Bidfood Scotland, one of the leading
foodservice providers, is taking significant steps to increase its healthy living credentials, particularly in the out of home market. The foodservice provider has announced plans to place an increased emphasis on healthy, out of home convenience food and drink options. Bidfood Scotland is giving suppliers the opportunity to help them achieve their healthy living accreditation and attain a listing with Bidfood Scotland, in return for access to its 5,000 customers around the country. As one of Scotland’s leading suppliers of
wholesale foods, Bidfood Scotland is committed to promoting healthier food and drink choices. With this in mind, the company held a Scotland Food and Drink ‘Meet the Buyer’ session last week, which opened up 10 places for health-focused suppliers at its upcoming Bidfood Scotland Festival on 4th April in Edinburgh. Attendees (including hotel groups, pub chains and business owners) will vote on their favourite supplier based on their product range and service offering. The top three will be awarded a listing with Bidfood Scotland. Bidfood Scotland’s Supplier Development Manager, Katie Sillars, said: “Scots have become increasingly aware of the importance of seeking healthy food and drink options, and the out of home market is where we see a lot of opportunity to provide healthier choices for people. Food education and personal responsibility also have a part to play in the way the public make choices, but as a foodservice supplier we wanted to take a proactive approach to ensure we have a wider range of products lower in salt, fat and sugar for our customers.” Bidfood Scotland’s ‘Grabbing Goodness on the Go’ campaign launches at the same time as the
Scottish Government’s consultation on improving the out of home food environment. Katie continued: “We have been steadily building our out of home product range that meets the healthy living award criteria in Scotland, and we’ve created this opportunity to see what other great products are out there.” Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for Scottish businesses to showcase their healthy, quality products and potentially win a valuable listing with a leading foodservice provider. We know that customers are increasingly looking for Scottish food and drink, so it’s great to see Bidfood Scotland continuing to support local suppliers and helping with our ambitions to double the value of the food and drink sector by 2030.” The suppliers shortlisted at the Scotland Food and Drink ‘Meet the Buyer’ event will showcase their products at the festival were chosen based on several criteria:
- A selection of healthy “grab and go” items that are good quality and innovative
- SALSA accredited, or equivalent
- Compliant with foodservice supply chain requirements
- Products that hold a healthy living accreditation
- Suppliers that have the capacity to provide volume and scale to grow
Speaking about the initiative James Withers, Chief Executive Officer at Scotland Food and Drink said: “We know consumers are increasingly conscious of their health and wellness, with Scottish food and drink suppliers embracing innovation to meet this growing demand. At Scotland Food & Drink, we are keen to work ever closer with Bidfood, to support them as they build on an already strong Scottish supplier base and product range. “Our focus is on growing Scotland’s food and drink sector by opening up market opportunities. To do that, we need to develop ever deeper partnerships across the foodservice sector. So, this latest work with Bidfood is hugely valuable and their commitment to Scotland, twinned with our ambition, is an exciting mix.” The 2019 Bidfood Scotland Festival will take place on 4th April at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange. More information can be found at
https://www.bidfood.co.uk/foodfestival2019/