Welcome to the July issue of Wholesale Manager. A third of all convenience store owners in England would stop the sale of cigarettes in favour of smoke- free products to help adult smokers switch, new analysis by KAM and Lake Research, commissioned by Philip Morris Limited (PML), has found. The Big Switch Report was commissioned to discover whether convenience retailers in England were helping smokers switch away from cigarettes by improving access to, and awareness of, smoke-free products, like e-cigarettes and heat- not-burn products. The research involving 1,400+ convenience store owners and over 1,000 former adult smokers, found a positive correlation in the number of retailers stocking alternatives and a reduction in smoking prevalence rates in many parts of England over the past five years.
Wholesaler JW Filshill is urging independent retailers across Scotland to help raise awareness of the charity GroceryAid and how it can support them and their employees. Filshill, which supplies KeyStore outlets across Scotland and the north of England, says that many of its own staff and customers have benefited. Many KeyStore retailers are now promoting the charity’s services in staff rooms by displaying posters and the 24/7 Helpline number while all Filshill drivers have been given keyrings featuring the free number.
Brakes, the UK’s leading foodservice wholesaler, has pledged £500,000 over the next five years to support Meals & More in its ongoing fight to end holiday hunger. Founded by Brakes in 2015, Meals & More has supported thousands of families, providing them with healthy, nutritious food in a safe and enriching environment during the school holidays when support for vulnerable children is not so readily available. The charity has grown significantly in recent years, as the impact of COVID-19 has seen many more people join the millions that were already living in poverty.
British people remain in love with biscuits. The category has a whopping UK household penetration of 99.3%. McVitie’s leads the category, helping drive the sector’s growth. David Titman, Marketing Director of category leader McVitie’s, tells our Supplier Spotlight page about the brand’s NPD and marketing activity.
Old Jamaica, the UK’s number one ginger beer brand, has brought back its popular and original Old Jamaica Ginger Beer full-sugar recipe. The brand has returned to its roots and resurrected the recipe from its archives after its hard core fans demanded its return. In a Supplier Spotlight interview, Terri Cooper, senior commercial manager at Old Jamaica, tells Wholesale Manager why the original recipe is returning and who is the target market.
In May, Vipin Patara took over from Mark Beckett as Managing Director of SOS Wholesale Limited. SOS Wholesale is one of the UK’s largest wholesalers of foods and beverages, employing 120 staff from its 75,000 sq. ft warehouse and distribution centre in Derby and sales office in Barnsley. Vipin Patara tells our Who’s Who in Wholesaling page the firm is constantly seeking to improve, looking at new products and markets to diversify and expand.
Enjoy reading the issue.
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