an advertising supplement Food Brokers Ltd Food Brokers House Northarbour Road Portsmouth Hampshire PO6 3TD Tel: 02392 222500 Fax: 02392 222555 E-mail: sales@foodbrokers.co.uk Website: foodbrokers.co.uk Key personnel Life President Desmond Cracknell Chairman Victor Cracknell Managing Director Hamish Gibson Sales Director Alan Rawlinson Marketing Director Tim Snook Telecoms Director Phil Ireland Grocery National Account Controller Steve Wilkinson Impulse National Account Controller Roger Long Field Sales Manager: David Miller Key brands Arm & Hammer; Bath Power; Bayer; BT Cellnet; Cadiso Foods; Campbell’s; Canderel; Chupa Chups; eGames; General Mills; Jeyes; Kodak; Lichtwer Pharma; Lift; Lion Confectionery; Lipovitan; Mars; Drinks & Spreads; McVities CakesOne 2 One; Orange Poppets/Just Brazils; Quaker; Smint; Strathmore; Virgin Mobile; Vodafone; Wassen Upwardly mobile brokers Having launched some of the smartest food brands in the UK ­ including Ferrero Rocher, Plax, Pringles and Smint ­ Food Brokers were quick to spot the next grocery revolution. And the future, they decided, is­ telecoms. The company works on behalf of Orange, Vodafone, BT Cellnet, One To One and Virgin Mobile, offering a one stop shop for retailers by supplying prepaid mobile phone voucher and electronic top up solutions. “Mobile phones are now a huge market in the UK,” says director of telecoms, Phil Ireland. “Pre-pay, the fastest growing part, accounts for £2 billion per annum and Food Brokers now has a 20% share.” The £350m sales and marketing empire, founded in the early Sixties by current life president Desmond Cracknell (aka Mr Food Broker), employs more than 230 personnel, offering a national sales, marketing and distribution service to the grocery, convenience and impulse, foodservice and pharmacy sectors. “Food Brokers is especially good at providing in-depth distribution for its brands in the UK,” says chairman Victor Cracknell. “We can provide significant overhead savings for a manufacturer and cost-effective sales coverage to trade channels ­ such as convenience, impulse and leisure ­which can be expensive for a manufacturer to service themselves.. This ensures we maximize each client’s advertising support. “I am very proud of our track record of building brands over the last 40 years but we are never complacent and as a sales driven’ company we are only ever as good as our latest sales results.” Sharing cost The full service operation, with a ready-made sales, marketing and administrational infrastructure, helps share costs and can bring significant savings for a manufacturer, says Cracknell. Managing director Hamish Gibson adds: “Food Brokers has successfully launched and built more new brands in the UK than probably any other company. We provide the perfect partnership to compliment the manufacturer’s operation. Our track record shows that we have the ability to work very closely with major manufacturers and successfully develop their brands. This year is no exception and we have some very innovative new product launches planned.” Sales director Alan Rawlinson says differences in the Food Brokers approach are particularly marked in the c&c sector. “As a result of our in-depth cash & carry coverage and shared cost’ sales and distribution structure, we are able not to limit our clients with minimum drop requirements. In addition, because of our strength in the sector, our clients enjoy higher than average brand shares in the independent trade.” Marketing is an important part of the mix. Tim Snook, marketing director, explains: “We have expanded our marketing department to 20 full-time personnel who work very closely with our clients, together with the Food Brokers national account team and sales force. Detailed business planning and finding brand solutions for each trading category are some of the tasks which are undertaken for clients. This is backed up by our IT systems which provide a wealth of data.” Quality counts Victor Cracknell has no doubt why the total Food Brokers business continues to go from strength to strength. “The outstanding quality of all Food Brokers personnel ­ not only in the sales force but also across the whole operation ­ means that our clients receive excellent service,” said Cracknell. “In addition, our excellent IT systems provide superb back-up.” “Food Brokers will continue to set the pace as the most innovative sales and marketing specialists in the coming years,” said Cracknell. {{Z SUPPLEMENTS }}