Morrisons partners with Fresh & Proper to launch third ‘Together with Morrisons' store

Morrisons has partnered with independent retailer Fresh & Proper to launch a new store in Fordham, Cambridgeshire under its ‘Together with Morrisons’ brand.

The 3,000sq ft new store has created 14 new jobs in full and part-time roles and offers customers a carefully tailored mix of Morrisons own brand products and branded favourites. 

As a fifth generation East Cambridgeshire business, Fresh & Proper is also keen to establish relationships with local suppliers to champion local produce and source those items directly.  

The ‘Together with Morrisons’ proposition is designed for independent store owners with established local brands and larger stores.  The first “Together with Morrisons” store opened in May 2022, in partnership with Warner’s and earlier this year Jempsons opened too.

Paul Dobson, Sales Director, Morrisons' Franchise & Wholesale Supply, said: "We’re really delighted to be partnering with Fresh & Proper to open another 'Together with Morrisons' store.  We've  worked closely with their team to ensure the Fordham community is getting a fantastic store with a mix of Morrisons own brand products and branded favourites and we look forward to adding local produce from local suppliers in due course."

Joshua James, who is the MD of Fresh & Proper, said: “We’re proud and honoured to be partnering with Morrisons and opening our ‘Together with Morrisons’ stores in Fordham.  

"Our family's been running businesses in this area for in excess of  200 years, including  my father Jonathan’s first ever store and a farm shop located on my grandfather’s farm just three miles down the road from our new store.  We’re obviously really excited to continue serving the local community and offering our customers access to a wide breadth of products.”

In addition to the ‘Together with Morrisons’ model, the number of independent retailers opening up ‘Morrisons Daily’ stores continues to grow thanks to the strength of the Morrisons brand as well as retailer focussed benefits such as no delivery fees or charges. 

Any independent retailers who would like to become a Morrisons franchise or wish to hear more about Morrisons Wholesale should contact convenience@morrisonsplc.co.uk.  

I am Doner signs first forecourt franchise deal

I am Doner, the superior and award winning better kebab brand backed by Think Hospitality, has signed a new franchise deal for a site in Windsor, to open later this summer.

The latest franchise deal, facilitated by Seeds Consulting, will see Four Crosses Filling Station Limited, a multi-site fuel station operator in the South East of England, operate the first I am Doner on a roadside forecourt.

I am Döner Chairman, James Hacon says ‘We are thrilled to sign this latest franchise deal and look forward to working together with Lawrence Wells and the team at Four Crosses. 

"This deal perfectly aligns to our strategic vision of proving the flexibility of our brand not only on high street and in neighbourhoods locations, but into roadside locations, travel hubs, universities and other concession environments. 

"Our franchise-first expansion plans are rapidly building pace with unprecedented interest in both the UK and overseas, but we like to keep our powder dry when it comes to our growth ambitions, focusing on delivering positive outcomes for our partners, proving our model through our actions, not big headlines numbers. There'll be more exciting news coming soon!"

Seeds Consulting Founder Matteo Frigeri adds: “We are seeing a lot of traction with the I am Döner's franchise programme, very few brands out there can claim to offer a quick-service concept with such moderate capex requirements and intrinsically lean operation, supported by the very latest technology. Here we demonstrate how the concept can flex to seize opportunities also in non-traditional sites.”

Lawrence Wells said: “I have been on the hunt for a food brand to go on my forecourt and when I came across I am Döner I knew it was a great fit with nothing like it in the area, I really can’t wait to showcase the brand later this summer."

Couple launch new pizza franchise. Now you can join in, too

Rachael Willoughby and Elliott Richmond, who are the founders of the pizza franchise CasaGees, are celebrating the third anniversary of a business they set up to get them through lockdown.

The couple, who've worked together running their own software business for over two decades, hit on the  idea of surviving lockdown by making and delivering traditional Neapolitan pizzas within a four-mile radius of their home in Cleeve which is near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire.

Elliot's always made his own pizzas, including dough, after being brought up overseas and loving the traditional Neapolitan pizzas (no pineapples, though!). Friends often told him he should to start a pizza  business. But he never took the idea seriously, until he had no other option.

Elliot said: “When lockdown came and our business more than halved, we realised now was the time to ‘give it a go’. We were able to set up a simple pre-order system online thanks to our software expertise and that’s where it all began!”

Elliott makes his own dough and with no more than 48 pizzas made per evening, all orders are allocated a time slot, booked via the website. Delivery is kept to a four-mile radius to ensure the pizzas are delivered hot and in a timely manner.

Since then, the business has bloomed and grown with the couple making and delivering pizzas two evenings each week within their local community and making a monthly profit of around £2,000. Earlier this year, they also announced they were starting a franchise to encourage others who love cooking to do the same in their own communities.

To mark CasaGees’ birthday and to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III, half of their turnover from deliveries over the Coronation will be donated to one of three shortlisted local community projects:

*May Day in Woodmancote – an annual festival run in the community since 1983, that supports local community causes and charities.  The funds would allow them to book more activities for 2024.

*Stoke Orchard Community Centre – a community hub run by volunteers offering a space for a local toddler group, exercise classes and other events, it has also become a ‘warm space’ for those in the area. The funds would pay for painting, repairs and towards the cost of CCTV.

*Friends of Grangefield School – the Friends fundraise to fund additional activities for the children. They recently discovered their storage shed was no longer weatherproof and infested with mice. The funds would go towards the cost of a new shed.

Local people and regular customers are being asked to vote for the project of their choice and the winner will receive a donation of up to £500 later in May.

Rachael added: “We believe in giving back and that momentous weekend also allowed us to celebrate three years of CasaGees.

“We really can't believe we're celebrating our third birthday! When we originally set up it was as a temporary lockdown venture which we expected to last no longer than three months! However the demand from our lovely customers never stopped which tells us that we have a great product.

“Our next plans involve showing other couples how they can make a second healthy income by copying our proven model.”

Anyone interested in their own CasaGees' franchise can find out more by visiting https://casagees.co.uk/franchise-opportunity