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Bestway Wholesale won the Retail Wholesaler category at the 2022 Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD) Gold Medal Awards.

The judging panel praised Bestway’s partnerships with its suppliers that helped to “deliver outstanding availability levels during the toughest trading period”.

Its work on buying ahead, collaborative joint forecasting, backhauling stock to mitigate suppliers’ driver shortages, and adding significantly to its central ordering department also stood out to the panel.

Other notable winners on the night included AF Blakemore & Son, which picked up the award for Use of Data and Insight. The judges were impressed by its Project Utopia investigation which aimed to maximise trading profit and reduce promotional frequency to create more effective, less complex promotional strategies.

Full list of winners:

Wholesaler Awards

Retail Wholesaler: Bestway Wholesale

Out of Home Wholesaler: Bidfood

Smaller Wholesaler: Failte Foods

Green Wholesaler: Direct Seafoods

Digital Innovation: JJ Foodservice

Use of Date & Insight: AF Blakemore & Son

Telesales Star: Denise Collison, Bidfood

Star Driver: Peter Taylor, Dunsters Farm

Wholesale Star: Matthew Norman, Confex

Wholesale Manager: Stuart Shaw, Bestway Wholesale

Customer Development: Susan Justice, Bidfood

Emerging Talent: Holly Rogers, Bidfood

Outstanding Contribution: Andrew Kemp, Bidcorp UK

Supplier Awards

Retail Brand: Monster, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners

Licenced Brand: Madrí Excepcional, Molson Coors Brewing Company

Foodservice Brand: Bisto, Premier Foods

Best Use of Data and Insight: Coca-Cola Europacific Partners

Service to Wholesale: Britvic

New Retail Product: Madrí Excepcional, Molson Coors Brewing Company

New Foodservice Product: Radnor 125ml Tetra Pak, Radnor Hills

Process Innovation: Britvic

Digital Innovation: Britvic

Green Supplier: Coca-Cola Europacific Partners

Emerging Talent: Amy Beirne, Halewood Artisanal Spirits