TWO companies operating on the local area picked up notable triumphs at the Chamber of Commerce awards.

Orchard Valley Foods, based in Tenbury Wells, was crowned Business of the Year 2015, while Cleobury Mortimer-based Kudos Blends Ltd was Exporter of the Year.

Orchard Valley develop, manufacture, distribute and also undertake sales and marketing in confectionery, cake and powder food ingredients.

It won the category for High Growth Business of the Year and was then beat all the other winners on the night to the Business of the Year Award.

It was described by the judges as the ideal company and benchmarked against all the other winners, it „ticked all the boxes.“

Deputy managing director Cherry Blumberg commented: “The awards are a great acknowledgement of our team approach, with commitment and engagement from staff across all disciplines within our organisation. This award is accepted on behalf of each and every one of our employees, past and present.”

Kudos Blends was said to have an holistic view of the whole business model and had built a very credible and robust business plan of the ‘go to‘ market for this industry.

Managing Director Dinnie Jordan said: “It is a massive honour. I am extremely proud of my team at Kudos for all their hard work in making our international activities so worthwhile.

“Huge thanks must also go to the Chamber of Commerce and UKTI for their help with our exporting needs, without their support we wouldn’t have had the confidence to approach new markets and subsequently would not be in the position we are in today.”

Mike Ashton, chief executive of Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce: "The quality of the entries this year was outstanding and it was a pleasure to celebrate the success of these spectacular local businesses at our annual awards evening."