Lincolnshire family business, LJ Fairburn & Son has beaten major corporates to the top spot to be crowned winner of the IGD Business Transformation Award 2014. Competing against ASDA for George Home, Quorn Foods for business turnaround from UK to global and Wanis for Export division and overhaul - Fairburn’s claimed gold for their phenomenal business growth and restructure.
Celebrating the BEST in the Food and Grocery Industry
Sponsored by Boxwood, the Business Transformation Award recognises an organisation that has significantly transformed its business, causing a fundamental shift in performance. After being shortlisted, Fairburn’s had to present to a panel of expert judges, including representatives from IGD, leading retailers and food industry professionals, in September. After this gruelling process, they soon became one of the four finalists who would go on to compete for this prestigious accolade. The family business, that has been producing eggs for more than 60 years, qualified for its dramatic business growth, restructure and outstanding transformation after leaving The Noble Foods Group to market their eggs independently. This high-risk strategy paid off and 12 months later, Fairburn’s has already secured contracts with five major retailers - ASDA, Aldi, The Co-op, Iceland and Sainsbury’s. IGD is a food and grocery research and training charity and its awards recognise excellence across all parts of the supply chain - manufacturing, logistics, retail, human resources, small businesses, and much more.
An Evening of Success
Winners were finally revealed on the 7th October at the awards ceremony hosted by television and radio presenter Gabby Logan. The Fairburn family nervously travelled from Lincolnshire to the Park Plaza at Westminster Bridge, London to await the pending results.
Daniel Fairburn, Managing Director of LJ Fairburn & Son Limited, commented; “Wow, what can we say. We are all absolutely overwhelmed and feel so honoured to have been given this opportunity. To compete against some of the biggest global brands is remarkable for our family business - and to leave as the winners of business transformation, is one of our biggest achievements. The last 12 months has been pivotal for our business. We have significantly up-scaled our production, restructured and have secured five massive retail contracts. We are now one of the largest producers, packers and distributors of shell egg in the UK, supplying over 10 million eggs weekly. We have also launched our own regional brand, Fairburn’s Lincolnshire Free Range Eggs”
Sarah Louise Fairburn, Brand Director Said: “Within 12 months, dating to 30th June 2014 - our sales have increased by 46% and our projected turnover by the end of this year is estimated at £45million. The transformation has been significant – we are growing and the business is on-going. Our objective is sustainable business growth for future generations. Family is very much at the heart of what we do and this is something that we aim to protect and value for many years to come. For this reason, we have reinvested 91.7% of profits back into the business. This continued investment will also show our retail customers that our commitment and drive for sustainability is our main objective. ”
Matt Clark, Director of Boxwood, said: “L J Fairburn & Son impressed the judges with its courage, absolute customer focus and determination to stick to its values. Facing a ‘do or die’ situation, the family took some brave decisions to invest in its business, develop a direct-to-retail capability from scratch and build an industry-leading customer offer. The result has been listings with many of the major supermarkets, one of which has awarded them supplier of the year. Significant revenue growth has followed. Not content with this, L J Fairburn & Son continues to lead its industry segment through innovation and a passion for customer service.”
Sarah Louise added; “We are an independent business. As the third generation of the Fairburn family, we are committed to ensuring that the egg industry continues to flourish. A passionate, dynamic team with continued growth, improved efficiencies, reinvestment and lots of hard work at the business core- we hope to be able to support the egg industry for many more generations.
“Working collaboratively with our retail partners that had such faith in us to deliver has been amazing. We will not forget the support given to us during some of our hardest times which has phenomenally helped our business transformation. We are delighted to take this award in such an important week for our industry - let’s all get behind British Egg Week.”
Commenting on the IGD Awards, Joanne Denney-Finch, IGD Chief Executive, said: “This year’s IGD Awards received the highest number of entries that we have ever had. From small start-ups to medium-sized companies to large international ones, I was incredibly impressed with the breadth and quality of the submissions we received. They demonstrate the best-in-class leadership, innovation and excellence our industry has to offer. Many congratulations to all of our finalists and winners. Their excellent contribution is testament to the hard work, commitment and innovative approach of the people at the heart of our industry.”
