Fresh Union, located in the rail arches, is quickly laying claim to being the fastest expanding firm at New Covent Garden Market.

Founded just four years ago as a catering supplier of fresh fruit and vegetables with one rail arch unit and five employees, the company now has units in Block A1 as well as four rail arches, a product portfolio of more than 2,500 lines, 14 vehicles and 50 employees. As well as a frozen arm it added in December 2024, when it took on the well-established Attila Frozen Foods business, Fresh Union now also has Freshly Imported and Freshly Prepared divisions, as it builds on the solid platform set by founders Robert Murchison and Oscar Gomes.

Rob (left) and Oscar (right) both had NCGM backgrounds, as do many of the colleagues across their growing team. The firm still buys the majority of its product from the Market, but a willingness to travel and find new partners at source has paid dividends. Trips to Peru, Costa Rica and Turkey have helped to broaden the Fresh Union offer – an exclusive partnership with an avocado grower in Peru has even led to the launch of its first brand, Avoluscious, a chunky guacamole product that is proving extremely popular with the sushi and poke clientele.

Both men previously worked at Sheringham’s and through his customer base there, Oscar had built a strong following in the sushi/poke sector. “It was a great place for us to start, as we only had one unit and we were working with a limited number of high-volume lines,” said Oscar. “Now we have a lot more capacity and we’re established across the industry, but Avoluscious is perfect for those customers.”

Rob added: “We’ve grown organically and add new lines when the demand is there. We’re going to keep looking for new partners around the world though and when the opportunity is there with the right product and the right volume, we’ll look to introduce more brands.”