Tony Deep Wouhra, the Midland millionaire and founder of East End Foods, will be getting an honorary doctorate from Birmingham City University in recognition of his outstanding business achievements.
Mr Wouhra founded East End Foods with his four brothers in 1972, supplying ethnic foods from its base in the West Midlands and building up the business on an ethic of supplying high quality produce. Today, East End Foods is one of the largest importers of Indian food in the UK with an annual turnover of £100 million.
An ambassador for organic foods, Tony has worked for the past sixteen years to produce food that contains as few chemicals as possible and his philosophy that food consumed by human beings should be as natural as possible has been the driving force to ensure that East End Foods has achieved a low level of pesticide residues.
He has worked alongside farmers in a variety of countries, advocating the abstention of chemicals in the food production process, and founded an organisation called Purity In Food that has helped more than 250,000 small farmers in India to change their farming methods.
He also co-founded the Healthy Hearts Institute in collaboration with Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals after the loss of three of his family members to diabetes and cardiovascular disorders. The charity provides a screening service in Sandwell, specifically targeting vulnerable communities in order to address inequalities in health and healthcare.
His award is due to be conferred on Wednesday, February 10, at the Awards Congregation ceremony in Symphony Hall.
