The Country Range Group, which is made up of 12 independent wholesalers in the foodservice sector, has said its latest Virtual Business Development event in March proved a major success during these difficult times.
The event allows suppliers to communicate ‘face-to-face’ with key decision-makers from each member wholesaler of the group. The meeting content varied from suppliers showcasing their latest product innovations and additional support activities through presentations, live demonstrations and sampling through to tailored meetings specifically focusing upon product performance and future business plans.
A total of 110 delegates and 31 suppliers including Lakeland Dairies, Premier Foods and Unilever Food Solutions took part in the four-day sessions, which are run in a speed networking format lasting thirty minutes and allow suppliers to send samples in advance to make the sessions as interactive as possible.
A variety of product innovations were featured across the sessions including new Marvel products from Premier Foods, plant-based products from Naked Glory and many more.
Country Range Group Commercial Director Martin Ward said: “It’s imperative that suppliers are still able to communicate clearly and efficiently with our member wholesalers during these tough times about their latest product innovations, industry support initiatives and business plan updates, and our Virtual BDD events allow exactly that. The feedback from both suppliers and members thus far has been fantastic and we’re looking forward to rolling out more events throughout the year.”
Jason Coyle, Director of Invisible Chef Snacks, added: “The Country Range Group Virtual Business Development Days were both simple and efficient in terms of participation and also very successful from a supplier perspective, with guaranteed 30-minute meetings with key decision-makers from each of the Group’s member wholesalers. As a result, we have genuine interest from 10 new perspective wholesale partners and actually agreed new listings during the event itself.”
Further Virtual Business Development Days are to be run by the Country Range Group later in the year.
