Blog

This week, Paul looks at how you to be a leader without making it all about you.

This week, Paul calls on independents to put love at the heart of their business.

This week, Paul looks at why we should be considering Empathy.

Christmas 2020 is going be the strangest festive period for a long time, not since the 2^nd World War has this country seen such upheaval to normal life. Whilst we are can’t be certain what will happen over the next 8 weeks, the chances are that we won’t be visiting family and friends for the big day or rushing all over the country in the weird limbo between Christmas and New Year.

Celebrations will be a lot smaller, we may just be celebrating in our own households, or if the “rule of 6” comes back in to play there may be an extra grandparent, aunt or neighbour to cater for, but there won’t be a need to get the extendable table out, with diners sat on an eclectic collection of seats.

But if we are cooking for one or a bigger household, everyone will still gather around for an epic dinner followed by The Queen's Speech and a snooze on the sofa. Which means the country will still need the essentials (and treats) to make the best of it. Whether your customers are after the convenience of Pre-Prepared Sprouts ready for a wiz in the microwave, or Smoked Salmon to make some classic cocktail blinis, we have got it all covered with our new Chilled Christmas catalogue.

For many people, it’s all about the build-up and getting in the festive spirt so make sure you’ve got options like the White Rabbit Pizza Festive Feast Pizza and Mud Christmas in a Pie for those December meal solutions in front of the TV.

With many “non-essential” shops closing across the nations, foodie gifts will be on the rise this year, so the Cheese and Chutney Gift Packs from Snowdonia Cheese are great and will survive being left on the doorstep in lieu of visits.

You can order online for many of the products or speak to your account manager for pre-orders.

So here we are again. Does anyone else have a strong sense of déjà vu? Most of us were expecting this and many of us think lockdown should have been introduced weeks ago when the scientists were advising it. Some big differences to last time though.  

1. Those that organised their retailer operations to include home deliveries and click and collect should be able to over the next three days slip back quickly into this mode of working and expand their retail space into their café and restaurant areas.
2. It’s Christmas, the busiest time of year and many retailers have their Christmas stock on the shelves. With many other retailers forced to shut I expect food retailers to be busier than ever with people buying food gifts for their friends and relatives. Important to ensure that our social distancing policies are enforced so shoppers feel safe.
3. This time garden centres can stay open, which is excellent news for the speciality food sector. These represent an important part of the whole, especially at Christmas.
4. The weather will be very different to Lockdown 1.0 – then people didn’t mind queuing outside. This time they will with temperatures on Thursday dropping down to less than 5 degrees. This could play into the hands of independents.
5. Construction can continue. More new shops are opening than I can remember and the building can keep calm and carry on.

 Finally, make sure you look after yourself. Don’t let the stress get to you. Keep exercising, take time out with your family and most important of all, keep smiling!  

This week, Paul discusses the merits of mixing business and politics.

As the pandemic rolls on, certainly until next Spring if not beyond, I see one very positive trend for speciality food retailers and one not so positive.

In the UK alone, over 10 million tonnes of food is thrown away each year. That’s the equivalent weight of 190 Titanics. 

This is impacting the planet.

Food waste is responsible for a staggering 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and climate experts have said that reducing food waste is one of the most impactful actions we can all take to address global warming.

Too Good To Go has a simple mission: to make sure all food gets eaten and not wasted.

Ending food waste is going to require systematic change. Too Good To Go is an important part of the solution. 

The Too Good To Go app lets retailers, producers and hospitality businesses who have surplus food connect with local consumers who buy, collect and enjoy it. Not only does this reduce the levels of food waste felt by businesses, but it also helps them to recover sunk costs in a truly flexible way.

Consumers simply download the free Too Good To Go app and search for nearby businesses with unsold food. They then purchase a ‘Magic Bag’ of surplus food, collect it at an allotted time and enjoy it.

To date, over 4,000 UK businesses have partnered with Too Good To Go and, along with our community of Waste Warrior consumers, we have saved over 2 million meals from being thrown away. But there is so much more food to be rescued.

This is why Too Good To Go’s collaboration with Cotswold Fayre is so important. As a fellow BCorp, Cotwsold Fayre understands the importance of marrying environmental action with the way businesses operate. Plus, as one of the country’s most renowned wholesalers, Cotswold Fayre is in a unique position to shout about the food waste movement and let food businesses know about the opportunity to save food through the platform.

By working together to educate everyone on just why food waste should be tackled and provide a ready-made solution, we will be able to make a much bigger impact and help retailers to become more sustainable.

Click here to find out more and start fighting food waste today.

Pancho Lewis, Too Good to Go

We are delighted to announce the appointment of three new starters to its team, as the company continues to grow and lead the way in sustainable wholesaling. 

Taking on the new role of Sales Director, Lawrence Moore, an established FMCG professional, brings experience of working with brands including Britvic, Red Bull and Belvoir to the purpose driven business. He said: “Cotswold Fayre’s values have a strong alignment with my own passion for CSR. The company has a strong moral compass and is a business with heart. I’m joining at a time of high growth, which makes it a really exciting career move.

“Having worked with the team as a supplier at Belvoir, I can see the business from both sides, and it’s a real beacon for purposeful business within the SME sector, while making a tangible difference too. To be part of the B Corp movement, that’s so much bigger, is hugely exciting – and we certainly have some bold plans up our sleeves!” 

Moore’s appointment will allow CEO Paul Hargreaves to spend more time on expanding the business elsewhere. With the company’s foodhall and kitchen build underway, he is also writing a second book, following the success of Forces for Good, and taking on more industry speaker opportunities.

Also joining the team is Faye Foot, in a newly created Ecommerce Manager role as the as the company handles an increase of online orders and prepares for future growth. Having previously worked across multiple disciplines and sectors, her new strategic role aims to build on the success of the company’s ecommerce site while looking at options to enhance its offering. She said: “I have a real passion for food, as well as being really interested in the website user experience, SEO, data and analytics. This role allows me to do everything I love – and will include making data driven decisions by monitoring the customer journey online to improve the overall user experience! From website audits, to using technology to drive towards a bigger goal, Cotswold Fayre is such an exciting company to join, and it’s great to feel so empowered to make a real difference!”. 

Finally, Laura Strapp, joins the ever-growing team as Ambient Buyer. With a career spanning buying for Safeway, Budgens and online garden retailer, Primrose, Laura’s experience includes owning her own portfolios predominantly buying for chilled, bakery and ambient. She said: “It’s a really interesting time to be a buyer and I just love the fast pace of it all. This role means that I’m always learning, developing relationships and meeting supplier needs. I’ve always really enjoyed sourcing new suppliers, and as part of a small team with big ambitions at Cotswold Fayre we can move really quickly and cut out a lot of red tape.  I’ll be looking for gaps in our current portfolio and looking to expand our range. For example, home baking has proven extremely popular since lockdown, and there’s a real opportunity to supply more great brands, who are already in

This week, Paul looks at the importance of taking time out.