Dundeis – up and running
Following something of a fanfare at NOPEX last April, the newest wholesaler on the block takes a bow in the natural and organic grocery sector this Autumn.
Following ructions in the wholesale distribution sector in the last year or so, the gap opened up and Dundeis was born, backed by Irish investment group Cottagequinn Enterprises.
Headed by MD Mike Kilcourse, who departed Tree of Life owner Health Made Easy before its collapse, Dundeis has recruited a team across sales, finance, IT, buying, marketing and customer service.
Offices are in Stoke on Trent with a third-party logistics partner, Core Fulfilment, in Crewe, together with the acquisition of wholefoods pre-pack business, Mintons Good Food, with 50 years of experience in the industry. This gives Dundeis its own range of prepack products as well as the capacity to work on specific own-label projects.
The range is mostly natural, organic and health-focused food and beverage brands as well as a range of household products and vitamins, minerals and supplements. They'll also offer exclusive brands from Europe and the U.S.
"The feedback and engagement we have had from suppliers and customers about us entering the market has been overwhelmingly positive and we've been viewed as a welcome addition," said Marketing Director Neil Hubbard. "We're backed by a hugely successful investment business and we have established a team of individuals whose experience over the past 15-20 years has primarily been within health food wholesaling."
A first catalogue listing nearly 4,000 products, a range of launch promotions and a focus on the exclusive brands is landing with the trade at the end of September.
Meanwhile, independents get a special focus through Business Development Manager Elis Kapsalos who has extensive trading relations with indies across London, together with a B2B website to provide engagement with independent retailers.
"As we indicated at the Natural Organic Products Europe show in April, the natural grocery market has had to navigate multiple challenges over the last few years. Brexit made the movement of goods substantially more difficult and expensive. We also had Covid leading to substantial channel volatility. On top of this, the war in Europe and the related cost of living crisis contributed to further significant inflation, making Organic grocery particularly more expensive for customers, slowing market growth. However, it's easy to focus on the negatives. The market has successfully navigated challenges like this before. Consumer demand for environmentally relevant, ethically sustainable and simply great products will persist and grow, especially in this age of multiple social and economic challenges around climate, the environment, health and diet concerns and challenges in the food chain. So, I'm very confident that we can support and develop trade with great products."
Mike Kilcourse, Dundeis MD
Contact
T: 01782 366187
E: [email protected]
W: dundeis.co.uk
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