The world is your sweet box Ryne Quality Confectionery Lancaster Way Business Park Ely, Cambridgeshire CB6 3NP Tel: 01353 660580 Fax: 01353 660581 E-mail: psheehan@unimerchants.co.uk KEY PERSONNEL General manager Peter Sheehan Director of sales Graham Collins National sales manager Garry Weeks Trade sector manager Sue Davitt National account manager Kevin Moore Sales support manager Jan Bussey KEY BRANDS Duc d'0, Droste, Newberry Fruits, Hosta (Mr Tom) The growth in global brands and global retailers will pradoxically lead to a desperate search for a point of difference in the retailers' offering, either as branded trials or own brand, says confectionery broker Peter Sheehan. "There will never be one product offering from Alaska to Africa," he says. "Individual countries and consumers will continue to demand choice and brokers will be the conduit for the location of different products­ I look forward to the day when the confectionery fixture reflects the consumer demand for choice already found in wine and patisserie." Ryne Quality Confectionery offers distribution and sales through the high street, major national and regional multiples, multiple CTNs, wholesale and C&C, travel/leisure outlets, as well as motorway service stations and selected forecourts. Through its sister companies it can give additional specialisation with Trustin Unimerchants, offering access to the top four grocers as branded or own brand, while FoodFinders allows the company to place products in department stores, garden centres, mail order, hamper, delicatessen and fine food outlets. Sheehan believes major multiples will in future use an increasingly smaller group of suppliers who add value in terms of product and packaging development and have detailed knowledge of factory capabilities. Convenience chains and C&Cs, meanwhile, will request mainstream product with no risk. "When the product offer is more niche, there is increasing need to maintain the call rate," says Sheehan. "While some chains will continue centralisation, those brokerages aspiring to offer total coverage will have to keep calling on the distributive networks." Brand partnership is crucial to Ryne, which has seen a three fold increase in turnover in the past five years. "The growth has been both organic and through the arrival of several new principals attracted by our USP of concentration solely on the chocolate and sugar sectors within the £5.7billion UK confectionery market," says Sheehan. {{Z SUPPLEMENTS: BROKERAGE }}