19 October 2009, 22:01 PM
  • West Midlands food group, Heart of England Fine Foods (HEFF) won the ECR UK Award for Sustainable Distribution at the IGD Food Industry Awards last week

Multinationals such as Tesco, Boots, United Biscuits and Kimberly Clark were among the competition.

The accolade praised the HEFF Delivery Service for helping the industry to decrease the number of food miles accumulated through distrubution.

“I’m absolutely thrilled we have won this award. It was such an honour to have been shortlisted, but for a regional business to have come out on top against such strong competition is incredible,” said Karen Davies, chief executive of HEFF.

“It really demonstrates what can be achieved through collaboration and that the size of the business is not a limiting factor,” she added.

The judging panel included Neal Austin, logistics director for Morrisons, Heather Simpson, head of logistics and customer service at Mars, and Karen Chalmers, senior business analyst at IGD.

“This year’s finalists have shown that even in challenging times, innovation and best practice are at the forefront of the industry,” says Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive of IGD.

“These awards demonstrate some of the most exciting new thinking in food and grocery,” she adds.

The HEFF Delivery Service, in partnership with Heart Distribution seeks to provide a more effective route to market for small to medium-sized regional food producers.

In a recent survey on two of its accounts over a six-month period, 60,600 miles were saved. There are currently 88 producers and 300 customers using the HEFF Delivery Service.

For more information about HEFF visit www.heff.co.uk

For more information about the IGD Food Industry Awards 2009 visit www.igd.com