Delivery service targets regional food producers

Heart of England fine foods (HEFF) has launched a delivery service in partnership with Heart Distribution to deliver food and drink from regional producers to retailers and restaurants. 
Some 64 food and drink producers across the Midlands have signed up to the scheme and a waiting list for phase two is growing. More than 1,000 product lines are being distributed, from bakery to beverages, dairy to meat, game and fish across three temperature regimes.
Ninety SPAR stores across the region are using the service which has allowed them to launch their ‘Local Heroes’ range, and HEFF plans to roll out deliveries to other independent retailers, farm shops, deli’s and restaurants.
The initiative saw more than £50,000 of sales in the first five days of the operation.
The service offers a one-stop shop for retailers and foodservice companies, satisfying a growing demand to source regional food and drink and offering the clear financial savings for producers who no longer have to deliver small quantities to multiple customers across a large geographical area.
Products are delivered by Heart Distribution in multi-temperature, HEFF branded vehicles keeping them ambient, chilled or frozen. The service uses a 60,000 sq ft multi-temperature facility at Darlaston in the West Midlands.
HEFF chief executive Karen Davies said: “This is an innovative partnership operation between HEFF, our producers and Heart Distribution. “It is not a wholesale operation, more a fast and efficient distribution channel solely for our producers. They retain control over where their products are sold and at what price. “Heart Distribution is the logistical arm of the HEFF Trade Development programme providing the solution to delivering products to the new markets we access and any existing customers.”