Industry News

Kitwave Group plans to join AIM, the junior market of the London Stock Exchange, on 24 May, in a move that will value the company at £105 million.

Founded in 1987 following the acquisition of a single-site confectionery wholesale business in Tyne and Wear, Kitwave today has a network of 26 depots and offers a range of around 33,000 mainly impulse lines to 38,000 customers throughout the UK.

By floating on AIM (Alternative Investment Market), the delivered wholesaler will raise £64 million through the placing of new shares at 150p each. Existing shareholders will sell stock worth £17.6 million.

“We are delighted with

the strong support shown by our new investors, which we view as a highly positive endorsement of Kitwave’s strategy to grow,” said chief executive officer Paul Young. “To date, we have executed a highly successful buy-andbuild strategy, having acquired and integrated 10 wholesale distributors into the group since 2011, and we are confident that trading on AIM will enable us to continue to support this strategy. “Furthermore, the directors believe that admission [to AIM] will enhance the profile of the group and its brands, improve Kitwave’s position

Failté Group has retained its AA grade BRC Global Standard accreditation for the fourth year in a row.

CEO Jim Cummiskey commented: “The ability to pass such a rigorous audit for another year is a credit to Failté’s staff and the systems and working methods we have in place.

“BRC is beneficial for Failté customers as it demonstrates our commitment to deliver best practices in operating standards and proves that we maintain the highest control of quality and safety across the entire operation.”

The BRC Global Standard for Storage and Distribution has been achieved by about 2,200 sites in 54 countries. a Failté Group 0141-548

with key suppliers, strengthen the group’s balance sheet, and provide the group with greater ability to incentivise and retain key employees going forward.”

Kitwave has around 1,100 employees. On admission to AIM, the directors and senior management of the company will own around 22.3% of the ordinary shares.

In the 12 months to 30 April 2020, the company’s revenue was £399 million. It posted adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £17.5 million.

The company plans to use the proceeds of the placing to reduce its existing debt, as well as fuel its growth strategy. a Kitwave 0191-259 2277

Parfetts has recruited Antony Downing (pictured) to the new role of store development manager.

He joins the wholesaler from Costcutter, where he supported retailers as the retail design manager. In total, he spent more than 33 years with Costcutter, and his expertise spans merchandising, store planning and retail design.

At Parfetts, he will lead the development of new store formats for Go Local as the fascia group aims to reach 1,000 retailers in the next two years.

Commenting on his appointment, Guy Swindell, retail director at Parfetts, said: “Antony brings a huge amount of experience to this new role. We continue to invest in and evolve our Go Local fascia with new talented people that are dedicated to supporting retailers, along with new technology and services such as our innovative GOLD delivery service.”

Downing added: “Parfetts and Go Local have built an enviable reputation in recent years and their focus on supporting retailers is second to none. I look forward to working closely with our retailers to optimise their store performance and help take their businesses to the next level.” a Parfetts 0161-429 0429

Tapping into the growing health & wellness trend was the focus of the latest instalment of Bidfood Kitchen, the wholesaler’s virtual customer development session.

Accelerated by the pandemic, consumer’s attitudes and behaviours have dramatically shifted towards a stronger focus on wellbeing, reports Bidfood.

A total of 75% of consumers say eating a healthy diet is important to them and over two-thirds say the pandemic has made them more concerned about their health overall (Bidfood/CGA).

Focusing on the trend ‘wellness my way’, the session highlighted how operators could develop healthier food choices for these consumers when eating out, through insights, guides and recipe ideas.

Craig Miles, development chef at Bidfood, showcased recipes exploring functional ingredients and mood-boosting foods. The recipes spanned across all day parts. Commenting on the virtual event, senior customer marketing manager David King said: “From a recent survey, we can see that three-quarters of consumers feel their food choices affect their energy levels and moods, so will therefore affect their diet and lifestyle choices. We wanted to give our customers insight into ways they can appeal to this consumer mindset when designing their menus. a Bidfood (01494) 555900

Country Range Group has launched the next in its series of menu solutions guides, with the latest brochure focusing on the challenging work of care sector caterers.

The publication is available via the group’s digital and social channels in addition to its members’ digital channels.

The guide focuses on the various areas of food provision that a care caterer needs to consider. It includes advice from care caterers and experts from the National Association of Care Catering (NACC), in addition to providing menu inspiration through a selection of recipes.

The sections of the guide are: a Planning Your Plates: Focusing on all aspects of menu planning. a Nourishing Needs: Looking at the challenges chefs face on a daily basis in accommodating dietary requirements. a Time to Hydrate: Increasing the opportunities for hydration during the day. a Staying Active: Highlighting key dates and events that can provide inspiration for themed activities. a Keep it Clean: Looking at the importance of food hygiene standards. a Talking Tables: Taking care catering services to the next level: chefs from the sector offer advice.

Emma Holden, Country Range Group marketing controller, told Cash & Carry Management: “Working in a care catering environment can be very challenging for chefs.

“This guide aims to offer top tips and guidance on how they can navigate the sector and take their offering to the next level.” a Country Range Group

Cyprofood has acquired the former Bestway cash & carry in Tottenham, London, adjacent to its existing site.

The Sugro member has tasked an architect to redesign the warehouse and plans to relaunch it later this year under the Cyprofood banner, with a one-stopshop range that includes catering items, drinks, confectionery and fruit & veg.

This will operate alongside its existing premises, allowing for the company’s planned range expansion.

Since it was founded in 2007 as a 24-hour fresh produce wholesaler, Cyprofood has extended its product offering to about 3,000 lines. a Cyprofood 020-8801 0101

Hancocks has appointed Kelly Rodgers as the new manager at its Liverpool store.

Rodgers (pictured) previously worked as restaurant general manager for KFC in Merseyside.

Area manager Sophie Montgomery commented: “We’re delighted to welcome Kelly to the Hancocks team. She’s an asset to the Liverpool store and is the right person to lead it as life begins to return to normal.” a Hancocks (01509) 216644

Thomas Ridley Foodservice is seeking a new sales director.

“Having invested £8 million in the business in recent years we are now seeking a sales director to craft our future sales plan and to then successfully deliver it,” says the advert. “Within our bureaucratic-free organisation this is a fantastic and rare opportunity for a true leader to shape our sales culture.”

This role has become available due to the existing sales director Steven Lyons leaving to take on his first managing director role.

Thomas Ridley Foodservice has two depots – one near Bury St Edmunds where its head office is based and the other at Paddock Wood, Kent. The company’s 2021 full-year sales are expected to be more than £60 million.

People can apply for the sales director role via LinkedIn or by sending their CV to justin.godfrey@thomasridley.co.uk by 29 May. a Thomas Ridley Foodser-

JJ Foodservice has launched a faster and easier-to-use ordering app following record orders on its app and website in 2020.

At the height of the pandemic, 85% of orders were made online, versus 70% for the same period in 2019. Mobile users have grown even faster, with 49% of orders made from a mobile device in January 2021 compared to 32% in January 2020.

“Our customers are busy people, so we’ve invested in making online shopping even easier,” said Mick Dudley, chief technology officer

The new JJ app offers easy access to the full range of products, securely and on the go. Visitors can shop using products saved in their ‘favourites’ or ‘previous orders’ and have the flexibility to amend or save their

Nisa has announced that its Expo will take place on 28-29 September. Like last year, it will be a virtual event.

“As we learned from last year’s event, the use of the virtual platform made the event far more accessible to partners,” said chief operating officer John McNeill. a Nisa Retail (01724) 282028

Further to its acquisition of CSG (Costcutter Supermarkets Group) in late 2020, Bestway Wholesale has announced a restructure of its senior management team.

Mike Hollis, formerly retail director of CSG, has been appointed as Bestway retail director. Reporting to managing director Dawood Pervez and based out of York, Hollis will lead a new retail division focused on helping independent retailers to grow their food and drink business.

Other key members of the new retail division are: a Paul Adams (head of symbol fascia) a Duncan Jelfs (head of franchise) a Clive Binks (head of corporate stores) a Frankie Haynes (head of central operations) a Jamie Davison (head of store recruitment and development)

The company’s buying and marketing teams will now be managed centrally for all cash & carry, convenience, off-licence, catering, pet specialist and export customers under the leadership of Kenton Burchell who will take up the new role of group trading director.

The restructure supports Bestway’s vision to bring Bestway Wholesale and Bestway Retail together, enabling the organisation to harness its growing scale and talent.

Pervez commented: “The time is right to make changes as an important step in delivering future growth and ensuring we continue to meet the needs of our customers as behaviours change and opportunities grow.

“We are now bringing together our off-licence led business in Crewe (including our Bargain Booze and Wine Rack brands) and convenience-led business in York (including our Costcutter and sub-brands Mace, Kwiksave, Simply Fresh, Supershop brands) and Best-one convenience, as one team within Bestway Retail.

“Importantly, we will continue to operate out of both sites, which will each become a centre of excellence for off-licence and convenience respectively.”

Bestway’s specialist pet business continues to be managed from its Huddersfield premises. a Bestway Wholesale 020-

shopping basket at any point.

New swipeable banners allow products to be searched quickly, by category, and a predictive function automatically suggests relevant products.

In a separate development, JJ Foodservice is offering discounted mental health first aid training to restaurant managers.

The company will host a Mental Health First Aid training session with Aiding Mental Health at 20% off the usual price. The four-hour online course costs £100 plus VAT. a JJ Foodservice (01992)

SPAR Scotland wholesaler and retailer CJ Lang & Son has hit its target of installing its CJ’s food-to-go brand into 65 of its 108 own stores by the end of April.

CJ’s is the overarching food-to-go brand, which is available in the stores alongside other food-to-go brands including Costa Coffee, F’real milkshakes, Rollover hotdogs, Kepak, Dunkin Donuts, Greencore, Tango, Skwishee and CSM.

The food-to-go rollout programme also includes a hot breakfast and lunch offer, as well as a range of rolls, cakes, sweet treats and hot savouries from local bakery suppliers. These companies, which include McGhees, Asher’s, JG Ross, Stuarts, Browning’s, Nevis, Kerr’s and Goodfellows, are local to the stores and well known in the communities, which gives CJ’s a unique local link.

Plans are in place to complete the installation of CJ’s into all company-owned stores by September this year. In addition, SPAR Scotland is looking to roll out the concept to independent SPAR retailers.

CJ’s represents the biggest investment by SPAR Scotland for many years. The business has taken inspiration from visiting SPAR retailers in the UK and Europe and the best stores in the UK and further afield, from the USA to Asia.

Results to date have been excellent, reports the company. Over six million fresh morning rolls have been sold in CJ’s, and coffee sales are up by 138%. This has been driven by CJ’s now famous breakfast link deal, which sees a breakfast roll sell for £1 with any coffee. The halo effect is also tangible, with growth seen especially in soft drinks and fresh foods.

“We have exciting plans to further grow our menu and continue to develop our ‘food for now’ whilst also offering great ‘food for later’,” said Stephen Brown, head of food to go. “There is a strong new product development pipeline in place to take advantage of seasonal and new trends.”

SPAR Scotland has developed its own compliance app to help stores and area teams who are providing practical support and coaching to ensure consistency.

“We see food-to-go as one of the fastest growing categories within our stores, and with this huge investment we are making, we are confident that SPAR in Scotland is leading the convenience sector,” concluded Brown. a CJ Lang (01382) 512100

Hancocks has introduced several new pick & mix lines.

These include Kingsway Mallow Tube, Mallow Bears and Mallow Filled Strawberries in 1kg bags, and Marshmallow Pigs (pictured) in 900g bags.

Also new are Kingsway Happy Flowers gummy sweets in 3kg bags and Kingsway Veggie Sour Mini Tongues (2kg), as well as Vidal Veggie Fizzy Slices (three flavours, each in 1kg bags). a Hancocks (01509) 216644

Castell Howell, based in Carmarthenshire, has been awarded the highest level AA grade BRC Global Standard accreditation.

Developed to identify best practice, the BRC Global Standard for Storage and Distribution is designed for logistics operations dealing with food, packaging, and consumer products.

A Caterforce member, Castell Howell was awarded the top grade as it demonstrated the highest quality product safety, integrity and legality throughout the storage and distribution process. Director Matt Lewis commented: “We’re absolutely delighted with this recognition. Not only does this reflect the incredible hard work of our team, particularly during the challenging period of the pandemic, but it also provides Castell Howell customers with complete peace of mind that they will receive the very highest level of service from our dedicated, hard-working team.”

Richard Davies, head of compliance, added: “This accreditation is testament to the continued efforts of our loyal workforce, effectively co-ordinated by Jayne Griffiths, food safety manager, and Beverley Thomas, technical supervisor.”

Castell Howell is said to be Wales’s leading independent foodservice wholesaler. a Castell Howell Foods

The Scottish Wholesale Association (SWA) has embarked on a project to help its members and the wider wholesale sector engage with more local producers and help them access new markets.

Working with the SAOS (Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society), the SWA is developing a Local Food Logistics strategy that will enable producers to better understand the role of the wholesale sector.

Former wholesaler John Forteith, now an industry consultant, is project lead and chairman of the steering group set up to drive the initiative. Comprising executives from wholesale businesses across Scotland, the group is exploring how wholesalers are currently sourcing products from local food producers, manufacturers and suppliers, identifying key barriers and establishing what is needed to increase local sourcing ability.

A survey conducted by the SWA earlier this year showed that its members’ current local/Scottish food offering is typically around 30%. Colin Smith, SWA chief executive, said: “The SWA’s aspiration is to agree a target for increasing and benchmarking against this figure.”

To help highlight benefits and learnings from using the wholesale distribution model, the SWA has enlisted the help of three different-sized suppliers – Summer Harvest Oils, Mackie’s of Scotland and AG Barr – to share their stories on how they ‘won in wholesale’.

There are three phases to the project: phase one

(completed) involved identifying the best way for the industry to connect with producers; phase two is focused on creating an education and training programme that can be delivered either through SWA workshops or by individual members; and phase three will see local/regional trials supported by Scotland Food & Drink as well as the creation of an SWA directory for producers and suppliers to use a means of connecting with wholesalers.

Forteith commented: “We know that many food and drink companies – small and large, new and long-established – don’t really fully understand the wholesale sector and, crucially, how it could benefit their business.

“Therefore, part of our work will include workshops hosted by SWA wholesalers at which producers and suppliers will hear directly from wholesalers about our route to market and the benefits, savings and opportunities it provides.”

Wholesalers supporting the project include Braehead Foods, Williamson’s Foodservice, Lomond Wholesale, CJ Lang, Brakes Scotland, Total Produce, and JW Gray. a Scottish Wholesale

Unitas Wholesale’s 2021 virtual trade show, held last month, was a “great success”, with over 630 meetings taking place between wholesalers and suppliers, and wholesalers being able to access upweighted deals on more than 120 brands.

As part of the three-day event, sessions were held in which selected suppliers showcased their latest new product developments for both the retail and out-of-home channels. Member wholesalers were also given an update on the latest services available to them through Unitas.

The group’s MD John Kinney said: “The Unitas trade show is a key feature in the wholesale diary, and although this year we were unable to host the event physically, we have still been committed to supporting all of our members throughout the pandemic –running the virtual trade show is a great example of how we can achieve this.

“The event was especially important for our out-ofhome wholesaler members as they start on their recovery journey as the sector begins to re-open.

“I look forward to seeing the benefits from the trade show materialising in a strong sales performance in the coming weeks and months.” a Unitas (01302) 249909 SPAR has launched four new wines in time for the summer.

In a first for SPAR’s ownlabel wine range, two of the new lines come in a 2.25-litre bag-in-box format, four to a case. These are the group’s popular Crisp White and Fresh Rosé variants.

Brand manager Adam Georgiou said: “The bag-inbox wine category has experienced double-digit growth over the last year, with this trend set to continue into summer 2021.

“Priced at the great value price of £14.99, our two new bag-in-a-box SKUs are a ‘must stock’ for SPAR stores with their eye-catching packaging and on-trend format, which are perfect for the BBQ or garden party customer mission.”

Also new are Picpoul de Pinet (rsp £7.99) under the SPAR Regional Selection brand and Seashell Bay Sauvignon Blanc (rsp £6.99), a South African wine that joins the SPAR Exclusive range.

Both new lines come in cases of 6 x 75cl and are available on promotion at £1 off the rsp from 20 May until 9 June. a SPAR UK 020-8426 3700