit Company was created. The Summerfruit Company commands a unique position for marketing and developing imported and locally produced soft fruit. This offering was enhanced in 2005 by taking on further responsibilities for the marketing of U.K. stone fruit, plums and cherries. The research and development activity of the Summerfruit Company is supported by “Redeva”, an internationally recognized varietals development company, set up by Redbridge in 2001.  This brings us to our most recent historic event. In January 2007, the Redbridge Group was acquired by Total Produce PLC (formerly part of Fyffes). This acquisition has now created Europe’s largest fresh produce company, with a combined turnover in excess of 2 billion Euros. The Summerfruit Company now sits within Total Produce U.K. In the U.K. the turnover is in excess of £400 million, making it the region’s largest fresh produce company.  The size and scale of Total Produce PLC gives stability and financial support but it does not take away from the specialist, niche approach adopted towards soft fruit. It is just another chapter in the history of the Summerfruit Company, our aim continuing to be to do what we do best: to support customers and growers in providing quality fruit that continues to delight consumers everywhere. To support its ambitious plans, The Summerfruit Company continues to form partnerships with suppliers and growers around the world. This approach reaches every continent and creates a vehicle focused on quality, efficiency and varietals development. |
