SPAR North of England suppliers collaborate on fresh ideas

More than 20 fresh food suppliers for SPAR North of England stores came together for a day of inspiring ideas, company updates, and networking opportunities.

Held at James Hall & Co. Ltd’s SPAR Distribution Centre at Bowland View in Preston, the comprehensive session included a chance to share new ideas supported by insight into sector trends, innovation with deals and varieties on fresh lines in SPAR stores, and merchandising concepts that are being trialled in-store.

Suppliers also heard more on the seasonal ranges that are being implemented in SPAR stores across the North of England and the positive impact it is having on sales performance, coupled with the great effect linking inspirational recipes to fresh produce is delivering at the till.

As well as a warehouse tour, other updates included store development examples from across James Hall & Co. Ltd’s G&E Murgatroyd company-owned SPAR store estate and SPAR independent retailers.

Wilf Whittle, fresh trading manager at James Hall & Co. Ltd, said: “I have been wanting to host a day for our valued fresh food suppliers ever since the pandemic. It is a way of thanking them for their support through exceptionally challenging times and to provide them with a vision of what we are trying to achieve as a business so that we are better aligned.

“We had a brilliant mix of suppliers who have supplied James Hall & Co. Ltd for varying lengths of time from several decades, through to a few years, down to brand new growers whose produce was going into SPAR North of England stores in the same week.

“What everyone around the room shared was the common theme of being a family-owned business with similar values and ethos to ours. It is clear from feedback that suppliers got a lot out of the day, and we will look to replicate this annually going forward.”

Steven Kay, commercial director of Huntapac Produce Ltd at Tarleton, Lancashire, said: “We supply James Hall & Co. Ltd with carrots, parsnips, and swede and the relationship is one of our longest standing at 35 years. Wilf is a pleasure to deal with and the strength with Halls is that is a like-minded business.

“It has been an excellent day. We want our customer numbers to grow, and the updates on future store openings, the backing produce within stores, and information on fast-growing areas are all music to our ears.”

Chris Johnson, packing manager at Red Rose Salads Ltd in Hesketh Bank, Lancashire, said: “We are just launching cooked and packed SPAR labelled beetroot into stores, so it is a brand-new relationship with James Hall & Co. Ltd.

“We first began speaking with the business around 12 months ago. The journey to this point has been smooth and it is great to be on board. It’s been a hugely positive day, and we look forward to developing the partnership.”

Holly Ball, commercial director at Flavourfresh Salads Ltd in Hundred End, Lancashire, said: “I am relatively new to my role but as a business we have been suppliers of tomatoes, salads and chillis to SPAR North of England for a few years.

“It was wonderful to meet the fresh team and I take home a lot of learnings. I don’t think I had properly appreciated the breadth of quality in terms of fresh produce going into James Hall & Co. Ltd, and as a SPAR customer myself, that was fantastic to learn. It’s an amazing site with impressive scale, and it has been a great opportunity to see the bigger picture.”

Philip Dodd, managing director of Herbs Unlimited in Sandhutton, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, said: “It was lovely to be invited to attend the day alongside fellow growers following our launch of fresh herbs into SPAR North of England stores in January of this year. That move was our first steps into retail as a business, and I am very happy with the direction of travel.

“We are not as local to the distribution centre as some suppliers, but it is clear what the fresh team is trying to achieve with provenance, and with the openness to trying something new. Customers want high quality and a point of difference, and it is good to be part of a supplier group that is delivering that.”

James Hall & Co. Ltd is a fifth-generation family business which serves a network of independent SPAR retailers and company-owned SPAR stores across Northern England six days a week from its base at Bowland View in Preston.