Acquisition Brings Jobs And Wider Markets For The Westcountry's Artisan Food Producers

The highly respected speciality food supplier Plough to Plate has been bought by Westcountry Fruit Sales, the South West's leading distributor of top-quality produce to the catering and retail trade.

As well as creating new and wider markets for Cornwall and Devon's many artisan food producers ambitious growth plans are in place, with all Plough to Plate staff members being integrated into the thriving Westcountry team and a new sales' manager already recruited.

Plough to Plate was started in 2001 by Nigel and Sherry Boocock to help their many and varied speciality food producers find sustainable markets. As they look to "pastures new" the couple have been working closely with the Falmouth-based Westcountry team to ensure a smooth transition.

"Plough to Plate is a perfect fit with our existing businesses," says Westcountry Managing Director Sean Williams. "This is a hugely exciting deal for us and for the speciality food trade in the far south west - and it opens up our wider markets to some amazing speciality food producers.

"Nigel and Sherry have done a fantastic job building a niche business - providing a unique marketing and distribution network for a great number of high quality, artisan producers of fabulous food and drink products.

"The timing is absolutely perfect; Nigel and Sherry have been looking to move on and we have been looking to add more speciality and artisanal products to our existing fresh produce and dry goods offer."

Plough to Plate already has an extensive catering and retail customer base across Cornwall and Devon, all of whom have one thing in common - a passion for fine food and drink. Westcountry Fruit Sales has great plans for the continued development of Plough to Plate which will be of real benefit to the many local suppliers, as well as to quality-focused chefs and retailers alike.

"We plan to expand the speciality product range," says Sean, "to provide customers with an even more inspirational and unique selection of 'hard to source' ingredients, across the entire fresh, ambient and frozen categories of fine foods."

Plough to Plate customers can continue to order their products by ringing in or emailing in the normal way: - 01579 363942 or sales@ploughtoplate.co.uk or for more on Westcountry Fruit Sales please see www.thegreengrocery.co.uk or call 01326 372304.