Young Consultant of the Year 2009
UK - Young entrepreneur, Rick Sanderson, has been commended for his hard work and dedication to British agriculture. At just 33 years of age, Rick has been named the BIAC (British Institute of Agricultural Consultants) and Lloyds TSB Agriculture’s Young Consultant of the Year 2009.Mr Sanderson's great passion and support for British farming and the food industry made him stand out from the five shortlisted entrants. Anthony Hyde, Chief Executive of BIAC said, “The factors that marked Mr Sanderson out from a high quality final were his entrepreneurial skills, his quality research, his outstanding use of IT, his passion and energy for consultancy and his determination to make a difference for his clients”.
In the last three years, Mr Sanderson has developed a thriving franchise company, is a consultant for members of the food chain and is the driving force behind an environmentally friendly beef farming scheme.
Gate to Plate Solutions is Mr Sanderson's food chain consultancy. With his agriculture and retail experience, Mr Sanderson is able to help rural businesses improve their prospects through market research, grants, marketing and branding. Mr Sanderson has ambitious plans to grow Gate to Plate Solutions into a Global Food Chain Sourcing and Supply Consultancy and is actively looking for agents to support plans for 2010.
With his great passion for quality local produce, Mr Sanderson also founded buy-local.net in 2006. The online farmers market allows franchisees to sell their produce to their local community. Buy-local.net helps to reduce the number of food miles and ensures the food is as fresh as possible. The business will now be rolling out as a fully supported national network in 2010, supplying retail, food service, schools and all routes to market for quality local produce.
Mr Sanderson was also a founding partner in The Riverside Beef Producers, a group of beef farmers, from East Anglia. Together, their vision is to produce high quality beef that is reared in line with best environmental practices, which encourages natural riverside habitats to form.