Harlech Foodservice hits £1.5m in sales at Expo 25

Harlech Foodservice recently staged its biggest ever trade fair, with 137 stands and a record £1.5 million in sales.

The wholesaler’s two-day Expo 25 was held at Venue Cymru in Llandudno, with over 2,000 trade customers in attendance.

In addition to a presence from food giants, there were nationally known Welsh brands and a big presence from food producers from South and West Wales.

Taking charge of the event for the second time was Harlech head of purchasing Josie Swift who has also seen a positive reaction to the company’s latest venture, the launch of its My Harlech app which provides easy tracking and a rebate of up to 10% for customers.

Harlech also unveiled its latest version of its ‘Trust Our Prices’ campaign, with more than 400 prices locked down for three months until 7 June.

Also returning is the company’s Mega Deals initiative with ‘massive discounts’ on popular brands and own-brand products along with the introduction of the Harlech Top 50 price comparison scheme, with the prices of 50 of the most popular lines being benchmarked against Booker.

Swift said: “The feedback we’re getting is that people are so excited about the My Harlech app. We believe we are one of the first UK food distribution businesses to go down this route which is already common among the big retailers.”

She continued: “Our success as a company is reflected here at this event where we are seeing bigger suppliers alongside smaller artisan producers, many of whom have been with us for years but with a significant increase in new partners, particularly from South and West Wales.

“To recognise this we had even more offers than ever before for our customers at this year’s event and we’re projecting to increase the value of the deals we do by more than 50% to more than £1.5 million.

“The sales teams have had a great reaction from customers who have really loved the event and enjoyed meeting the people who produce the food and drink we deliver to them.”

The annual Expo is a key event for Harlech, which last year announced a three-year £6 million expansion plan. In the last 12 months, it has opened new depots in Carmarthen and Telford ito add to those at Cricieth, Chester and Merthyr Tydfil.

The wholesaler has also created 75 new jobs of a planned 150 increase in staffing, taking the workforce to 250, and now runs a fleet of 65 vehicles delivering up to 5,000 product lines to cafés, restaurants, pubs and public sector customers.