Fresh Pastures awarded national industry accolade

Leeds based Fresh Pastures and School Milk UK, a highly respected food service and logistics business specialising in the administration and distribution of school milk, dairy and morning goods, has been awarded the highly coveted Business Resilience Award by The Food and Drink Federation.

Rewarding excellence for innovation, competitiveness and talent in the food and drink industry, the 2022 Food and Drinks Awards acknowledged how the company diversified and implemented strategic changes to survive through and beyond the Covid-19 pandemic.

During 2020/21, the company was impacted by covid-related shutdowns, losing over 90 per cent of its business at the peak. Fresh Pastures and School Milk UK responded by reconfiguring to deliver daily essentials to those most vulnerable.

Despite this, revenues grew by 20 per cent over this period due to the ongoing development of customer relationships and new contracts, which included a strategic expansion of non-school business and the implementation of a national rollout. In the last year alone, the business grew by another 32 per cent year-on-year.

Dawn Carney, managing director of Fresh Pastures and School Milk UK and one of the few female senior leaders that operate within the dairy and logistics industry, said: “Our challenges, like many, have been significant.

“In fact, we often refer to the last few years as the perfect storm with the culmination of Covid-19, driver shortages, van shortages, Brexit, food crisis, energy crisis, and war in Europe, to name but a few.

“However, as a company, we have a ‘can do, will do at all costs’ attitude. As a result, the team are resilient and able to adopt a positive mindset. This has enabled the business to work collectively towards a shared goal and to stay fully committed and ready to serve its customers despite the challenges we have faced.

“We are so proud of our success, especially when we have achieved so much in unprecedented times, which is why this means so much to us.

“The FDF Award is for every single member of our team. They have played an integral role in how we have adapted to survive and remained focused to thrive; their positivity is inspiring!

“As a company, we are excited for the future. I know that the lessons that we have learned, our resilience and agility will help us to achieve growth and realise our vision for the future.”

The FDF is a powerful voice for the UK’s vibrant, resilient and diverse food and drinks manufacturing environment. The 2022 awards brought together over 200 nominees across 19 categories to showcase the best from across the industry.