Yorkshire poultry experts celebrate double success in prestigious rural awards
An East Yorkshire family poultry business has won two categories at the CLA and Amazon sponsored Rural Business Awards 2017.
T.Soanes and Son Poultry, from Driffield, was presented with the awards for Britain's Best Rural Food and Drink Business and Rural Employer of the Year at the awards ceremony that was held at Denbies Wine Estates in Surrey recently.
Judges were impressed that the business promotes from within, adding that staff were "clearly valued and treated as an asset". They said the company had a "solid, joined-up view about employment", developing talent and knowing how long staff had been working for them.
Andrew Soanes, from T.Soanes & Son Poultry, said: "Even after 70 years in business, it's always great to be recognised with a national award and they don't come much better than the Rural Business Awards.
"Our business has seen many highs and lows over the last 70 years so we know how important it is to cherish and support rural enterprises. Being named winner of two categories at this year's Rural Business Awards is a great honour for us.
"It's wonderful to be recognised in our sector as the Best Food and Drink Business, however, to be awarded Rural Employer of the Year is particularly special because it recognises how we run our company and how much we value, and invest in, our employees."
The awards ceremony at Denbies Wine Estates, Surrey, was compered by Jules Hudson of BBC Escape to the Country fame. Now in their third year, the national awards are dedicated to showcasing the success of rural businesses.
Awards programme co-founder Jemma Clifford said: "Rural communities absolutely and utterly depend on fabulous local employment. It's not easy to find jobs in rural areas and that's why we wanted to showcase those businesses which are pulling out all the stops to create employment.
"More than that, we were looking for firms which are actually nurturing talent and creating not just jobs but enviable careers. This category of our awards saw a huge surge in interest this year but T.Soanes and Son really stood out as an outstanding employer really looking after its staff."
Fellow co-founder Anna Price said: "We were blown away by our entries in the Best Rural Food and Drink Business category but T.Soanes & Son Poultry were clear winners. This family-owned business is showing such commitment to the local community while staying on top of its game in a really competitive marketplace."
T. Soanes and Son rears over five million birds a year on 11 farms and the business sells premium chicken to butchers and independent retailers in Yorkshire, and to wholesalers and restaurateurs nationwide.
Ends
Photo:Carolyn Pennock, second from left, and Nigel Upson, far right from Soanes with fellow award winners Tom and Gill Mellor from Wold Top Brewery Carolyn Pennock and Nigel Upson
For more information or to arrange an interview withT.Soanes and SonGeneral Manager Nigel Upson,please contact Tracey Baty at three60 marketing on:
Direct line: 01430 871360
Mobile: 07971 961574
E mail:traceybaty@three60marketing.co.uk
Web:www.three60marketing.co.uk
Notes to editors
For more information aboutT.Soanes & Son, please visitwww.soanespoultry.co.uk.
Keep up to date withT.Soanes & Son's news onFacebook,Twitterand the business bloghere.
T.Soanes & Son supplies its chicken to butchers and independent retailers in Yorkshire and to wholesalers nationwide.
The firm also sources game which it distributes through a game processor. For more information about game available fromT.Soanes & Son, please visitwww.soanespoultry.co.uk/game.
T.Soanes & Son is accredited under the BritishRetail Consortium Food Safety Standard A Grade and the Red Tractor Farm Assurance Standard.
The firm recently celebrated its 70thanniversary byrebranding with a new logoandreleasing acommemorative booklet entitled ‘A celebration of 70 years of T.Soanes & Son (poultry) in recipes', available from independent butchers.
T.Soanes & Son was crowned winner of the Environmental Initiative of the Year category at the Meat and Poultry Processing Awards 2017 and this summer, the business was awarded one-starGreat Taste Awardsfor its whole free range chicken and its whole Christmas Cockerel.
For more information about the Rural Business Awards, please visitwww.ruralbusinessawards.co.uk.
Created by rural entrepreneurs, Jemma Clifford and Anna Price, the RBAs are the only UK-wide programme dedicated to showcasing the success of rural businesses - a segment which employs more than 3.4 million people in over half a million businesses. The RBAs are split into 13 categories with one category winner also crowned overall Champion of Champions.