Welcome to the March issue of Wholesale Manager. Senior representatives from The Wholesale Group recently visited Dublin to see deposit return scheme (DRS) reverse vending machines operating in a live retail environment, as the UK wholesale sector prepares for the scheme’s introduction. Managing Director Tom Gittins, Retail Controller Kirsty Winkel and Chairman Mark Aylwin travelled to Ireland in early February to observe how the system is functioning in practice and to assess the potential opportunities for independent retailers supplied by the Group’s members.
CLICK HERE to read the March digital edition
AF Blakemore has been ranked fifth among the UK’s 50 largest private companies for women in leadership in the newly published FTSE Women Leaders Report 2026 – making it the highest-ranked grocery and convenience retail business in the cohort ahead of International Women’s Day. The government-backed Review highlights strong progress across UK business, with women now holding 43% of FTSE 350 board roles and 37% of leadership roles within the private company cohort.
Waterside Food Services, an independent, family-run foodservice wholesaler in the Midlands, is proud to announce the successful relocation of its entire operations to a 32,000 square foot depot at Branston. This strategic move brings all previously separate facilities into one modern site, enhancing efficiency and capacity to better serve customers across foodservice sectors including hospitality, education, care homes, sports venues, and more. Chris Morgan, Managing Director, Waterside Food Services, tells our Focus on Foodservice page why the company is relocating and about some of the biggest challenges he has faced as a wholesaler.
Santa Maria’s new The World of BBQ range is an authentic, easy-to-use range of eight high quality vegan-friendly sauces, developed for use in professional kitchens. The range takes inspiration from iconic American BBQ regions, global grilling traditions and emerging flavour trends, covering some of the world’s most flavour-forward barbecue styles – from Kansas City and Memphis to South Carolina, Alabama, New Mexico, South Africa and Korea. Nick Minchin, Head of Regional Marketing UK&I and BeNe, Paulig Group, tells Wholesale Manager about the inspiration for the new range and the thinking behind the refreshed PP branding and positioning.
Food waste is often discussed as a consumer or sustainability issue, but for wholesalers and food and beverage (F&B) supply chains, it is an operational one. Stock that can’t be located, products that have to be written off, and supply not meeting demand all hit margins and a company’s reputation with its stakeholders and customers. On average, businesses are losing more than 12% of their fresh or perishable stock each year, with over half of supply chain managers saying that waste levels have increased in the past 12 months, writes John Burgess, Innovation Director, Balloon One.
Enjoy reading the issue.
George Simpson
Group Editor
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