Fast-growing food firm Harlech lands first major schools contract in South Wales

A food distribution company that’s aiming to create 150 new jobs as part of a £6 million expansion has clinched its first council education authority contract in South Wales.

Harlech Foodservice, which has its headquarters near Criccieth, in Gwynedd, and also has bases in Merthyr Tydfil, Carmarthen and Chester, has landed a £700,000, 12-month agreement to supply grocery products to schools and care homes in Rhondda Cynon Taf.

They hope this is the first of many new deals with South Wales authorities and in North Wales they have also retained a major £1.5 million contract to supply schools and care homes in Gwynedd.

Harlech has also taken over rivals Celtic Foodservices in Pembroke Dock in Pembrokeshire as part of its ongoing expansion in South Wales.

Gavin Davies, South Wales Account Manager, from Gelli, near Treorchy, went to school in Rhondda Cynon Taf, at Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhondda, and joined Harlech from wholesale giants Bidfood last year.

He said: “I’m delighted that our first schools contract is right on my doorstep as we’ll be supplying my old school as well as all the schools across Rhonda Cynon Taf along with care homes and theatres.

“We’re now the primary supplier for drinks, school-compliant confectionery and snacks and a secondary supplier for other products and we’ve won the contract through being accepted onto the Welsh Procurement Services Framework which has been very important for us.

“We supply Welsh products whenever possible and major drinks suppliers include Radnor Springs while our range also include other snacking products, including cake bars and biscuits which are all school-compliant with reduced sugar.

“There is a genuine customer need for another Welsh wholesaler in South Wales and there are other public sector bodies wanting to talk to us.

“Having depots in Merthyr and Carmarthen definitely helps us . They’ve been a game changer for us.

“It’s a massive opportunity for us and it’s been a very good career move for me.”

The opening of the new Carmarthen depot this spring was spurred by Harlech’s growth over the past three years which has seen sales increase from £32 million to a record turnover of around £50 million, with profit at an all-time high of more than £2 million.

One of the major reasons for the growth was a change of strategy which has seen Harlech win a raft of public sector contracts in health and education, in addition to its core customer base in tourism and hospitality.

Over the next three to five years the £6 million expansion plan will enable the company to create 100 jobs at its headquarters site and 50 jobs elsewhere.

The firm’s Sales Director, Mark Lawton, said: “This new contract in Rhondda Cynon Taf will enable us to demonstrate the range of products we can supply and the excellent service we provide.

“We now have a real presence right across Wales and I know the Welsh public sector has a desire to using Welsh suppliers whenever commercially possible.”

Between its four sites Harlech employs 250 staff and runs a fleet of over 50 vehicles to deliver up to 5,000 product lines to cafés, restaurants, pubs and public sector customers across the whole of Wales, Shropshire, the Midlands and the North West.

For more on Harlech Foodservice go to https://www.harlech.co.uk/