Bidfood Scotland, one of the UK’s leading foodservice providers, is celebrating a successful year of collaboration with Scotland Food & Drink, as it increased sales of Scottish products by 28%.
This success, in part, has been driven by a strong focus on enhancing accessibility for Scottish suppliers, chefs, and caterers through the Bidfood Scotland Direct platform which launched its dedicated Scottish shop a year ago.
Over the past twelve months, 334 new customers have bought into Bidfood Scotland’s Scottish range, and an additional 30,000 cases of Scottish products have 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 driven a 17% surge in online sales of Scottish products, now making up 56.4% of total sales.
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This positive uptick underscores the power of increased digital visibility and local pride, with the results coinciding with the industry’s first-ever Scottish Food & Drink September.
Over the past twelve months, Scotland Food & Drink have delivered several impactful initiatives to promote the Bidfood Scotland collaboration, including supporting a digital campaign aimed at chefs —key buyers and influencers of Scottish food trends— while working to enhance the visibility of Scottish suppliers on Bidfood Scotland’s e-commerce platform.
Further in-person events like ‘Meet the Buyer’, held in November 2023, offered pre-selected producers the opportunity to pitch their products and secure a coveted Scotland-wide listing on the Bidfood Scotland website.
The impact of Bidfood Scotland’s collaboration with Scotland Food & Drink goes beyond mere numbers. It represents the ongoing shift in how Scottish products are perceived and purchased in the foodservice industry.
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, has directly benefitted from the partnership.
He 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.”
Scottish Food & Drink September is a month-long celebration of one of the country’s most exciting, innovative and economically important sectors.
It is an articulation of the new ‘Naturally Scottish’ brand—a bold new identity that embodies the quality, passion, and authenticity of Scotland’s food and drink.
Developed by the industry, for the industry, ‘Naturally Scottish’ aims to elevate Scotland’s rich larder on both national and international stages.
As the partnership looks to the future, there is a clear ambition to continue growing the Scottish range, further embracing the ‘Naturally Scottish’ brand through September and beyond while continuing to deliver even greater opportunities for Scottish producers.
