Grocer Gold Awards 2022: SME brand of the year

Winner: Bol Foods

Launched in 2015 by Innocent alumnus Paul Brown, Bol has never been afraid of a challenge. Sales at the ready meal business slumped in 2018 after going 100% plant-based, but the brand stuck to its guns and bounced back with its strongest ever quarter in Q1 2020.

Similarly, when Covid led to a rise in home cooking – thereby threatening retail sales – Bol wasn’t deterred. Instead, it doubled down on innovation, launching 24 new products in 2021 to tap into growing demand for healthy meals. This helped deliver 82% distribution growth to 32,200 stocking points nationwide.

Having won listings in Asda and Morrisons, Bol’s pots are now available across all of the big four. Its continued investment also drove impressive shopper acquisition last year. Across Sainsbury’s and Tesco, Bol’s shopper base increased from 630k to 975k.

Shortlisted:

• Applied Nutrition
• Bio&Me
• Moju Drinks
• My Fabulosa
• The Skinny Food Co.