Winterwood Farms

What Winterwood Farms does

Winterwood Farms Ltd is a privately held UK-based soft fruit producer and packer headquartered in East Sutton, Maidstone, Kent. The company operates over 2,000 hectares of farmland across the United Kingdom, France, Poland, and South Africa, producing six core soft fruit categories: blackberries, blackcurrants, blueberries, gooseberries, raspberries, and redcurrants. Through wholly owned subsidiaries and joint ventures (Polana Sp. zo.o. in Poland, SARL Anjou Myrtilles in France, Melwood Fruits, Dreammaker Fruits, Kruger Berries, Lushof Fruits, and Bush Valley Berries in South Africa), Winterwood is the largest grower of blueberries in Europe and Africa, with its partner Eurafruit accounting for over 50% of South African blueberry exports as of 2020. The company also operates the world's largest dedicated soft fruit packhouse, with throughput of over 20,000 tonnes and more than 60 million packs per annum, including inspection and packing of third-party fruit from around the world.

The business model centers on year-round B2B supply to UK multiple retailers and supermarkets, enabled by multi-hemisphere production that staggers seasons across the Northern and Southern hemispheres. All packed fruit is marketed through Farm Fresh PO Ltd, a Producer Organisation, giving Winterwood a direct distribution channel to the UK grocery trade. Headcount is approximately 250–270 employees year-round, with seasonal variation of plus or minus 25%. The company has invested in automation technology, notably a Blueberry Optical Grading System that combines optical sizing with defect quality control, part-funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. Additional revenue-adjacent activities include organic table grape production at Lushof (221 hectares) and a breeding program developing new blackcurrant varieties for fresh consumption.

Winterwood is owned by its founding/management team with no external private equity, venture capital, or institutional investment identified. Leadership includes Managing Director Stephen Taylor and Company Director Terry Gilham. The company has grown steadily since the late 1990s through a combination of joint ventures (Melwood 1999, Anjou Myrtilles), acquisitions (Balticblue assets in Poland, Lushof and Kruger Berries in South Africa, France Myrtilles assets), and greenfield expansion (Plantacja Nad Tanwia with Daar). Recent strategic moves include a partnership with BerryWorld to grow and market proprietary raspberry varieties predominantly in the French market, pointing to a shift toward proprietary IP and branded premium offerings.

Name

Winterwood Farms

Legal name

Winterwood Farms Ltd

Website

https://winterwood.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Winterwood Farms Ltd is a privately held UK soft fruit producer operating over 2,000 hectares across the UK, France, Poland, and South Africa. It grows six berry varieties and runs the world's largest dedicated soft fruit packhouse, supplying UK multiple retailers and supermarkets through Farm Fresh PO Ltd.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fresh Fruit Production and Packing

NAICS

Berry (except Strawberry) Farming (111334), Fruit and Tree Nut Farming (1113)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Berry Sorting & Packing Facilities (AFAOAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fresh Produce Packhouses (Fruits & Vegetables) (AFAOAGAA), Value-Added Cold Storage Services (Pick/Pack, Kitting, Repacking, Labeling) (AFAOAFAL)

Keywords

• Soft fruit farming
• Berry production
• Blueberry growing
• Fruit packing services
• Fresh fruit supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Maidstone

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Fruit Production and Sales: Growing and selling soft fruit (Blackberries, Blackcurrants, Blueberries, Gooseberries, Raspberries, Redcurrants) from company farms in UK, France, Poland, and South Africa. Also inspects and packs fruits from around the world in their packhouse.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Winterwood Farms grows six soft fruit crops — blackberries, blackcurrants, blueberries, gooseberries, raspberries, and redcurrants — across more than 2,000 hectares of farms in the UK, France, Poland, and South Africa, and operates the world's largest dedicated soft fruit packhouse in Kent. The packhouse inspects and packs both Winterwood-grown fruit and third-party fruit from around the world for supply to UK multiple retailers and supermarkets via Farm Fresh PO Ltd.

Product overview

Winterwood Farms is a soft fruit agricultural company operating as a single unified business focused on growing and packing berries and currants. The product portfolio consists of six core fresh fruit products (Blackberries, Blackcurrants, Blueberries, Gooseberries, Raspberries, Redcurrants) complemented by a packhouse service that inspects and packs fruits from around the world for marketing to UK multiple retailers and supermarkets. With farms across the United Kingdom, France, Poland, and South Africa spanning over 2,000 hectares combined, Winterwood Farms is the largest grower of Blueberries in Europe and Africa. The company is a member of Farm Fresh PO Ltd and markets its fruit through various UK supermarket chains.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Blackberries

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Farm Fresh PO LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWinterwood Farms Ltd is a member of Farm Fresh PO Ltd, a Producer Organisation. All fruit is packed and distributed through Winterwood packhouse and marketed through Farm Fresh PO Ltd to multiple retailers and supermarkets in the UK.
• Eurafruit SA (Pty) LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrevor McKenzie (owner of Eurafruit SA) provides technical backup and coordinates sale logistics. Eurafruit has built a solid base of South African growers. In 2000, over 90% of South Africa's blueberry exports were attributable to Eurafruit, and over 95% handled at Winterwood Farm.
• Melwood Fruits (Pty) LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture between Winterwood Farms Ltd, Eurafruit, and The Melsetter Trust formed in 1999. Operates on 70ha farm called Brandwag near Cape Town. Participants provide growing expertise, logistical and technical knowledge, and end market access.
• The Melsetter TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of Eurafruit's suppliers that partnered in the Melwood (Pty) Ltd joint venture with Winterwood Farms and Eurafruit.
• Lushof Workers TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMinority shareholding sold to Lushof Workers Trust under South Africa's BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) initiative. Workers are beneficiaries of the Trust which has shares in the Lushof Farm.
• SARL Normandy FruitscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench Soft Fruit marketing company joint venture with Jacques Guepratte. SARL Anjou Myrtilles is a JV between Jacques and Stephen, producing blueberries and raspberries primarily for the UK market.
• Daar (Poland)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Jan Karwowski from Daar company in Poland for a 4th farm called Plantacja Nad Tanwia, 220ha with 120ha planted so far.
• BerryWorldminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRecent tie-ups with BerryWorld in the UK to grow and market proprietary Raspberry varieties, predominantly in the French market.
• AquAid UKminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate social responsibility partnership. Winterwood is proud to sponsor Skip2BFit and is also helping save lives in the Third World with AquAid UK. Water coolers are sourced from AquAid.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Costa Group: ASX-listed Australian fresh produce giant producing berries, mushrooms, tomatoes, and citrus. Comparable in berry category breadth and scale of packhouse operations, though with a much broader category portfolio.
• Driscoll's: Global berry market leader (private, US-based) with proprietary varieties and worldwide growing operations. Significantly larger scale than Winterwood but operates in the same berry category with similar retail customers.

Direct peers

• S&A Produce (UK): One of the UK's largest independent strawberry growers with diversified soft fruit operations. Direct competitor for UK retailer soft fruit supply contracts, particularly in the strawberry category.
• Total Berry: UK soft fruit supplier specializing in growing and packing berries for UK retailers. Comparable scale and product mix to Winterwood with a similar integrated supply chain model.
• Haygrove: UK-based soft fruit grower and substrate/tunnel supplier operating across UK, South Africa, and Portugal. Comparable multi-hemisphere farming footprint and direct UK retailer supply model.
• Hall Hunter Partnership: UK soft fruit grower producing blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries for major retailers. Operates a comparable integrated farm-to-packhouse model supplying UK supermarket chains.
• Berry Gardens: UK-based berry cooperative supplying soft fruit to major UK retailers — closest direct peer to Winterwood, sharing the same B2B retail channel and product mix (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries).
• Angus Soft Fruits: Scottish soft fruit grower supporting multiple UK retailers with a similar berry portfolio (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries). Operates own packhouse and supply chain, directly comparable to Winterwood's integrated grower-packer model.

Emerging players

• BerryWorld: Specialist berry marketing company with proprietary varieties (mentioned as Winterwood's partner). Develops and licenses premium berry varieties, comparable in the marketing-and-variety segment though smaller in vertical farming integration.

Regional players

• Cape Five: South African berry exporter focused on berry sourcing and export to UK and European retailers. Comparable in South African berry production and export channel, though smaller scale and more focused on export trading than integrated growing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Winterwood Farms