By Widget Finn (Telegraph.co.uk)

Daniel Ernst, an accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Vasco de Castro, an investment banker at Barclays Capital, were friends and flatmates who discussed setting up a business together. In 2005 both their employers started providing fresh fruit for staff, but the quality and delivery was unreliable.

"The idea was great and tied in with the Government's 5-a-day campaign and the trend towards healthy workplaces but it was a hassle to keep stocks replenished" says Ernst. "We explored the business possibilities and found there was no supplier exclusively supplying fruit to offices, so we decided to focus on this market."

The quality and variety of the fruit would differentiate their service so they looked at what was available at New Covent Garden, the largest UK fruit wholesalers. "We were confident that the sums added up and the core concept would work, while setting up the structure would be like any other business. We decided on baskets of 45 portions of up to 16 different types of fruit which varied with each season so would be environmentally friendly."

They planned that Ernst would take a six-month career break to set up Fruitful Office while de Castro kept his day job, then they would put in a manager until the business was big enough to support them both. PwC became their first customer, though the situation was unusual says Ernst.

"If I returned after my career break there was a possible conflict where I'd be an employee and supplier, so we agreed that in those circumstances PwC would stop being a customer. But the success of the business exceeded all expectations, I didn't return and we still supply them with fruit."

The business partners spent the first month preparing for a launch by emailing business contacts, friends and family, then offered a free fruit basket to twenty-five companies. "Five gave us regular orders which was enough for the initial push" says Ernst. "Business comes mainly through word of mouth and search engines. When PAs, who are usually responsible for the fruit supply, move on they recommend us, and clients of our customers see our fruit on display in offices. We also have partnership arrangements with companies who supply plants and other office accessories."