Jam magnate Doherty set for QVC run

SUPERJAM, the preserve making company set-up by young entrepreneur Fraser Doherty, has been invited to appear on home shopping channel QVC in the run up to Christmas.

Doherty, who founded the firm in his parents' kitchen when he was 14 using his grandmother's secret recipe, hopes the exposure will broaden the appeal of jam to new consumers.

The entrepreneur, now 21, said: "When I started the company, the jam market was dominated by a handful of 200-year-old companies. Making our jam out of just fruit and juice rather than sugar was innovative and hopefully doing things like appearing on QVC continue that trend."

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Sales of his jams will this year reach about 800,000, against 200,000 four years ago, but Doherty said he still saw plenty of room for expansion in the UK as his firm accounts for only 1 per cent of the jam market.

SuperJam has supply contracts with grocery chains including Asda, Morrisons, Spar, Tesco and Waitrose. Doherty is also selling his wares in a few upmarket department stores in Finland, Ireland and the US, with a view to expanding into supermarkets.

QVC is broadcast on Freeview, Freesat, Sky and Virgin, reaching about 22.8 million homes.

Doherty's comments came as he prepares to address the Institute of Directors' "tomorrow's leaders" conference on Thursday. He said: "I spend a lot of time these days talking to young people about innovation and entrepreneurship. Kids at school don't often think about starting their own businesses. With the looming public sector cutbacks, it's even more important that people consider setting up their own companies."

Other speakers at the conference include Mike Welch, the former Kwik-Fit e-commerce director who founded tyre retailer Blackcircles, and Raymond O'Hare, the former Scotland director of software giant Microsoft.

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