About Us
Fourayes is the UK’s number one grower and processor of fruit. Located in Kent, the BRC AA rated factory is surrounded by Fourayes’ 100-acre English Bramley apple orchard, which together with all the nearby farms we buy our fruit from, is Red Tractor Farm Assured.
In 2022 Fourayes became part of Puratos, a fellow family-owned business with over 100 years of rich and varied knowledge in bakery, patisserie and chocolate. It was an ideal fit with both being customer-focused, heritage-rich businesses with innovation, people and sustainability at their core. Fourayes is also part of the Puratos local and transparent fruit sourcing programme, aiming to embed sustainability through the entire value chain, from sourcing of raw materials to usage of products by customers and consumers.
We’re passionate about doing beautiful things with fruit which is why we call ourselves Fruiticians. We invest in the technologies that will give our customers the very best results. We develop new ways of growing and we’re relentless in always trying to be better at what we do, every single day. Because we grow, as well as process, fruit we have a wealth of experience in selecting the right product, and the right processing, to deliver the results our customers have in mind.
Fourayes Heritage
Fourayes Farm was established in 1953 by, the previous Managing Director, Phil Acock’s grandfather. Phil remains in a non-executive role at the company and leaves a legacy of innovation having pioneered industry leading investments including; the natural apple dip that prevents browning without the use of preservatives; a world leading Dynamically Controlled Atmosphere (DCA) storage facility on site; an ESG approach that is evident through the care that goes into preserving the trees and creating a haven for wildlife such as the Fourayes bees.
John Acock, Phil’s father, was a natural entrepreneur. He was the first to offer a washed and doorstep-delivered potato service for the farm’s local customers; using 10 converted ex War Department Daimler ambulances to make the deliveries. This hugely successful venture was a foretaste of the way many people buy their food shopping today.
Phil took over from his father, John, as Managing Director and Fourayes pioneered the natural apple dip that prevents browning without the use of preservatives. Today, this dip is the industry standard and is still the preferred method when processing. We also developed the hot-mix pie filling, eliminating the need for further processing by our customers. A brand new state-of-art factory was commissioned with Fourayes becoming the largest UK fruit processor and supplying processed apples, pie fillings and mincemeats.
In 2022 Fourayes joined the Puratos UK family, ensuring a fruitful future for the UK’s number one fruit grower & processor and a strengthening of the Puratos farm-to-fork fruit filling offering.
Phil said “I am confident that the synergies between Puratos and Fourayes will unlock further growth and value for our customers and help them to cater to the call for healthy options, transparency, and integrity from increasingly conscientious consumers.”