Phil Atyeo is the managing director of the Caterfood Buying Group
PH What has been your most significant achievement over the past 12 months?
PA: We are proud to be one of fastest-growing and most successful buying groups in the UK. In the past 12 months, our biggest achievement has been the onboarding of two large and successful new members that we have seen realise their full potential since joining.
The past year has also seen the launch of INFUSE, our new quarterly foodservice magazine to inspire and support our customer base. INFUSE has been created specifically for the professional chef and commercial caterer, focusing on the power of community and food innovation, bringing together seasonal inspiration, and offering expertise that goes beyond conventional culinary content.
We have also continued to develop and enhance our own-brand range, Caterfood Collection, which provides a selection of products from cleaning chemicals and everyday essentials to our unique and innovative premium-range products.
What is your unique selling point?
Supporting and developing seven different and unique business strategies all to deliver the same vision, to bring our members and their communities together through exceptional food. We understand that every business is very diverse and has a unique selling point to its customers, and that is something we embrace and encourage. The Caterfood Buying Group is about our members retaining their independent values and identity while having the support of being part of a wider group.
Read more: Workman joins Caterfood from Creed as commercial director
How have you expanded and attracted new members over the past 12 months?
Alongside our organic customer growth, we have been able to acquire some fantastic brands in the foodservice market by offering a truly independent approach that has the utmost respect for their family credentials and sustainable propositions. Above anything else, we want our members to trust us, and trust that being part of the The Caterfood Buying Group will only ever have a positive impact on their businesses. Being part of our group is about uniting our members to work together towards the same goal, to make each business and our buying group a great success.
What are your plans to help members over the next 12 months?
We will continue to support their cost base through product cost as the group continues to grow by ensuring our members are getting quality products at competitive prices. We will also be supporting with overheads and help to deliver aggressive sales growth where required through innovation and promotion in line with their sales proposition, to leverage our scale.
What are the biggest challenges for your members over the next 12 months?
In the current difficult trading environment and with inflation still having impacts on our members and their customers, our focus will be on the cost of product, cost of delivery and offering something unique.
