Welcome to the August issue of Wholesale Manager. Well done to the Scottish Wholesale Association, which is moving into Phase 2 of its decarbonisation project designed to help members and the wider wholesale sector become greener and more sustainable. With ambitious plans to decarbonise the wholesale food supply chain and achieve net- zero emissions by 2045, if not before, Phase 1 of the Decarbonisation of the Wholesale Industry Project has seen the SWA examine the emissions associated with its members’ vehicle fleets via a survey. The results will be analysed to calculated individual wholesaler’s carbon footprint.
Congratulations to Bebeto, a family founded business based in Chichester, which has donated a range of lunch box friendly fruit snacks amongst other confectionery treats to its local food bank. Hearing about Chichester Food Bank’s campaign ‘Holiday lunch packs for kids’, Bebeto decided to help. The project is designed to feed children from families that are on a low income during the long summer break.
Good to hear that Environment Secretary George Eustice and Health Secretary Sajid Javid have outlined plans for daily contact testing for the food and drink industries – and received assurances from industry that problems were not widespread. New targeted testing for certain workplaces is being rolled out – with the food industry prioritised, as part of the government’s close engagement with the sector. At a roundtable with supermarket leaders, the government committed to putting in place actions to support the resilience of the food supply chain and supermarket leaders downplayed fears of shortages saying problems were not widespread.
Paul Knight recently joined leading foodservice wholesaler Thomas Ridley as Sales Director, following a 30-year career spent mainly working for Bidfood and latterly as MD of Bidvest’s Catering Equipment Division for 15 years. The company believes in local suppliers and customers will always find products within its offering from UK and local suppliers. Paul Knight tells our Focus on Foodservice page about the biggest trends in foodservice and about how the company’s waste food is converted into energy.
The language barrier is the second biggest reason British firms are reluctant to export, the first being Brexit. Translation specialists Comtec and e-commerce software solution b2b.store are on a mission to help UK wholesalers to sell abroad. Sophie Howe, director of Comtec, and Rob Mannion, founder and CEO of b2b.store, explain on our Industry Focus page if the famously language-phobic Brits can ever truly learn to speak the lingo and boost exports as a result.
BAT UK has announced the integration of its UK e-cigarette product line, Vype into global brand, Vuse. The investment in Vuse is part of a global focus on ‘new categories’ and is part of BAT’s transformation journey to build A Better Tomorrow with a commitment to reducing the health impact of its global business. In a Supplier Spotlight interview, Khurram Durrani, Head of BAT UK Trade, discusses BAT’s long term commitment to reduced risk categories and about the Vuse brand’s green credentials.
Enjoy reading the issue.
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