Frozen food chain Oops has been forced by rocketing costs to close nearly all its stores and is now focusing on its wholesale operation.
The retail business, which launched during the pandemic in 2020, had nine stores in the Midlands and north of England earlier this year and has since closed six. Another two, in Bolton and Preston, are due to be shuttered on Saturday (10 September), leaving only the St Helens branch, which was the first to open.
Oops CEO Noel Davis said the move had been necessary thanks to soaring costs of energy, as well as food and packaging. “The energy bills went from £500 to £3,000 per store per week,” he said. “It made it far less viable.”
However, Davis launched a wholesale proposition that comprised a 200-strong value range of tertiary branded products, which it can deliver direct to stores, in March this year.
Davis said he was supplying a quickly growing number of convenience retailers, including about 50 independents.
Convenience customers include Thrifty’s, which has 11 stores in the north of England, six of which were being supplied with freezers and product this week by Davis’s wholesale business KPFF Frozen Food.
KPFF has a 100,000 sq ft storage, packaging and manufacturing facility in Birkenhead where it both produces products from raw materials and repackages surplus stock from other suppliers. It offers retailers a 200-strong value range of tertiary branded products, such as chicken nuggets and pizzas, including big pack sizes, which it can deliver direct to stores.
Davis said some c-stores were turning to KPPF from Cook, which in July temporarily reduced retailers’ margins on its premium frozen concessions by 1.85% as a result of inflationary pressures.
“Of course some have turned to us,” said Davis. “Our model is something similar to Cook but the big difference is I believe frozen food to be about giving shoppers the best value while Cook are more expensive meals.
“Cook can deliver direct to stores but certain areas they’re trading in may not be affluent and retailers are therefore looking for a value offering.”
Davis said KPPF was also supplying both freezers and a full value frozen range to a number of butcher shops including Meat Mart in the north of England. “For butcher’s shops to be able to complement their existing stuff with chicken nuggets and pizzas and things like that is massively beneficial to them because it’s all incremental,” said Davis.
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