FWD column: Must remain diverse to stay strong

As temperatures rise so too does demand on wholesale, says FWD chair Tom Gittins as he urges collaboration for success

As we head into what looks set to be another strong summer for staycations, wholesalers will be working around the clock behind the scenes to keep the country fed and watered. It’s a huge summer of sport, with the FIFA World Cup 2026 taking us right up to the end of term for schools across the country (with the final match taking place on 19 July).

Festivals, day trips and short breaks remain a popular choice and we can’t forget about the estimated 10 million overseas tourists to the UK this summer too.

Whether it is supplying pubs in Cornwall, cafes in the Lake District, hotels on the coast or convenience stores serving busy tourist hotspots, wholesale plays a vital role in keeping the UK moving during the summer months. While the pace may slow for holidaymakers, for wholesale there is no slowing down. Most consumers will never see the complexity involved, and that is often the point. Good wholesale works quietly, efficiently and reliably in the background.

Rapid change

Across the UK, there are still more than 600 food and drink wholesale businesses, many of them independent family owned SMEs built over generations. These businesses are deeply embedded in their local communities and markets, with decades of expertise in servicing customers across retail, hospitality, healthcare, education and leisure. They are also incredibly resilient. But our sector is changing rapidly.

Like many industries, wholesale has seen increased consolidation in recent years. Rising operational costs, inflationary pressures, labour challenges and the need for scale have all accelerated merger and acquisition activity across the market since the pandemic.

That is not unique to wholesale. Businesses across many sectors are looking for efficiencies, growth and margin protection in a difficult economic climate. Suppliers too are increasingly looking to simplify their route to market, often preferring to work with a smaller number of larger wholesale partners.

There are understandable commercial reasons behind this. Simplicity can reduce cost and improve efficiency throughout the supply chain. However, as a sector we also need to ensure that efficiency does not come at the expense of diversity and resilience.

Strengths

One of the greatest strengths of UK wholesale is its breadth. The sector is made up of national operators, regional specialists and family run local operators who understand their customers and communities better than anyone.

I do not believe wholesale faces a crisis in the way some other sectors are. Demand for food and drink will always exist, and our industry has consistently shown its ability to adapt to changing customer needs and market conditions. But we should not take the strength of our sector for granted either.

A healthy wholesale market needs competition, innovation and choice. It needs businesses of different sizes and specialisms. It also needs suppliers, wholesalers and policymakers to recognise the value that independent and regional wholesalers bring to the wider food ecosystem.

This is where Food & Drink Wholesale UK plays such an important role. Through its policy engagement, events programme and ongoing work around food resilience, FWD continues to ensure the voice of wholesale is heard clearly by government and industry alike. The work of the Food Resilience Commission has highlighted just how critical wholesale is to national food security and local supply chains. Equally important are the conversations happening at events.

As wholesale evolves, collaboration across the supply chain will become even more important. As the summer season ramps up and wholesalers prepare for another busy period, we need to ensure the sector remains commercially strong while protecting the diversity, agility and entrepreneurial spirit that have always defined it.

Food Resilience Commission FWD sport summer Tom Gittins