A day in the life: Wholesale Fruit Centre

In the first of a new series looking at some of Bristol’s more unusual places of work, Lucia Powell visits Bristol Wholesale Fruit Centre. Photos by Lloyd Ellington.

It’s 5.30am and most of the country is still in bed, but there’s a definite buzz in the air at the Bristol Wholesale Fruit Centre.

Burly men in hard hats swiftly unload sacks of potatoes by the vanful, passing them on to porters who whisk them off on pallet trucks, deftly weaving their way between crates of fruit and veg that resemble the New York City Skyline.

The market’s busiest time is between 5 and 6am, so I arrive early (more bleary-eyed than bright), expecting to see bustling crowds of chefs and foodies haggling over punnets of strawberries.

I soon find out that ‘busy’ means dodging a variety of industrial vehicles as more burly men in hard hats beep me out of their way. High visibility vests are obligatory for anyone who wishes to enter the site, and I now see why. 

The wholesale fruit centre on Albert Crescent in St Philip’s Marsh is home to several fruit, vegetable and flower wholesalers, each of whom occupy a portion of this vast site. Produce comes directly from farms all over the UK and Europe, ready to be bought in bulk by food businesses. Think again if all you’re looking for is a few stalks of asparagus for your dinner. 

It’s not all work and no play at the market. Jokes are being cracked left, right and centre and there is a distinct sense of camaraderie among the workers. 

The not for profit co-operative was established in 1968 and was formerly based in St Nick’s Market in the city centre. All leaseholders of units in the market are shareholders in the company.

“There is a bit of competition between sellers, but we’re all friends at the end of the day. It’s like one giant family,” says John List, divisional director at one of the market’s leading wholesalers.

The majority of staff have been working here for several decades, and many are third generation sellers who have grown up in the industry. There is a clear sense of pride in what they do, and their passion for fresh, high quality produce is infectious.

As the early morning sun lights up the feathery green leaves sprouting from bunches of carrots not long out of the soil, it’s easy to share their enthusiasm.

I thought waking up at 5am was tough, but most of the workers have been here since two in the morning. Despite the early starts, they all say that they prefer this lifestyle to more traditional working hours. The average shift at the market finishes between 10 and 11am, meaning that they are free to enjoy the rest of the day. 

“On a lovely day like today, you can go home at 11 o’clock, have an hour or two’s kip and then you’ve got all day to yourself. This job is fantastic, providing you can get your arse out of bed,” says John.

The more experienced sellers are quick to comment on the changes that they’ve seen in the industry across the decades.

John remembers busier days at the market: “In the 80s and 90s, this market would be full up. We all deliver to the bigger customers, but you don’t see so many down here. 70 to 75 per cent of the business is out of the back door, not out the front.”

The advent of the supermarket closed down most of the local greengrocers that used to make up the centre’s main customer base. Business is kept going by secondary wholesalers, restaurants, cafes, processors, hotels, hospitals and catering companies, but many of the workers regret the loss of small, independent fruit and veg sellers within the community.

The greengrocers who have managed to survive are coming up with innovative ways to combat competition with big supermarkets.

Phil Arnel is part of a younger generation of enterprising fruit and veg sellers who see the necessity of consolidating profits on the shop floor with other business ventures.

He comes to the market everyday to buy produce for his two fruit and veg shops in Shirehampton and Westbury-on-Trym. Alongside these businesses, he has launched MyVegBox Bristol, a delivery scheme that provides local homes and workplaces with boxes of fresh fruit and veg. Customers can place their orders online and can choose from a variety of assorted veg, salad and fruit boxes.

“It’s convenience, that’s the thing,” Phil says. “That’s the rivalry really between supermarkets and local shops. Supermarkets are all about flashy offers and ways to get money. It’s all crap.”

Phil hopes to redefine notions of convenience food with his online delivery scheme in an attempt to promote fresh, local and seasonal produce and redirect business away from supermarket chains back to small, independent companies. He sees social media as a way of replicating the more personal buyer-seller relationships that the food industry once depended on. 

“Shopping locally is quite old school, whereas now it’s all Facebook, it’s all social media. That’s where our generation is based, that’s where they see stuff. So I put offers up and it works. Social media keeps connections between people. That’s what it’s all about.”

Nick Matthews (above), regional director at Total Produce, agrees: “The supermarkets have had an effect, but in the last five years there have been more independent greengrocers opening up and making a success of it.

“Bristol greengrocers are really good at what they do. They offer a point of difference to the supermarkets. Like in any trade, if you’re a specialist in what you do and you’re really passionate, then you’ll make a success of it. That’s what a lot of people in Bristol seem to be doing. People are learning from them what makes a success and I think that will only carry on.”

It may require setting your alarm clock for an ungodly hour, but a visit to the Bristol Wholesale Fruit Centre offers something quite different from the average food shopping experience.

Perhaps if more people got the chance to see the wonderful variety of fresh, locally grown produce on offer here, and talk to the dedicated workers behind it, they’d think twice about picking up that sad packet of colourless tomatoes from the supermarket and pay a visit to their local greengrocers instead.

Would you like Bristol24/7 to visit your unusual place of work? Email martin@bristol247.com