‘Company Shop’ Middleton celebrates national champion title at European Business Awards

The Founder and Chairman of Company Shop, John Marren receiving the award alongside Adrian Tripp, CEO of the European Business Awards, and Jean Stephens CEO of RSM

Company Shop in Middleton is celebrating after being selected to represent the UK as a National Champion in the 2016/17 European Business Awards.

Company Shop officially received its title this week, and will now go on to compete in Europe for the Environmental & Corporate Sustainability Award. Other national champions include the likes of Typhoo Tea, FirstUtility, Willmott Dixon and Thomson Reuters, who will all go on to compete at European level.

The European Business Awards work to recognise and promote best practice in the European business community. Company Shop was chosen to be a National Champion after the first phase of judging by an independent panel, including business leaders, academics and politicians.

National Champions in all sections of the competition will now go on to compete at the next stage. Each entrant will now submit a video about their organisation explaining their business and its benefits. The videos will be uploaded to the European Business Awards’ website in January the public will vote on the entries. Last year nearly a quarter of a million people voted on the entries.

Company Shop is the UK’s largest redistributor of surplus food, which stops over 30,000 tonnes of food from going to waste every year. The organisation takes food from retailers, manufacturers and brands, that is perfectly good to eat, but for a number of reasons wouldn’t reach the supermarket shelves and sells this food to Company Shop’s members at a fraction of the recommended retail price.

The title recognises the work Company Shop is doing to tackle waste and deliver both environmental and social benefits through its model.

Adrian Tripp, CEO of the European Business Awards said: “Congratulations to Company Shop who have been selected to represent their country as National Champions.

“They are central to the success of Europe’s strong business community, and have shown the core principles we look for of innovation, ethics and success.”

Company Shop Founder and Chairman, John Marren said: “We are thrilled to have been selected to represent the UK in these prestigious awards.

“Food waste is an issue that is capturing the hearts and minds of people across Europe and we are proud to be providing a solution for UK retailers, manufacturers and brands that enables them to achieve a positive social and environmental impact with food that might have otherwise become waste.

“We look forward to sharing our story more widely in the next round.”