AN award-winning food producer which provides subsidiary meals to elderly and vulnerable residents across Wiltshire has received a royal seal of approval from King Charles III.

Local employer apetito – which delivers meals to people in the health, social care, care homes, and education sectors - has been named on The King’s Awards for Enterprise for Sustainable Development 2024 list. 

This year 252 organisations in Britain received this accolade, with 29 businesses being recognised for their work in sustainable development.   

Food producer apetito is the parent company of Wiltshire Farm Foods which delivers frozen ready made meals to customers, many of whom are elderly, across the county.

Wiltshire Farm Foods uses the world’s first closed-loop recycling systems for plastic meal trays on an industrial scale.

Trays are collected from customers and are then taken to a specialist recycling facility in Durham which use the recycled plastic to create brand-new trays.

Paul Freeston, CEO and chair of apetito UK & North America, said: “We are proud, honoured and delighted to have been recognised in The King’s Awards for Enterprise: Sustainable Development 2024.

"It epitomises the collective hard work, dedication, and vision of our entire team.  

“All of us at apetito are passionate about making a real difference to people’s lives and we believe our commitment to sustainable development reflects this.

"Sustainability informs not just the way we work, but how we treat people, the impact on the environment and our contribution to the economy. 

"Leading from the top, we’ve worked to embed this belief into the fabric of the whole business.  

"Put simply, we believe it’s the right way to do business.”

The King’s Awards for Enterprise, previously known as The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, were renamed last year to reflect His Majesty The King’s desire to continue the legacy of HM Queen Elizabeth II’s by recognising outstanding UK businesses. 

The awards celebrate the success of exciting and innovative businesses which are leading the way with pioneering products or services, delivering impressive social mobility programmes, or showing their commitment to excellent sustainable development practices.