Kingsbridge

South Brent-based firm The Local Food Company has been unveiled as one of four finalists at the Start-ups Awards 2007 in the Green Business of the Year category.

The judges were impressed by the firm's concept and potential, placing the business among a handful of lucky finalists plucked from hundreds of entries.

The Local Food Company, which was formed by Dionne and Simon Rooney in August 2006, is an online food retailer delivering quality food from the South West throughout the region and beyond.

They also specialise in food for holidaymakers and ethically-sourced corporate food hampers.

The Start-ups Awards, organised by Crimson Business' Startups.co.uk, comprises of 16 categories, each showcasing the best new businesses in the UK.

The overall winner will walk away with a cheque for a cool £5,000.

Endorsed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and underlining its commitment to identifying and rewarding the UK's best new businesses, the fourth annual Start-ups Awards is organised in conjunction with NatWest.

Simon Rooney, The Local Food Company: "We are thrilled to be a finalist in the Green Business of the Year category and very much look forward to the event in October."

The winners will be unveiled at a prestigious awards ceremony, to be held at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington on Wednesday 31 October.

Mr Rooney will be attending the prestigious event.

He said: "We are thrilled to be a finalist in the Green Business of the Year category and very much look forward to the event in October.

"It's great that all our dedication and hard work has been recognised by Startups.co.uk, and we're delighted to be in with a chance of not only winning the category but also the much-coveted NatWest Start-ups Business of the Year prize."

Startups.co.uk is the UK's largest independent online resource for budding entrepreneurs and the Start-ups Awards is one of the leading events on the small business calendar.

This year's judging panel consists of some of the UK's most successful entrepreneurs, including Martin Webb, entrepreneur and presenter of Channel 4's Risking It All, Tim Campbell, winner of BBC's The Apprentice in 2005 and Jonathon Moules, entrepreneurship correspondent for the Financial Times.

The judges looked at a wide range of criteria, including business success, customer focus, organisational effectiveness, strategic planning, overcoming obstacles and barriers to success, visionary leadership and social and community responsibility.

The judges were impressed with the way The Local Food Company has operated, and the green and ethical principles and practices at its heart.

The Local Food Company was one of the first businesses in the South West to have reduced and offset all associated carbon emissions linked to deliveries and one of the very few in the UK to be able to claim to have carbon offset from the start of their business over a year ago.

The firm leads the way in food mile-labeling in the UK and has banned all known air freighted produce, as well as only selling seasonal fruit and vegetables.