Supplying the fresh fruit and vegetable needs of the British public is all in a day’s work for the teams at Wealmoor, one of the country’s most estab lished fresh produce providers. Ahead of celebrating the company’s halfcentennial in 2023, Wealmoor’s Sustainability Manager, Fernanda Aller highlighted some of the company’s proudest social, sustainability and business achievements in its illustrious journey thus far, teaching Richard Hagan what it means to feed the nation and change the world.
Wealmoor, with depots in Greater London and Warwickshire, operates primarily within the fresh produce market specialising in tropical fruits, vegetables, herbs and ingredients production. A significant amount of the produce is grown on its own farms, whilst the rest is sourced from its trustworthy grower partner network. Having been in business for almost 50 years, Wealmoor boasts a deep, mature and robust network of growers.
“Our relationships with the growers are long-term, sus tainable and very strong,” explained Fernanda Aller, Sustainability Manager. “Some of our growers have been supplying their produce to us for between 30 and 50 years, so they’re very important relationships for us.”
Freshness, globally
I n Britain, Wealmoor manages several farms of its own, located within Surrey. These farms grow herbs, legumes and Tenderstem broccoli. Re-purposed green houses grow chillies during the summer months, pro viding continuity and security of supply throughout the year, in collaboration with its other protected farming bases in Spain and The Gambia. Wealmoor’s large farm in The Gambia produces a variety of vegeta bles and mangoes. Meanwhile in Peru, the company acquired the country’s largest mango exporter and processor which, together with its own farms, sup ports a large network of local growers.
Wealmoor’s grower partners have equally impres sive operations. One in particular, located in Kenya, supplies Wealmoor with 3,000 tonnes of green beans per year. “Our founder, Rati Dhanani, started this farming business with his partner in the late 1960s,” said Dr Aller. “He revolutionised the way produce is exported from Kenya and introduced numerous sub sistence farmers to the export marketplace. They are key partners for us, with whom we work closely.”
Wealmoor markets its substantial portfolio of pro duce to discerning customers in the UK. Its key prod ucts include mangoes – which it supplies in both raw and ready-to-eat forms – and a range of green beans.
All packed and ready to go Having been lovingly grown on one of Wealmoor’s farms worldwide, the next step for any fresh produce item is preparation and packaging at one of Wealmoor’s three processing and packaging depots in the UK.
Wealmoor’s depot in Greenford, Greater London, does double duty as the company’s headquarters and air freight perishables hub in which Wealmoor’s vegetables, fruits, herbs and ingredients are packaged before being dispatched fresh, 7 days a week to customers nationwide. Located strategically close to London’s Heathrow airport, the distance between the arrival point for imported pro duce and the distribution hub is minimised.
The second site, with significantly larger capacity, is located near Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. This facility is Wealmoor’s biggest packhouse, strategically positioned to support UK vegetable farming and valueadd processes to large volumes of fruit and vegetable.
The third facility in Hayes, Greater London, was pur pose built in 1988 by founder, Rati Dhanani. Designed as a cornerstone to deliver his vision and rapidly expanding business, the site remains dedicated to inno vation in his honour. The facility now boasts a brand-new plant and state-of-the-art machinery dedicated to the pro duction of ‘prepared food’, or more simply, ‘ready to eat’ and ‘ready to cook’ product ranges. “We produce a range of ready-to-eat fruits,” said Dr Aller, “Processing rescued sweet potatoes from our grower bases along with our fresh herbs, chillies and vegetables, our NPD team craft and prepare the most exquisite, ready-to-cook dishes.”
Wealmoor’s veritable army of committed and loyal employees is responsible for keeping all of this
production going, 24/7. Depending on the season, the business employs between several hundred full-time and part-time people.
Going in circles
Sustainability is a critical priority for Wealmoor, particularly given the company’s exposure to environmental risks associ ated with pollution and climate change. With that in mind, one of Wealmoor’s biggest sustainability efforts is promoting a cir cular economy in plastics recycling.
While Wealmoor would certainly prefer to eliminate plastic use altogether, a certain level of plastics use is still necessary to prevent food waste in the end-to-end supply value chain, as Dr Aller confirmed: “At the beginning of our sustainable pack aging journey, we investigated biodegradable plastics, but we discovered that various researchers had raised environmental concerns with those solutions. Consequently, we decided not to pursue those products yet and instead have opted for 100% recy clable, food-grade packaging.”
Meanwhile, Wealmoor remains committed to the circular e conomy and finding the most sustainable packaging solutions for all of its products. One such solution is that the raw material used to produce Wealmoor packaging can be recycled time and time again. This means that 100% of the material is sustainably reused
“We want to reduce our volume of plastics usage while also eliminating all of the plastic from our range that is non-recyclable or difficult to recycle,” Dr Aller explained. “Finding alternatives for our herbs packaging is especially challenging because they rely on a controlled atmosphere to avoid waste. Paper or card board doesn’t work. We used to use polystyrene but that’s too dif ficult to
recycle, so we’ve really made an effort to find packaging that can cope with moisture while protecting the herbs.”
This is why Wealmoor’s new Herbfresh box is so innovative. After close collaboration with the packaging manufacturing partner, the box not only looks the part, but is 100% recyclable and better for the product. BRC and FCA approved, the packaging has a patented dual-barrier technology which keeps the herbs fresher for longer. The rigid packaging also provides protection for the contents of the box.
The company’s efforts have been recognised during BRCGS (British Retail Consortium for Global Standards) audits. Following an unannounced visit to each of Wealmoor’s pack houses, the company was awarded an AA+ rating, the highest cer tification in food safety. “The auditor commented to us that our premises are the best he’s ever seen,” Dr Aller proudly recalled.
Additionally, Wealmoor’s Spanish farming operation, Tropical Growers Export, was shortlisted as a Finalist for Sustainability Excellence in the 2022 FPC (Fresh Produce Consortium) ‘Fresh Awards’.
Schooling the next generation
Social responsibility programmes are a key part of Wealmoor’s DNA. In 2018, Wealmoor opened the Radville Nemakunku Lower Basic School in The Gambia. The facility provides education for over 2,000 mainly young girls aged between seven and 15. Unusually for the country, the school also provides the learners with free
uniforms and educational resources, and the school itself is pro vided with clean water and reliable electricity. The school p rop erty additionally benefits from a comprehensive maintenanc e programme to ensure the highest levels of hygiene, safety and welfare for its students.
The school is heavily supported by Wealmoor’s farming com pany in The Gambia, Radville Farms, which also maintains a market garden at the school that the pupils are encouraged to par ticipate in. This early exposure to farming at the school is a key part of Wealmoor’s efforts to empower the local community to be self-sufficient and even to encourage them to pursue commercial farming activities as a Wealmoor partner in future.
Climate resilience
Meanwhile, climate change continues to pose challenges to farmers worldwide who must constantly adapt to changing environmental conditions and new challenges. In alignment with the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to 1.5°C, Wealmoor has set a target to be Net-Zero by 2040 across all supply chains.
“Our producers are completely dependent on the weather and the climate conditions in general,” Dr Aller said. “Climate change is a major challenge for us, and it’s not only in terms of drought but flooding, too. As part of our sustainability strategy, we’ve introduced regenerative agriculture practices. These practices focus on enhancing soil fertility and biodiversity by increasing soil organic matter. Using organic fertilisers such as manure, and by reducing chemical and pesticide inputs, we hope to reduce our impact on insects and local fauna. This will also assist with our water conserva tion programmes.”
Wealmoor has rolled out a sophisticated irrigation system at its Spanish and UK farms in an effort to reduce water usage and
become more water resilient. “We’ve been working very hard to reduce our water use. We’ve implemented technologies using soil sensors to identify the crop’s water needs. When the soil reaches a certain level of dryness, the irrigation automatically comes on,” Dr Aller explained.
Colours and flavours
Wealmoor is leading a unique marketing effort in collaboration with universities and supporting campaigns as a key sponsor of “VegPower UK” to introduce more fruits and vegetables into the British public’s diet. The campaign seeks to educate the new gen eration especially, on the health benefits of vegetables and how to select different colours and flavours and what it all means for the consumer.
Simultaneously, the company is exploring waste-reduction opportunities by finding creative markets for produce that is considered too ugly to sell. It’s all part of The Wealmoor Way, said Dr Aller, who concluded by outlining some of the reasons why she loves working for Wealmoor.
“I love the idea that I can change the world and the mentality of the public, by encouraging them to buy more sustainable pro duce, to make better choices and to be informed about where those products come from. By telling them that story, I can change the world for the better.” n
