Fraser Doherty, now a student at University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, always loved jam. When he was fourteen years old, he began making homemade jam using his Grandmother’s recipes, selling it to neighbors and church congregations. But Fraser realized that when consumed in large quantities, jam takes its toll. He decided to try and make the world’s healthiest jam, using only the best, most nutritious fruits and not adding any extra sugar. Within eighteen months, he left school to work on SuperJam full-time for a year before starting university.

Soon enough, Waitrose, a high-end chain of supermarkets in the UK, gave Fraser a contract to supply their 184 stores with SuperJam. Fraser has since managed to secure contracts to supply other large retailers in Great Britain, such as the UK’s largest grocer–Tesco. After securing the contracts, Eat Super Ltd. was born. He is currently reinvesting all profits in order to grow the business. Last year, SuperJam reportedly hit $750,000 in sales and is on track to double that in 2008 (about 50,000 jars a month). Over the next few years, Fraser plans to expand into other spreads such as marmalade and peanut butter and reach international markets, mainly the US.

However, Fraser’s success has not come without strains along with way. One of the major problems he faced was trying to convince manufacturers to work with him to produce the jam. He offered none of the elements that mass manufactures typically like to see: seed money and experience. All Fraser had was recipes and a small list of initial consumers. But according to an interview with Young Money, he eventually managed to convince a hopeful factory to work with him: “They could see the appeal of the story. They could see I am very enthusiastic and I’m putting everything I’ve got into trying to make this work. They felt they might as well give it a shot.”

I haven’t had the distinct privilege of trying the jam (although I am now tempted to call my relatives in England and have them send me some), but it must be quite tasty. There are many producers of jam, some whom have a great deal more resources, branding and experience to drive sales. But Fraser has rested on the fact that his jam is simply better (thanks to Grandma) and better for you (his “super fruits” are high in nutrients). It doesn’t hurt also that the products come at a time when fitness, health and organic foods are all popular trends.

For his achievements, Fraser was awarded the Global Student Entrepreneur Award in 2007. He has also been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Young Money Magazine, Forbes, various news networks, talks shows and cooking shows.