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Suma have been picked up a Grocer Magazine Gold Award award for “Specialist Wholesaler of the Year” presented at The Dorchester last week. Suma’s PR Manager Andrew Mackintosh said “it is, of course, a great honour to be nominated and then to win was entirely unexpected, we like to think it’s a recognition of the fact that you can run a business along ethical lines and still be innovative and progressive in what is a difficult time for us all commercially”

Receiving the award for Suma was its Brand Development Manager Jon Knight who said “on the night other category winners included Tesco, Cadburys and Waitrose, so we were competing with the real giants of the grocery trade, it was with great pride that we accepted the award”

Congratulations to David Unwin of The Deli at Darras who wins the 1st Prize of a £300 Holiday Voucher. Runners up prizes go to Suma accounts 110218, 140748, 142506, 143218, 144989 and 148018.

Our good friends at Sustained Magazine have just relaunched their call for nominations for their brand new and revamped Dandelion Award.

As previous winners ourselves we take great pleasure in telling you a bit about what this fantastic award aims to achieve.

The Sustained Dandelion Award, recognises the extraordinary contribution of grassroots social enterprises, companies and individuals in creating a truly positive impact and are thus sowing the seeds for a more sustainable society.

Know of anyone that fits the bill? Support your favourite enterprises by nominating them at: http://tr.im/lRr4 and find out what they could win!

Win an Organic Holiday Voucher to the value of £300 in conjunction with www.organicholidays.co.uk

Runners-Up prizes 6 copies of "Organic Places to Stay UK & Ireland 3rd edition"

For more details and how to enter see www.sumawholesale.com/index.php/suma-competition

There is a growing movement (pardon the pun) towards growing locally and more and more people are getting their hands dirty and becoming interested in growing their own vegetables. There are 2 obvious benefits: credit crunch savings and healthy fresh vegetables with no food miles.

Suma folks are no different! Our ethos has been to use recycled materials so we have used old pallets recycled from our warehouse to make raised beds. Various folks have bought in seeds and plants from their own gardens so we have onions and shallots, salad leaves, rhubarb, herbs and potatoes in raised beds. We have found that by doing this in a group the seasoned allotment holders amongst us can pass on their top tips to the less experienced.

We are attending the Harrogate Fine Food Show on the 14th - 15th of June at the Yorkshire Event Centre. We will be showcasing many of the comprehensive range of Fine Foods we have on offer at Suma. Come along and see us at stand no. 140 and sample our pestos, balsamic vinegars, olive oil and beers. Karen and Tim look forward to seeing you there.

Firstly thank you to all our customers who are supporting the new ecoleaf cleaning range, we hope to work with you in improving and developing the range further. Improvements already made, due to you our valued customers feedback, have been the consistency of the Washing Up Liquid, you will find that it is now of a higher concentration. We are also in the process of transferring our 20 litre bulk containers to one’s that have an air valve to help will the flow into the refills. This is a direct result of your feedback, we would also like to know what your customers would like to see adding to the range or any further improvements we can do to the current products and we will endeavor to produce them to a high quality and at an affordable price. Please email all suggestions to paulc@suma.coop

The latest issue of Sustained, a great product, free of charge to all Suma Customers, is out now. A great give-away for all your customers! In Issue 8 you will find features on sustainable design for the future, community food growing, how to make a quilt, a GM debate, how to manage without money, the water trade, things to do and places to go, Trevor Baylis, Satish Kumar, do-it-yourself fashion and more.

Preview it online here: www.tinyurl.com/sustained008

As Sustained is free and designed to be accessible to the majority of people why not use it as a tool to help raise awareness in your Community.

Order bundles of 50 for your shop or venue, free of charge, by quoting BK820 with your usual food order.

Sustained: small change - big difference

Produced for Suma by The Basso Family in San Michele di Serino in Southern Italy, using rotondella and carpellese olives but also a variety peculiar to the region of Penisola Sorrentina.

In ancient times, pilgrims came to the temple of Minerva on the Sorrento Peninsula bearing gifts of olive oil, so olive trees were planted there to meet their needs. These orchards thrive in the volcanic soil of the steeply terraced slopes, producing distinctive oil that is redolent of fresh grass, green tomatoes and artichoke.

These flavoursome and aromatic oils are certified organic and available only from Suma and our retailers in 500ml, 750ml deep green marasca glass bottle and also in 3l printed cans.

Price comparison

500ml x 6, case price £22.46 with a £4.99 rrp

750ml x 6, case price £31.46 with a £6.99 rrp

3l x 4, case price £77.97 with a £25.99 rrp

Clearspring - 500ml - £4.99

Cypressa - 500ml - £5.85

Meridian - 500ml - £4.99

Midsummer - 500ml - £5.29

Sunita - 500ml - £5.59

The result of a ’public consultation’, recently held in Southampton as part of Government plans to extend water fluoridation to many more UK communities, is expected in February. Currently only 10% of the UK population is fluoridated.

There is evidence that drinking fluoridated water leads to mottling of children’s teeth (dental fluorosis), increases osteosarcoma rates in young males, lowers IQ in children, adversely affects the thyroid and can cause chronic ill-health. This is denied by the health authorities who say it is is a ‘safe and effective’ means of reducing childhood tooth decay. Two thousand scientists and professionals, many of them eminent, have called for fluoridation to cease worldwide.

The National Pure Water Association produces campaigning materials and a newsletter, supporting members in their attempts to stop new fluoridation schemes.

The Association’s address is 42, Huntington Road, York YO31 8RE.

Further information is available on the website: www.npwa.org.uk

We're really pleased to announce that we're now back in stock of all Suma Brand paper products, 4 pack, 9 pack and bulk pack Toilet Tissue, 2 pack and Jumbo Kitchen Roll. Watch out for a March/April Promotion!

We are now in stock of our whole range with the exception of the 9 roll toilet tissue, which is due next week w/c 15th December

The Chancellor recently announced that the standard rate of VAT will be dropping from 17.5% to 15% as of 1st December 2008. From that date, all Suma branded goods attracting the standard rate of VAT will see a proportionate drop in the recommended retail price (RRP).

Although the duty on alcohol has risen, we will not be changing prices on alcoholic drinks until the new catalogue is printed (Jan/Feb).

We will change RRPs for other brands as and when we're told about them by our suppliers. For up to the minute pricing and RRP information, log on to our shopping site www.sumawholesale.coop. For further information on the VAT changes and their implications for your business, visit the HM Revenue and Customs FAQ at www.hmrc.gov.uk/pbr2008

On Monday 20th October Suma successfully delivered to Greenpeaces' Rainbow warior. It is a huge honour that Greenpeace opened an account with us and we were excited to be invited on board to meet the Warrior crew.

The crew were all very welcoming and we spent over 2 hours aboard the ship. It was a fantastic day and they all seemed most impressed with the Suma ethos. At least one person said how nice it was to be able to get decent organic food delivered directly to the ship, so we should expect to get an order from the Warrior crew whenever they need to stock up on supplies.

For the full article click here: Suma Visit Greenpeace

We are pleased to be able to announce the arrival of our new online ordering site, www.sumawholesale.com

The site is a new way for you, our customers, to be able to place your order online and at your convenience. We have spent six months developing the site and we're really happy with what we have achieved.

The new site features a searchable database of our 6000+ product lines, including photos, with regularly updated prices. (The prices are only visible to account holders once they have logged on). You also get access to extra product information including nutritional information, cooking instructions and detailed descriptions. Plus many more features.

So what are you waiting for, give it a go and let us know what you think. Any suggestions from our customers can be built in to future updates of the site. If you are already a customer you can telephone customer information on 01422 313845 to get you account set up, or if you would like to become a customer then telephone our new business team on 01422 313861.

Suma Foods have launched a range of Italian pestos in regional varieties from Italian recipes, made with Italian ingredients in Italy.

There is a classic Genovese pesto made from fresh basil, pine nuts, garlic, sea salt, olive oil and Grana Padano cheese. We also have an intense Pesto Rosso using the concentrated flavour of sun dried tomatoes, and finally a family recipe for Pesto Alla Siciliana using Sicilian lemons and almonds for an unusual light, yet deep, flavour.
These pestos join our range of authentic Italian products all grown, picked, blended and packaged in Italy.

Trade advertising
The pesto market in the UK is worth £28.6m according to Mintel and showing a 7.4% year on year growth according to AC Nielsen, so take advantage of this growing category by stocking the Suma range today call us on 01422 313845 or mail us here finefoods@suma.co.uk

Consumer advertising
By choosing Suma products you are guaranteed to enjoy a true taste of Italy, for further information and stockists please call 01422 313845 or mail us here finefoods@suma.co.uk