Brakes gains £200m thanks to indie support and sustainability tech

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National Wholesaler OTY

Winner: Brakes (Sysco GB)

Sysco GB-owned Brakes has continued to build on its post-Covid recovery.

Having increased sales by £1bn in the first full year after the pandemic, the foodservice giant added a further £200m in its latest financial year.

That’s come down to a compelling offer. Brakes has sucessfully combined its position within one of the world’s largest foodservice operators with an understanding of the needs of its independent customers in the UK.

Judges particularly hailed the performance of the Sysco Essentials own brand, which has garnered “more awards than its competitors combined”. It also received plaudits for “hyper-local premium delivery service” Sysco Your Way.

On a wider level, Brakes has held pricing on key lines and offered cashback to customers via its MyBrakes rewards programme – helping to attract hundreds of new customers in the past year.

Our judges also loved Brakes’ continued investment in technology, which it successfully combined with “leadership on sustainability”.

That combination was particularly evident in the wholesaler’s FoodPrint tool, which allows customers to easily track, manage and publish the water and carbon impact of their venues. The initiative was widely praised and hailed as the kind of “data sharing that should be standard practice” across all wholesalers in the foodservice sector.