Wednesday, 6 December 2023: Mitolo Family Farms has been named the 2023 Woolworths Trade Partner of the Year in a ceremony overnight at the International Convention Centre in Sydney.  

Trade Partners to Woolworths supermarkets came together to recognise the excellence demonstrated among the thousands of trade partners that Woolworths collaborates with each and every year to deliver better shopping experiences for customers. 

Mitolo Family Farms, were recognised as the 2023 Overall Woolworths Trade Partner of the Year for their commitment to delivering ongoing value and category innovations that provide a better experience for customers. Mitolo Family Farms have been bringing quality produce to the tables of Australian families for over half a century. 

A long term partner for Woolworths in the Fruit and Veg category, Mitolo Family Farms have helped shape the category. Through strong collaboration with the Woolworths team, Mitolo Family Farms met customer needs with an abundant supply of quality potatoes supporting customer value through the recent seasonal Prices Dropped campaign. Mitolo Family Farms also won the Fruit and Veg Trade Partner of the Year category. 

Woolworths Chief Commercial Officer,Paul Harker said: “I’m incredibly pleased to see a long standing partner of ours recognised for their dedication and commitment to our shared customers. The team at Mitolo Family Farms exemplifies a true trade partner with deep collaboration, customer insights and category innovation to help us bring new varieties of fresh produce to market. Their support of our ‘Prices Dropped’ program has not gone unnoticed, meeting customers with value at a time when it’s more important than ever.

The Better Tomorrow Award, celebrating sustainability best practice and innovation in supply chain, was awarded to Nestlé Australia. Nestlé introduced recyclable paper packaging with ‘designed for recycling’ at the centre of their approach across a number of their products, often replacing multi-material wrapping that is hard to separate or recycle. In addition to their sustainable packaging innovation, Nestlé’s reforestation program has planted more than 1 million trees including native species to support biodiversity, restore native habitats, improve soil health, and protect waterways. Nestlé’s Gympie Factory, home of Nescafé, is a model for sustainable efforts, using 100% renewable sources including those from waste coffee grounds, sawdust and wind, demonstrating innovation to repurpose what would be waste. 

Paul Harker said: “The Better Tomorrow Award is anchored in our purpose to create better experiences together for a better tomorrow and Nestlé’s efforts truly embody a brand that is actively finding ways to do good for the planet. As a business, we strive to have a positive impact on our team, planet, customers and communities and it’s incredibly pleasing to see partners like Nestlé sharing that goal and creating real impact across the supply chain.”

New Zealand based, family owned and operated, Fix & Fogg won the Small Trade Partner of the Year Award for their innovation in differentiating and premiumising the Spreads category. Challenged with creating a delicious and better for you ‘real chocolate nut butter spread’, Fix & Fogg’s vegan friendly Choc Nut Butter brought in a significant amount of new customers and great results for the category. 

Paul Harker said: “It is great to see our valued small trade partners innovating and driving positive change for their categories. Fix & Fogg, supported by a strong relationship with our commercial team, has created a product that stands out in the spreads category while delivering healthy and delicious options for our customers.” 

Mondelez were recognised as the Merchandising Team of the Year for driving excellence in end-to-end execution across planogram implementation and major event activations, to create excitement for customers.  

The Woolworths Trade Partner of the Year Awards recognised partners across 14 categories:

• Overall Trade Partner of the Year: Mitolo Family Farms
• Account Manager of the Year: Brendan O’Donnell, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
• Better Tomorrow Award: Nestlé Australia
• Cartology Campaign of the Year: Vittoria Food & Beverages, Jarlsberg Month
• Chilled & Bakery Trade Partner of the Year: Fonterra
• Everyday Needs Trade Partner of the Year: MCoBeauty
• Fruit & Veg Trade Partner of the Year: Mitolo Family Farms
• Grocery Food Trade Partner of the Year: Carman’s Fine Foods
• Meat & Seafood Trade Partner of the Year: A O’Meehan & Co
• Merchandising Team of the Year: Mondelez
• New Product Launch of the Year: MCoBeauty Super Glow Bronzing Drops
• Small Trade Partner of the Year: Fix & Fogg
• Woolworths Category Manager of the Year: Mitchell Greatorex
• Woolworths Food Company Trade Partner of the Year: Trumps

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For further information, contact Woolworths Media: 02 8885 1033 or media@woolworths.com.au