Wholesalers from across Scotland have been recognised for their innovation, excellence and professionalism at the Scottish Wholesale Achievers awards.
Achievers, now in its 18th year and organised by the Scottish Wholesale Association, saw Bidfood Scotland, JW Filshill and United Wholesale (Scotland) each win three top awards on the night. CJ Lang & Son won two while Booker and JB Foods each claimed a category accolade.
Bidfood Scotland won the Great Place to Work award and shared the Best Delivered Operation (Foodservice) category with JB Foods. Bidfood was also – along with JW Filshill – joint winner of the Best Marketing Initiative.
Filshill also won Best Licensed Wholesaler and shared the Best Delivered Operation (Retail) award with CJ Lang.
Best Cash & Carry, one of the most closely contested categories, went to United Wholesale (Scotland) for its Queenslie depot.
United also raised a glass to Lorraine MacPherson, its Symbol Development Manager who won Employee of the Year.
Best Symbol Group saw CJ Lang impress the judges with the way it has updated the business across the board.
Two new awards were presented for the first time this year: Booker triumphed as the SWA’s inaugural Green Wholesaler of the Year while Jason Butler was named the first Rising Star of Wholesale.
In the suppliers’ awards, Barr Soft Drinks came out on top – winning four of the awards, including Best Overall Service; Supplier Sales Executive of the Year, awarded to the company’s Regional Business Development Manager for Scotland, Steven McGarry; Project Scotland; and Best Advertising Campaign, which went to Irn-Bru’s ‘Get Some Irn In You’.
Best Foodservice Supplier went to Unilever Food Solutions.
Colin Smith, SWA Chief Executive, congratulated all the winners and 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.”
Almost 460 people attended the Achievers gala dinner and awards presentation, hosted by TV presenter Jennifer Reoch, at the Sheraton Grand, Edinburgh on Thursday 13 February.
