Fraser Doherty, now 21, began making homemade jam using his Grandmother's recipes at the age of 14, selling his produce at farmers markets and to delicatessens. Within eighteen months this was proving such a successful enterprise that he decided to leave school (at 16) and work on his idea full-time for a year.

During this 'gap year', Fraser developed a highly innovative set of recipes for manufacturing jams entirely from fruit and fruit juice. He also decided to use fruits that are high in nutrients, 'Super Fruits', in his recipes and develop fun and modern branding for the range. After setting up production, creating a brand and perfecting his recipes, Fraser became the youngest ever supplier to a major supermarket chain when Waitrose launched the range in March 2007. They also gave Fraser a contract to supply their 184 stores with his 'SuperJam'. This launch was accompanied by prime time news coverage (including GMTV, BBC Breakfast, ITV’s ‘This Morning’, Sky News and Five News) and the products flew off the shelves. SuperJam quickly became the best-selling brand of jam in a number of the Waitrose stores.

SuperJam now supplies over 1,000 supermarkets in the UK (incl. Tesco, Asda, Wal-Mart, Morrisons and Waitrose) and is working on expanding overseas.

As a result of this runaway success, he was named ‘Young Entrepreneur of The Year (UK)’ and ‘Global Student Entrepreneur of The Year (2007)’, in a competition that saw him compete against 750 student entrepreneurs from around the world. Many were running multi-million dollar companies and Fraser became the fist winner of the competition from outside North America. SuperJam is also exhibited in the National Museum of Scotland as an 'Iconic Scottish Brand', alongside Irn Bru, Tunnock's and Baxters.

Fraser has won many awards for his business acumen including the highly coveted ‘Smarta 100 Award’ in 2010.

Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is a huge fan and even commended Fraser over dinner at Downing Street, after hearing about his amazing story.

In August 2010, Fraser launched The SuperJam Cookbook, sharing his jam-making secrets with the world. The book has since become a bestseller and is on sale at Waterstones, WHSmiths and in supermarkets.

The company also invests in running 'SuperJam Tea Parties' for elderly people who live alone, in care homes or in sheltered housing. SuperJam has hosted over 125 events across the UK, with live music, dancing and, of course, scones and SuperJam. Up to 600 guests attend each of these events and they are growing in popularity every month.

Testimonials

“You have an amazing story to tell”
Gordon Brown

“Fraser is an exciting young entrepreneur with an amazing story. His jams taste really fantastic too!”
Duncan Bannatyne – BBC ‘Dragon’s Den’

“He gives hope to anyone who ever dreamed of selling their homemade products to a wider market”
Lorraine Kelly – ITV’s GMTV

"The best speaker we've ever had."
Tutor2U, Business Studies Teacher Annual Conference.

“One of the best speakers we’ve ever had. Inspirational, humorous; one of the leading speaker’s in the UK!”
Liz Cameron, Chairman,
Scottish Chambers of Commerce

‘Fraser has taken a product that’s old-fashioned and completely reinvented it; giving it a young and up-to-date image’
Michael Simpson-Jones, Waitrose Supermarkets

“He entertained the audience with a clear and thoughtful talk and handled over 30 minutes of questions with aplomb”
Geoff Riley, Eton College

The first ever winner of Global Student Entrepreneur of the Year from outside North America, Fraser Doherty has been selling his Superjam at farmers markets and delicatessens since he was a youngster. Now 20 he has won contracts with almost all of the major UK supermarkets and is selling over 750,000 jars a year. He also runs a hugely successful project that provides tea parties for lonely elderly people all over the UK.

The Story of SuperJam
The Life of an Young Entrepreneur