ABOUT US
ABOUT US
OVERVIEW
At Fruitways the Customer is Queen. Our business is a beehive of activity where we all work together in harmony to serve the Customer, our Queen Bee. We are a specialist producer, packer and marketer of a wide range of quality apples and pears. We pride ourselves on delivering exceptional service to our customers around the globe. Our Bee-branded products are sold throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and North America.
We constantly challenge ourselves to innovate and be early adopters of new varieties or technologies in the production, storage, sorting, packaging and distribution of our apples and pears. We care for our people and our community and believe that they should grow and develop with Fruitways. We are close to nature and we care about the environment and the footprint we leave behind.
Our vision is to build long term relationships with all our stakeholders based on trust. Our mission is to earn the trust of all our stakeholders through competence, character and connection.
HISTORY
A long, long time ago (in 1920 to be precise) Harry Blackburn bought Eikenhof Farm for £9500. Ten years later an 18 year old Douglas Moodie arrived on the farm on his bike and asked for a job. He was appointed as learner farmer for £3 per month but at least got free meals and a room to share.
Fifty years later, Douglas Moodie bought Graymead and Eikenhof Farms from Harry Blackburn. His son, Alastair, who grew up on the farm joined his dad a year later after completing his studies. They built a pack house and cold stores on Graymead and expanded farming into stone fruit, citrus, berries and wine grapes.
In 2000 they started a marketing, sales and distribution business called Fruitways and started marketing their own and other growers’ product. Chris Moodie, joined the business in 2003 as General Manager of Marketing. In January 2023 Chris Moodie took over from Alastair as Chairman of the Group, the third generation to head up the family business.
In 1970 the Moodie’s long time neighbour, Harry Molteno, passed away and left his business in the hands of the Molteno Brothers Charitable Trust. They also produced and packed fruit and Fruitways started marketing their product in 2005. In 2014, the two neighbours merged their businesses to become The Fruitways Group.
