Sugro UK is a buying co-operative of over 80 independent wholesale members supplying over 16,000 retailers.
Emma Senior, Managing Director at Sugro UK spoke to Wholesale Manager.
How many members do you have and what is their combined turnover?
We have 80 members, with a combined turnover of £2.5bn. I am delighted to say that we finished another year in growth, with 2025 our 20th consecutive year.
Has the membership grown over the last year?
Whilst we have had some new members joining the group, we have said goodbye to others. In this current climate, we are continuing to see closures of smaller businesses and, whilst growing our membership remains important to us, we also want to attract the right businesses that are truly incremental to Sugro’s turnover. Of equal importance, is the development of our existing wholesalers and that is where we are seeing our growth come from.
How many products do your members gain access to?
We have an extensive range of products, thousands stretching across confectionery, soft drinks, crisps and snack, grocery and household.
What kind of promotions do you run?
We run 17 promotions per year and have several key promotional vehicles to drive core range and new product distribution as well as volume for the Group. We have various leaflets, including Seasonal and Retail Club, together with some bespoke options that we produce for the Members based on their business requirements. Our promotional strategy covers day to day offering across all categories, value proposition focused on multipacks and price marked packs as well as consumer offering via our Retail Club promotional mechanic.
All promotions are enhanced with strong digital support.
Do you provide marketing services for your members?
We offer a wide range of services, from our digital advertising to TikTok sample boxes.
Our Business API WhatsApp solution was launched last year, enabling members to target their customers with specific marketing campaigns and promotions, directly linking them to websites and e-commerce platforms.
Do you offer support for IT systems and e-commerce?
Sugro Head Office IT Team support members with their online ordering platforms, whether that be advice, or the build itself. In addition, we have enhanced support with our b2b.store partnership to provide an e-commerce solution, such as member e-commerce solutions and WhatsApp for business.
Critical for today’s online world, is the risk of malware attacks and our IT team are on hand to provide crucial guidance to members to ensure they have the right protection.
Do you offer members guidance about their core range and NPD?
In today’s climate, it is increasingly important for wholesalers to understand what the best-selling products are and what exactly they should be stocking. Amongst showcasing NPD at our events, Sugro has a digital educational offering called ‘Drive Your Sales’. Our monthly edition is available to members and their retailers, providing category advice, NPD notifications and ideas for seasonal activities such as Bonfire Night and the more obvious key selling times – Christmas and Easter etc.
We are incredibly pleased with our new member portal, which is an online trackable ORD system, equipping our members with full visibility of their potential local earnings, by ensuring they stock the range recommended by suppliers and other criteria. We now have almost half our supplier base on board, and the system has received excellent feedback from the group.
Do you run events for members?
We have an extensive events calendar for our members and suppliers, with two trade shows each year, one in the Spring and one in the Autumn. This is a great opportunity for suppliers and members, along with our third-party business partners to come together and have an opportunity to discuss business plans. We run an incentive during January and February, to qualify for our summer event, and we host an annual Business Convention.
What makes your group unique?
The group’s unique selling point and focus continues to be our member- centric approach, characterised by a very strong sense of community amongst Sugro wholesalers. We are quite often called the Sugro family, and our members certainly feel that way. Sugro UK has always been one of the first in the industry to adopt new ways of thinking and doing business: for example, our digital offering has always been a key focus, with suppliers telling us we are at the forefront of these solutions.
What news do you have to share with us?
It has been a very busy start to 2026, starting with the newest partnership between Sugro Head Office and NIQ Brandbank, which offers members an individual access to Brandbank, ensuring wholesalers are able to download the most recent product images and details at the tip of their fingertips, free of charge.
We have also launched an E-Learning Hub, which is a central digital platform, located on our well-established Drive Your Sales Portal, which will be used to host, manage and access educational content and training resources, with the support of the industry’s leading suppliers.
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