Self-catering visitors to Cornwall are now enjoying the same "buy fresh, buy local" wares from cornishfoodmarket.co.uk as thousands of local online shoppers, as the ground-breaking home delivery service is endorsed by some of the country's top holiday companies.

They are arriving at their Cornish holiday destinations to the joys of top-notch produce, at best value prices, all ordered ahead and delivered free to their vacational door-step.

And they will have had a taste of Cornwall even before they arrive, browsing through the best of local fare and much else besides via cornishfoodmarket.co.uk's appetising and user friendly website.

Philip Griffiths, Managing Director of the award winning Sail Lofts apartments in St Ives, was amongst the first to realise the quality, value and excellent range of products cornishfoodmarket.co.uk could offer Sail Lofts' guests.

"Many of them were already using the well-known on-line supermarkets, but few could match the quality, diversity and price of cornishfoodmarket.co.uk. We've also found them extremely efficient, friendly and very customer focused. The last thing you want, if you're holidaying with your family, is to spend too much time in a supermarket.

"As a Cornish based business we are committed to working closely with other businesses based in the county, and cornishfoodmarket.co.uk ideally fits that goal as they source the majority of their products, wherever possible, from within Cornwall. It's also something, as people become increasingly environmentally aware, our guests appreciate and expect."

Cornishfoodmarket.co.uk went live last Autumn, after a launch at the Cornwall Food and Drink Festival (for which it is the major sponsor again this year). It was developed over two years by a dedicated team on a mission to create a full online home delivery service within the county that is just as convenient and competitive as the supermarkets, but with best local produce at its heart.

Thousands of people have signed up to use the service and testimonials from multitudes of contented shoppers have been warmly appreciated by the cornishfoodmarket.co.uk team.

Sarah Milligan of St Agnes recently posted, "I just wanted to say how thrilled I am with my first purchase from you guys. Ordering online was easy, the service was impeccable and the veg box was enormous and packed with really delicious fresh veg....

"Congratulations on being the first company I have found to make shopping locally the right decision both ethically and economically."

The new e-venture has grown out of the success of its parent company Westcountry Fruit Sales Ltd - a 150 year old family wholesale business based near Falmouth with long-established and close contacts within Cornwall's food production and catering sectors.

"We've been supplying top class restaurants with top class produce for many years and they demand that the provenance is local where conceivably possible," said Sean Williams, MD of Westcountry Fruit Sales and cornishfoodmarket.co.uk.

"There's absolutely no reason why householders shouldn't get that same level of quality in their home grocery shopping - or that holidaymakers coming down to our beautiful county shouldn't enjoy the same sort of service and value.

"So many independent high street food retailers have been squeezed out of the market-place because they just couldn't compete with the supermarkets. We're creating a brand new market for local producers and giving them a better rate of return, as well as giving householders real value for money and convenience on quality produce."

Delivery is free, Monday to Friday, with a minimum order of just £12.50 and thanks to a state of the art website designed by the team at Nixon in Hayle, shoppers can easily negotiate through 3000 products, choosing among the quality wares of more than 100 local producers and more than 1000 other prime grocery and household items.

Online shoppers can order up to eleven o'clock at night, knowing that their fresh fish will come up from Newlyn overnight, their bread will be freshly baked, their prime Cornish meat cut to order and their salad leaves will be picked straight from the ground for the next afternoon's delivery.

Add in a huge range of other local food and drink, including pies, puddings, cakes, sauces, chutneys, milk, cheese, eggs, tea, coffee, wines, beers, ciders and juices, together with the fruit and veg like bananas that cannot be sourced locally and household basics from loo rolls to cleaning products and you have a truly comprehensive shop.

"We've been working on cornishfoodmarket.co.uk solidly for two years and it's fantastic to be seeing people really enjoying the whole concept as much as we do," said Sean.

The cornishfoodmarket.co.uk team is grateful for all feed-back from shoppers and it is welcoming the huge numbers of people who continue to sign up and register their interest. It is keeping everyone up to date with progress, offers and roll-out plans via the e-newletters and website - www.cornishfoodmarket.co.uk.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:-

cornishfoodmarket.co.uk...... was officially launched at the Cornwall Food and Drink Festival, for which it was a key sponsor, at the end of September. For latest news, to register and to offer product suggestions visit www.cornishfoodmarket.co.uk.

more than 3000 products, includingmore than 100 top local producersmore than 1000 other food and non-food grocery and household itemsdeliveries across Cornwall and parts of south and west Devon FREE to all customers, Monday to Friday, with a minimum order value of just £12.50.products include the freshest fruit and veg, organic and non organic dairy products, fresh Cornish meat and locally landed fresh fish.prices that compete with the supermarkets across all categories everydayUsers can create their own 'Favourites' list of products they frequently purchase and even create and edit their own 'standing orders' for the various weekly food purchases they require.

Westcountry Fruit Sales Ltd

Family business Westcountry Fruit Sales Ltd was established in 1856 in Falmouth, Cornwall.Now has 20,000 sq ft Distribution Centre at Higher Argal, near Falmouth, with a second satellite depot occupying purpose built premises in St Austell.In 1999 it established The Essential Food Co to supply the professional catering trade with an expansive range of dairy products and ambient food and non-food products, to complement its range of fresh produce.Now the largest Cornish based specialist supplier of foods to the catering trade in Cornwall. See www.thegreengrocery.co.uk.

For more information on cornishfoodmarket.co.uk and to register, visit www.cornishfoodmarket.co.uk.

Cornwall Food & Drink Festival - www.cornwallfoodanddrinkfestival.com

Sail Lofts, St Ives - www.thesaillofts.co.uk

Nixon Design - www.nixondesign.com

Contacts:-

Westcountry Fruit Sales Ltd, The Essential Food Co and cornishfoodmarket.co.uk, M.D. Sean Williams, sean@thegreengrocery.co.uk , 01326 372304 / 07967 648037

cornishfoodmarket.co.uk - Marketing Manager Jessica Bartlett, jess@cornishfoodmarket.co.uk 01326 371951

Sail Lofts, St Ives - 01736 799175

Louise Midgley Communications - louise@midgleycomms.co.uk, 01326 316678 / 07831 696093