Welcome to the December issue of Wholesale Manager. We, along with the Association of Convenience Stores, welcome the news that the National Living Wage will rise to £8.91 an hour from April. This restrained wage increase will help struggling businesses keep colleagues employed rather than having to cut staff.
Congratulations to Sugro UK which has welcomed four new members, Connective Pharma, FMCG Trading, Sun Exotic Wholesale and Metropharm.
Well done also to Bestway which has launched its premium-led drinks format Tippl, now open as a trial store in Garforth, Leeds. The new store concept is a development of Bestway’s Wine Rack stores that have been hugely successful as a quality drinks ledspecialist serving local communities.
Quaker Oats has been synonymous with innovation throughout its history, ever since it was registered as the first trademark for a breakfast cereal back in 1877. Subsequent milestones included becoming the first brand to feature a recipe on its box, the first national magazine advertising programme for a breakfast cereal, the first chewy granola bars and the first food-specific health claim for oatmeal. Matt Goddard, Wholesale Trading Director at PepsiCo, tells our Supplier Spotlight page what trends are driving the cereals category and what merchandising advice he has for wholesalers. Founded in 2014, NextGEN360 Ltd, manufacturer of the EDGE vaping brand, has grown exponentially and expanded its horizons while still maintaining family values at the core of its ethos. Now representing the apex in premiumgrade NGP manufacturing, analytical and distribution solutions, the business continues to strive forward with a future-centric and quality driven focus, constantly moving product development into the next generation and empowering millions worldwide to improve their wellbeing. On our Meet the Marketer page, Paris Mannion, Marketing Manager at NextGEN360, discusses the performance of the vaping market and the launch of new EDGE Hybrid.
Well done to tea brand Tetley, which has pledged £650,000 to Unicef UK to implement an early childhood development programme in and around targeted tea estates in the Thyolo and Mulanje districts of Malawi, regions identified by UNICEF to have the greatest need for early childhood support services. As part of the programme, two Early Childhood Development Centres will be built on selected tea estates. The Tetley funded centres will be the first UNICEF has introduced to tea estates in Malawi.
KeyStore is asking its retailers to once again support their local food bank in the run-up to Christmas by placing dumpbins in-store for customers to donate food and other items. From now until Christmas, KeyStore outlets across the country are providing collection points for customers to donate non-perishable food products.
In a similar festive spirit, Bidfood and Hospitality Action have announced they will be releasing a charity single in response to the pandemic, to raise vital funds for the industry.
And on that note, we wish all our readers a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
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