Miranda business Fruitezy Marketplace has taken top honours in the 2016 Fresh Awards presented by Sydney Markets.
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Fruitezy won the Best Large Business in the Greengrocer category, competing with businesses across NSW.
The awards are presented to recognise excellence and innovation from independent retailers and growers.
Fruitezy owner Max Filipe said that it was an honour for the family-run business to win.
“We started in the fruit and vegetable industry back in 1985 at a small store in ‘Fairfield and moved to Miranda in 1988 to 1998 and traded at Westfield Miranda as Fruities,’’ he said.
He and wife Rosa took several years out to start a family before Max returned to the industry buying a business at Chatswood Chase joining with his sister and brother-in-law Alzira and Abilio Daiva.
“When Westfield Miranda extended in 2014 we took what is now Fruitezy. This was our third store,” Max said.
In all, there are Fruitezy stores at Westfield Miranda, Westfield Chatswood and Chatswood Chase.
Fruitezy has won many awards over the years but this is a first for their Miranda store.
“It makes you feel good to be recognised,” Max said.
“We put a lot of hard work into our business. Nobody can sell fruit any fresher. That’s my motto.”
The 2016 Fresh Awards were presented at a gala function at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney on July 20.
A total of 60 finalists were in the running for the Fresh Awards including greengrocers, growers, florists, and bloggers.
The Large Business Fresh Award recognises a large business that has achieved the highest score across all mystery shopping criteria throughout the judging period.
Sydney Markets arranged for accredited mystery shoppers to conduct three rounds of mystery shopping throughout the year to all registered businesses.
Each round will be undertaken by a different shopper to give the business owner different consumer perspectives.
The mystery shopper completed a comprehensive questionnaire across five key criteria covering store appearance; customer service; produce quality, range and freshness; product knowledge and culinary execution; and merchandising and branding.
