Unitas managing director John Kinney has announced a £2m bonus fund to reward its members for engagement and compliance in group-wide promotions, materials and events.
Designed to add further value to suppliers’ investment, details of this initiative will be revealed in full at the buying group’s Connect25 trade show in March.
Meanwhile, speaking at the company’s Senior Supplier Briefing, Kinney revealed that Unitas delivered a 2% growth in retail, and an increase of 5.1% in on trade year on year.
Read more: Unitas reports operational loss
Data from TWC also showed that Unitas had outperformed the convenience market in Biscuits (+ 82%), Confectionery (9.1%) Crisps, Snacks and Nuts (+2.2%) and Soft Drinks (+6.8%). Vape and reduced risk were up 32.5% and RTDs up 9.2%.
However, this follows the company recently reporting its first-ever operating loss in its recent Companies House report for the year ending 31 March 2024.
The loss of £231,000 was attributed to inflationary pressures and a restructure within the group. Profit before tax also more than halved to £180,000. During the same period, revenue fell from £11.5m to £11.2m.