Bidvest Foodservice has relaunched its portfolio of own-brand products for food and drink operators, aiming to provide greater choice and make buying easier.
They have been grouped into four ranges under the headings of Essential Supplies, Everyday Favourites, Premium Selection, and Farmstead, reflecting current and upcoming trends.
Essential Supplies is the non-food brand, providing all the products needed to ensure that kitchens are kept clean and everything runs smoothly behind the scenes.
Everyday Favourites features over 600 products, offering operators everything they need on a day-to-day basis, whether it is elements for from-scratch cooking or ready-prepared products. It includes everyday ingredients such as plum tomatoes and baked beans, bakery items including sultana scones and maple pecan plaits, and main meals including vegetable lasagne and chilli con carne.
Premium Selection brings customers the finest-quality food and ingredients. All of the products are endorsed by the Craft Guild of Chefs, recognised for the quality, taste and ease of use, and these include premium bakery and desserts, British ready-made meals, and high-quality burgers and sausages.
Farmstead offers a broad range of fresh meats typically found in a butchers, focused on quality, consistency, trust and value to give foodservice operators reassurance they are buying from a trusted brand that does not compromise on standards.
Holly Marrero Easson, Bidvest Foodservice Own Brand manager, said: “With our research showing that 50% of all purchases contain Own Brand products, it is clear there is significant demand for Own Brand amongst our customers.
“We’ve relaunched the portfolio to make it easier for operators to shop with us. As part of this, we’ve also created a new non-food brand and a new premium brand, allowing customers to find what they are looking for more quickly and simply, as well as being able to offer a wider variety of products which match individual establishment needs.
“The Own Brand portfolio has been developed with the foodie nature of the sector in mind, offering modern and fresh products. For example, there are world food-inspired products as well as British products, providing customers on-trend and versatile menu options.
“New product development is an important element of our strategy for Own Brand to ensure we continually offer customers great-quality food that’s up to date.
“Our Category Teams are working hard to launch new products every month – for example, our Everyday Favourites Popcorn Shrimp which is perfect for buffets and sharing platters.
“By listening and responding to our customers and industry trends, we have developed four Own Brand ranges which offer quality you can trust at prices the sector will love.”
In addition to the above four brands, Bidvest Foodservice provides the Catering Supplies range and ViVAS – a wine offering in partnership with specialist wine merchant Bibendum.
The Catering Supplies range has over 1,300 products, including both light and heavy catering equipment, providing everything that operators should need to set up a kitchen, from staff uniforms and warewashers, to utensils, tableware, crockery, grills and refrigerating systems.
ViVAS was created to deliver a complete drinks solution for customers. The Bidvest Foodservice team of experts are on hand to help operators compile an exciting range of wines to match businesses’ individual demographics and can also run wine training and advice on merchandising.
All packaging across the Own Brand portfolio has also been refreshed with a modern, customer-friendly design. This includes large illustrations to show what is inside the case and clear product information as well as useful logos such as five-a-day, sustainable fishing certification MSC, free-range and a chilled rating.
