A SCOTS wholesaler is celebrating a year of collaboration with Scotland Food & Drink, as its sales of Scottish produce increases by 28%.
Bidfood Scotland say this is in part due to their Bidfood Direct platform which launched its dedicated Scottish shop a year ago, aimed at Scottish suppliers, chefs and caterers.
The wholesaler says, that over the past year, 334 new customers have bought into its Scottish range and an additional 30,000 cases of Scottish products having made their way into kitchens across the UK.
With the support of Scotland Food & Drink, the dedicated Scottish page on the Bidfood Scotland Direct platform has been credited with a 17% rise in online sales of Scottish products, 56.4% of total sales.
Over the past twelve months, Scotland Food & Drink has attempted to deliver initiatives to promote its Bidfood Scotland collaboration.
This has included supporting a digital campaign aimed at chefs and working to enhance the visibility of Scottish suppliers on Bidfood Scotland’s e-commerce platform.
In-person events like ‘Meet the Buyer’, held in November 2023, offered pre-selected producers the opportunity to pitch their products and secure a Scotland-wide listing on the wholesaler’s website.
This comes as the sector is enjoying the industry’s first-ever Scottish Food & Drink September.
Scottish Food & Drink September is a month-long celebration of one of the country’s hospitality sector.
The pair hope this represents a shift in how Scottish products are perceived and purchased in the foodservice industry.
It has attempted to develop a ‘Naturally Scottish’ brand that hopes to embody the quality, passion and authenticity of Scotland’s food and drink.
As the partnership looks to the future, the pair say there is an ambition to continue growing the Scottish range, further embracing the ‘Naturally Scottish’ brand.
Katie Sillars, head of commercial growth initiatives UK at Bidfood, said: “The ‘Meet the Buyer’ event last November was a game-changer, enabling us to introduce 39 new products that have exceeded our expectations.
“Since their launch in March 2024, these products have achieved 872% growth, reaching nearly 1,000 new customers.
“Even more impressive is that 79% of these sales have been driven by Bidfood Scotland Direct, marking a powerful shift in how we promote and present our local ranges to customers.”
Callum Bond, sales & business development manager at Sephra, says he has directly benefitted from the partnership.
Callum said: “The opportunity provided by Scotland Food & Drink to present Bidfood Scotland with our range of products has proven a great success and achieved fantastic results.
“Working closely with the Bidfood Scotland team, we identified gaps in their offering that we were able to satisfy and our range has subsequently been introduced to their extensive customer base.
“Demand has grown month-on-month since launch, proving the value of this collaboration.”
Stephanie Pritchard, head of UK market development at Scotland Food & Drink, said: “The results of the Bidfood Scotland partnership are remarkable, but not surprising.
“We know that there is a multi-billion-pound opportunity for Scottish food and drink producers to grow within the UK and abroad.
“Scottish products enjoy a strong reputation, and we need to leverage that to grow our sector.
“Through this partnership with Bidfood Scotland, and through the wider programme of market-building under our national strategy, we can achieve sustainable growth for the whole industry.”
