They're no strangers to awards at Freshway Foods. Voted Sandwich Manufacturer of the Year in 2002/3, the Wolverhampton-based company has since picked up accolades as diverse as 'Best of the Black Country' Business of the Year to regional winner in the 'business Oscars', the National Business Awards, and finalist in the 2004 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards.
But the firm is anything but complacent, because this privately-owned sandwich manufacturer has a tough job on its hands in a highly competitive sector where it's up against some of the biggest names in chilled foods.
Freshway produces sandwiches, rolls and baguettes, along with sandwich fillings in bulk and consumer packs, which it packs under brands as diverse as Greggs, Brakes, Spar, Asda, Sainsbury and Shell.
As you would expect from a ready-to-eat chilled food producer, its technical credentials are impeccable: Efsis higher level certification with zero non-compliance; a Shell/Foodservice Centre audit score of 99%, and so on.
Sainsbury awarded the company new supplier status after a sustained period of investment in facilities, people and recipe innovation, and Freshway successfully launched three new products with Sainsbury in May of this year.
Flexibility, rapid decision-making and responding to niche opportunities have all helped Freshway pick up new business, for example in filled baguettes and sub-rolls. Installing an in-factory bakery and putting time and effort into logistics has allowed it to supply baguettes nationally for same-day consumption.
A glance at Freshway's performance data shows strong and consistent growth across sales revenues (up from £12m to £20m in three years), net profit before tax, and capital investment.
Employee numbers have also grown -- the company now provides jobs for more than 300 people. But evidence of Freshway's continuing search for efficiencies comes from the stats for turnover per employee, which have risen in line with revenues for the past three years.
"Freshway has made a hell of a lot of progress," remarked one of the FMEA judges. "It has picked up business from its rivals by being better. Freshway delivers on the product side and has gone up against the big guys and won on quality."
Category: Chilled Ready Meals & Prepared Foods
Winner: Freshway Foods
Shortlisted: H Forman & Sons, Hitchen Foods