Unitas foodservice Meet the Member event sees record attendance

More than 1,000 one-to-one meetings took place between foodservice suppliers and Unitas Wholesale members at the buying group’s recent Meet the Member event.

For the first time at the annual event, the 50 suppliers displaying their ranges were able to offer hot food sampling to the 40 foodservice wholesalers throughout the two days at Whittlebury Park in Northamptonshire.

“Our Meet the Member events provide suppliers with an invaluable opportunity to meet individually with a number of our wholesale members, which makes them incredibly effective and time efficient,” said Cheryl Hope, trading director, Unitas Wholesale.

“This year’s foodservice meeting has been a huge success with record levels of attendance and a brilliant atmosphere, plus some amazing new products shared and sampled.”

Suppliers agreed that the event was beneficial. Kellanova’s sales business manager Adam Street said: “We don’t always get the opportunity to get all around the country to see the Unitas Wholesale members face to face, so it’s great to have so many of them in one place.”

Vikki Nicholls of Europastry was one of 19 suppliers attending their first Meet the Member session. “We’ve only been trading with Unitas for three months, so this has been perfect for explaining who we are, what type of business we do, and understanding from the members where we can fit in with their businesses,” she said.

Kate Robinson of Unilever Food Solutions added: “Unitas members are always really forthcoming with information and talking about what we’re doing right, what we’re doing wrong, and how we can work together to ensure growth.”

During the event, Premier Foods’ chefs worked with the Whittlebury Park kitchen team to produce a menu featuring flavours from the Cape Herb & Spice range, which will be launched in the UK in September. Customer business manager Mike Ager said: “It’s been a great opportunity to showcase the range, let members know about the activation plan, and how we can dovetail our plans with theirs. It’s great being able to actually let them try it as well. We’ve been doing chip seasoning in the meeting rooms throughout the last couple of days, but dinner last night was an opportunity to let the food do the talking.”