Caterfood Buying Group is a collection of independent foodservice suppliers working together to offer both an extensive product range, industry knowledge and geographical coverage.
The group brings together foodservice businesses to share industry knowledge, collaborate and supply customers with exceptional food and drink.
Every business in the group is diverse and has a unique selling point but has the benefit of being part of a wider, supportive and forward-thinking group, offering great products at great prices.
Phil Atyeo, Managing Director, The Caterfood Buying Group tells Wholesale Manager some of the biggest challenges he has faced as a wholesaler and how CFBG demonstrates a commitment to people and community.
Can you tell us a little of the history of the CFBG?
The Caterfood Buying Group was founded in 2012 after Bidcorp, formerly known as 3663, acquired South Lincs Foodservice, near Boston in Lincolnshire. This followed previous purchases of two Scottish wholesalers: Forteith Foodservice and Inverness Farmers. Although both were successful businesses, these acquisitions did not work out as planned. Once integrated into 3663/Bidfood, they effectively became outposts of a larger organisation, losing the independence and unique character that had contributed to their success.
When the South Lincs deal was made, we were determined not to repeat that mistake; we deliberately kept the business separate to preserve its local identity, which proved highly successful. The same approach was successful when Caterfood SW (Paignton) was acquired in 2016. Protecting each business’s individual attributes laid the foundation for the Caterfood Buying Group.
CFBG was officially formed in 2019 with the acquisition of Elite Fine Foods (Brighton). Since then, we’ve continued to expand, welcoming several respected independent wholesalers into the group, including Nicol Hughes in 2022 (Chester), Harvest Fine Foods in 2023 (Southampton), Thomas Ridley in 2023 (Bury St Edmunds), and Turner Price in 2024 (Hull). Each business retains its character, mission, vision, values, and unique way of working—that’s exactly how we want it.
How far is the geographical reach of your business?
Our members offer coverage from Yorkshire to Cornwall.
What made you want to get into wholesaling?
My career began in retail at Safeway, but I quickly realised that wholesale foodservice was a better match for my skills and ambitions. It’s a sector where you can genuinely shape strategy, drive innovation, and make a real difference.
Foodservice requires more effort. It involves hands-on thinking, careful planning, and building strong relationships, but the rewards are tangible. Every decision can lead to measurable improvements in efficiency, customer satisfaction, and business growth. That’s what makes it rewarding; you’re not just managing a business, you’re building it.
What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced as a wholesaler?
Change truly is the only constant in this industry. Trends shift rapidly, customer expectations develop, and we are continuously adapting to new food trends. Additionally, food inflation, labour, and energy costs have introduced another layer of complexity, making it more essential than ever to remain agile and responsive.
Our greatest challenge is balancing these external factors while still delivering consistent quality and dependable service to our members and their customers and maintaining high service levels. It’s a fast-paced environment, but that rate of change keeps us alert and promotes smarter, more efficient ways of working.
What are your goals for what you want to achieve with the CFBG?
We have ambitious plans to triple our turnover from £350m to £1bn over the next five years. It’s not a fixed target but rather a direction for the business; it can only be achieved if other wholesalers choose to join us. Most of our growth will come through acquisitions, and we’ve seen an increase in enquiries as selling up has become a more appealing option for independent wholesalers.
The trading environment is extremely challenging. I understand why some second- and third-generation owners are re-evaluating their roles. Many have seen how hard their parents worked and are unsure if they want the same life. Independent businesses can also join CFBG without being acquired. If acquisitions and membership growth align, reaching a billion may be possible within 5 to 10 years.
For me, CFBG is about more than just growth for growth’s sake. It’s about fostering a community where everyone wants others to succeed rather than being entirely transactional. That sense of shared purpose, shared goals, and community, together with our ownership model, truly sets us apart. It will be interesting to see how the group develops with the addition of more members and associate member wholesalers in the future.
How is CFBG performing?
Despite the challenging conditions, profits are up a healthy percentage compared to last year. This hasn’t been an easy task, and once again, the adverse environment for trade has made even modest gains difficult to achieve.
Tell us about CFBG’s partnership with TWC. What will CFBG and its suppliers gain from this partnership?
The insights from the TWC data platform will be invaluable to us and our suppliers. With just a few clicks, we can clearly see the performance of SKUs, brands, and categories across all members of the Caterfood Buying Group. We can easily identify gaps in ranges within members and evaluate performance by individual member. This will help us understand what is successful in some businesses and enable us to replicate that success elsewhere. Additionally, visibility of promotional performance allows us to focus our time, effort, and investment on targeting non-stockists and expanding distribution.
Do you have an e-commerce site for your customers?
Each member has their own e-commerce solution tailored to their needs, business model, and specific customer base; however, we are always looking for ways to improve. We have made notable progress in the e-commerce platforms for Elite Fine Foods and Caterfood SW, each featuring its own browser and app-based shops called MyElite and MyCaterfood, respectively. South Lincs Foodservice has also launched a new e-commerce platform, MySouthLincs, from Choco, which uses AI for upselling alongside handling orders via email and voicemail.
How digital is your business, and do you offer any IT support for your members, e.g. ordering apps, online support, delivery tracking?
Technology will stay essential for foodservice businesses over the next decade. Besides upgrading our e-commerce platforms, we have invested in a range of systems to support our operations. At Elite and Caterfood SW, we use Qnetex as our ERP, Qstock for warehouse management, and Qdrop for delivery logistics.
Qnetex is simple, user-friendly, and intuitive, which has significantly reduced training times while providing exportable data and full traceability. Qstock gives an accurate view of warehouse stock levels, speeds up booking-in, and ensures error-free barcode picking. Qdrop allows our warehouse and transport teams to track deliveries in real time, while its paperless, sign-on-glass invoicing streamlines operations for our members.
At South Lincs Foodservice, we’ve introduced Podfather as a real-time delivery tracking tool. It helps our transport teams monitor driver locations, provide customers with delivery updates and ETAs, and capture electronic proof of delivery with photos and signatures, making the whole process more efficient and fully recorded. We will also be assessing other member businesses to see how best to integrate technology to improve their operations and develop systems that enhance their customers’ experience.
How many products does your member business supply and what categories do you cover?
Our smallest member, Nicol Hughes, supplies a carefully curated range of 1,800 products in their 10,000 sq ft warehouse, while the largest, Turner Price, has an astonishing 7,000 products available for their customers to choose from in approximately 150,000 sq ft of warehouse space. All Members cover fresh, chilled, frozen, ambient and non-food products, with most stocked on site and other speciality offerings available for pre-order.
Are there any new products in the range you want to talk about?
Over the past year, we have worked diligently behind the scenes to develop our own brand – The Caterfood Collection. This has been a genuine passion project for us, driven by our belief in great food and providing excellent products to our members and customers.
As part of our regular Trading Board, we run a comprehensive tasting panel process where experts from across the CFBG come together to test potential products for the range. Our panel includes specialists in Buying, Sales, and New Product Development from both the central team and our member businesses. Every product is blind-tasted and assessed for quality, consistency, and value before we decide what makes it into the Caterfood Collection. Once we have identified the right product, we work closely with the supplier to secure the best possible deal for our members. It’s a genuine win-win: our customers receive a high-quality product that competes with others at a great price, backed by the confidence that comes from buying through the CFBG. Our suppliers benefit from a strong new partnership and the opportunity to supply into a much larger network with agreed sales volumes.
We source our products from a mix of leading industry brands and smaller, boutique producers with outstanding offerings that larger foodservice wholesalers and consortia might have otherwise overlooked. Our focus is on providing members with top-tier products at competitive prices, ensuring quality, taste, and affordability. Currently, we have around 280 Caterfood Collection products available in our own branded packaging, and that number continues to grow as we expand the range and discover more excellent suppliers.
How does CFBG demonstrate a commitment to people and community?
Culture isn’t just words on a wall or a line in a CSR statement — it’s how people feel on a Sunday night. Do they feel part of a team that recognises their efforts, respects them, and values their voice? At our member businesses, we’ve focused on creating people-first environments, and our teams repay that investment with measurable gains in efficiency and growth.
Practical support is key. Initiatives like our Nourish platform, cash health plans, and apprenticeship schemes for ongoing training and career development have all seen strong uptake, reflecting how much our teams value meaningful support.
We also listen. Annual surveys track engagement, empowerment, service, leadership, development, satisfaction, environment and quality. This year, 85% of responses were positive and 11% neutral — clear evidence that our culture initiatives are working.
Feedback also prompts action. All members give back locally by supporting food banks, charities, and using local suppliers wherever possible. Harvest takes this further by embedding ethical and sustainable sourcing into procurement, focusing on local producers. The result is stronger communities, support for local farmers, and fewer food miles — all while fostering a workplace culture that values people as much as performance. Harvest’s holistic approach has inspired other Members’ businesses, who are on their own journeys to develop a similar strategy.
What is CFBG doing in sustainability?
Each member business is on its own sustainability journey, but as a group, we encourage every step forward. Here are just a few examples of what’s happening across the CFBG network.
South Lincs Foodservice has upgraded its fleet with new hybrid Eco-Drive vehicles, reducing fuel consumption, lowering emissions, and improving fleet sustainability. The new units provide 100% refrigeration capacity independently of the truck engine’s speed, including when it is idling, which reduces emissions and mitigates air quality and noise pollution.
Harvest has implemented a variety of innovative waste-reduction practices. Vegetable peelings from food preparation are collected by a local farmer for cattle feed, while other food waste is processed through a biodigester and repurposed as pet food. Anything that cannot be recycled or reused is incinerated, with the energy generated used to supply local retirement homes.
Even our digital solutions contribute. Qdrop and Podfather, with their sign-on-glass paperless invoicing, are helping to reduce paper consumption across our businesses. Individually, these initiatives may seem small, but together they lead to meaningful, measurable change — demonstrating that incremental steps can make a significant difference in building a more sustainable future.
How has the wholesale industry changed in recent years?
Two trends stand out. First, the foodservice sector has traditionally been slow to adopt digital platforms, apps, and AI. Investment in these areas has lagged behind other industries, creating gaps in efficiency, customer experience, and data-driven decision-making. At CFBG, we’re acting swiftly to change this. We are investing in AI partnerships and developing e-commerce and digital solutions that make it easier for customers to access product information, place orders, and manage their business. These platforms will offer a smoother, more intuitive experience while providing the insights and convenience today’s operators expect.
The second trend is the increasing concentration at the top of the wholesale foodservice sector. Brakes and Bidfood dominate, while other players like Creed (Kitwave) and, more recently, Holdsworth are focusing on national accounts, logistics, and route-to-market strategies. While these approaches prioritise scale and efficiency, they often leave independent foodservice businesses underserved.
This is where CFBG’s approach differs. Our focus remains on the food itself, the relationships we build, and the communities we serve. Independent outlets need quality products at a fair price, and that’s exactly what we provide through our Members and the Caterfood Collection own brand. By offering a genuine alternative to expensive heritage-branded food products, we supply professional kitchens with high-quality ingredients they expect, at prices that make sense. We’re not chasing national accounts; we’re supporting local businesses to thrive.
Comments are closed.