Grape Tree Delivers £100K Staff Bonus Payment To An Employee Ownership Trust

More than 900 staff at the UK’s leading organic food retailer have shared a £100,000 bonus - just a few months after it completed the move to an Employee Ownership Trust (EoT).

Grape Tree, which is set to open its 200th store in July, has delivered the bonus in recognition of the efforts of team members across England, Wales and Scotland and the important role they have played in the firm achieving a 10% annual rise in sales.

Employees who have been with the company for more than three months have benefitted from the decision, a decision made to reinforce the ‘people-centric’ direction the business is travelling in.

The move to an EoT was undertaken to provide a clear succession route for the management team and to reward existing staff, as well as supporting talent retention and future recruitment.

Nick Shutts, Founder of Grape Tree, commented:

“We’ve had a very strong start to life as an Employee Ownership Trust and wanted to give something back to our people, who have really embraced the transition."

“It’s a little ‘thank you’ to show them that if the business does well, so do they and we’re hoping that this can become an annual occurrence as we continue to grow and expand to new locations across the UK.”

He continued:

“Feedback from staff has been great and you can see it translate into efficiency gains secured at our assembly and packaging HQ in Kingswinford and in the way we deal with customers in store."

“In turn, it is having a real impact on the bottom line. Our market share in the healthy foods market is growing, sales are increasing across multiple ranges and we’ve got several exciting new store openings set to take place.”

Grape Tree has built up a strong following by offering customers value, quality and choice when it comes to health foods and wellbeing products, including its own 100% organic range.

Since the EoT, it has opened ten new stores and created over 50 new jobs, taking the total workforce to over 1000.

It has also formed a 20-strong employee council from different areas of the business, which will become the main vehicle for generating and implementing new ideas that address challenges and explore new opportunities.

Scott Cox, Stock Controller and a member of the Employee Council, said:

“It's great to see the company recognising the effort everyone puts in every day. The bonus was very much appreciated and has created a real buzz across the business."

“Being employee-owned makes you feel more connected to the company's success, and it's exciting to be part of that journey.”

Nick concluded:

“It’s really important that we make healthy food and wellness products accessible to everyone and that is what we do every day, across nearly 200 stores."

“Being an EoT has given us the platform to bring all of our staff on this exciting journey and secure their buy-in for continuing to deliver our promise of excellent value and the very best customer service.”