Foodco Group – one of Australia’s leading retail food franchisors – has announced the winners of the biannual Foodco Conference Awards, held to honour achievements made by Jamaica Blue, Muffin Break and Dreamy Donuts franchise owners from across Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

The 375 franchisees were assessed on the quality of their freshly-prepared food, coffee and service, as well as their marketing achievements and sales growth.

Foodco managing director Serge Infanti said the Foodco head office team was delighted to see so many franchisees succeeding across all areas of their business, particularly considering the recent challenging retail environment.

“It’s an exciting time for the entire Foodco Group as our expansion initiatives, both domestically and internationally, continue to gain momentum on the back of our strong domestic performance,” Serge said.

Castletown Shopping Centre in Townsville, Queensland, was a stand-out winner of the awards, with both the Jamaica Blue and Muffin Break cafés awarded the Retail Award for Excellence along with a $7000 prize. Jamaica Blue Castletown found victory twice as sweet with the franchisee also being awarded the Marketing Award for creative campaign activities, effective in-store promotion and implementation of the Caribbean Crew Loyalty Program.

Muffin Break Macarthur Square was announced the winner of the inaugural Local Community Hero Award for the franchisee’s support of Muffin Break’s national family-focused charity partner, Good Beginnings.

“We congratulate the award-winning franchisees and are very proud of all their accomplishments. We are confident these stores will continue to excel and lead the way for high-quality service and sales growth,” Serge said.