Q Catering has started work on the development of its warehouse expansion which will result in an extra 11,600 sq. ft of storage facilities across the site.
It forms part of an investment plan that aims to deal with the increase in demand of frozen goods, as well as helping in the strategy to expand across the South East and London. The Sittingbourne-based company will have 22,600 sq. ft of warehouse facilities when completed – a increase from its initial 5,000 sq. ft back when the company started in 2003
The company’s new warehouse facilities stand just across the road from the original space and will store ambient and chilled food products only. The new unit will allow 545 pallets of high-quality ambient and chilled food products to be safely stored on site. The original facility will be converted into a 11,000 sq. ft freezer to store up to 520 pallets of frozen goods at one time.
Read more: Q Catering reveals £20m turnover target
Steve Clarke, managing director at Q Catering, said: “It’s been an exciting week at Q Catering. We’ve been planning this extension for almost a year now, so it’s great to finally see it come to life.
“The new warehouse will help us achieve two goals. Firstly, it will offer over double the amount of storage we’ve previously had across the site, meaning more products for our customers. Secondly, we’ve transformed our original unit, which has been good to us for over 12 years, into an 11,000 sq. ft state-of-the-art freezer to increase our cold store offering and keep up with the increasing demand for frozen foods and trends in the category.
“It’s recently been announced that the frozen foods category is about to have a moment, with reports showing that ‘frozen food sales rose 21% in 2020, double the rise of fresh food sales[i]’, a desire originally driven by the pandemic but continues today. Caterers are looking for both high-quality foods and convenience in the kitchen, so we are expanding our frozen offering to help them stay one step ahead.
“Adding this extra facility will not only allow us to stock even more products to meet demand but will also take us forward in our continued investment plan and goal of hitting £20 million turnover by 2030. We’re also currently investing in new vehicles on site which will offer more capacity, meaning bigger and more efficient deliveries, which will also play a part in our wider growth plan.” Clarke concludes.
Earlier this year, Q Catering announced the appointment of Steve Clarke, who joined in September 2021 after buying a substantial shareholding in the Fairway Foodservice member’s business. Steve is ambitiously growing the business to take it to the next level and offers support and advice to hospitality and foodservice businesses across the South East and London.
