Kingswinford-based Julian Graves has bucked the current trend of high street names turning in poor performances by achieving its best ever like for like sales.
The specialist high street food retailer, part of the Baugur Group, notched up like for like sales of £8 million compared with £6.4 million last year, an increase of 25 per cent,
Chief executive Nick Shutts attributed the success to the public's growing interest in healthy eating and in particularly, to buying foods in their natural state.
"This time last year, our biggest sellers were liquorice allsorts and Bombay mix. Now, the demand is for apricots, Brazil nuts, almonds, linseeds and pumpkin and sunflower seed.
"People like Jamie Oliver and Gillian McKeith have succeeded in changing consumers' minds about processed foods and they are looking for healthy alternatives.
"In many of our 235 stores the layouts have been changed to give more space to nuts, seeds and dried fruits. In the past, these products just didn't sell that well."
The sales growth has meant the company will continue with its aggressive new shop opening plan. "We aim to have 310 stores operational by the end of 2007," added Mr Shutts.
Julian Graves was originally started by Mr Shutts in 1987 as a market stall in Moreton-in-Marsh.
