Cotswold Fayre welcomes new sales director as it looks to future growth

Cotswold Fayre has welcomed Sanjay Davda as its new sales director following a year of strong growth and hot on the heels of a prestigious award win.

“It was time to appoint someone external with experience of delivering high growth as we move into the next exciting chapter of our business,” said CEO Paul Hargreaves. Sanjay has experience in the grocery and speciality sectors, with brands including Lindt, Disney, Jamie Oliver, Marchant Gourmet and most recently Rhythm108.

“As a B Corp, we attracted some amazing people who applied for this role, but Sanjay was the best suited to achieving our ambitious targets,” Paul said.

Sanjay said the move to another purpose-driven country was “a natural step”. 

“The opportunity to be closely involved with some amazing brands and developing key accounts is an exciting prospect at a fantastic time in the company’s history,” he said.

The appointment followed an exciting industry award win for the brand, as it was crowned Specialist Wholesaler of the Year at the Grocer Gold Awards.

The judges called Cotswold Fayre “an inspiring business that has been successful while staying true to its values”. The wholesaler has a target to hit net zero carbon emissions by 2030 and has encouraged its suppliers to set similar targets. This was described by one judge as “authentic leadership that will leave a legacy for it and its rivals, who will inevitably have to follow suit”.

Paul said judges seem to be rewarding companies that put people and planet before profits – yet the business has also seen financial success. Cotswold Fayre increased its sales by 52 percent and its profits by 42 percent, driven by the growth of chilled food sales. The success of the category drove the business to invest in expanding into frozen food for the first time.

The wholesaler also achieved positive staff satisfaction scores while increasing the size of its team by 20 percent.