Our vision is to increase the number of start-up success stories in the UK food industry
WE ARE...
Passionate
Our SME’s will be the most passionate people about their brand – we will be the second most passionate people.
With this, we work hard, we care and we will always advocate for the brand.
Accessible
We endeavour to be flexible, affordable and adaptable for SME food and drinks businesses, giving them the best opportunity to achieve their goals.
Knowledgeable
We understand that our industry is ever changing, whether that be legislation in the background or consumer trends in the foreground.
We continue to build our network and expand our knowledge to remain relevant.
Trustworthy
We are committed to being supportive of our SME’s goals, whilst providing honest advice in a fully collaborative working relationship.
OUR EXPERIENCE
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Over 14 years experience within the food industry
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Previously worked in buying roles for Sainsbury's, Netto, P&H, Costcutter and Milk & More
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Best SME Food Retail Consultancy - South East at the UK Enterprise Awards 2023.
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Finalist in two categories at the StartUp Awards 2023; Rising Star & Online Retail Start Up. Results announced in June 2023.
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Shortlisted for a Dynamic Award 2023, results announced in June 2023.
OUR TEAM
FRANCESCA PITTINGALE
Founder of Pittingale & Daughter Foods
Co-Founder of SUP Foods
Fran heads up the consultancy side of the business, making sure that her knowledge and experience is shared with those who generally need it the most. Fran loves getting out and speaking to SUP Foods customers, helping to keep up to date with key consumer trends and how consumers are feeling. Fran and Parm jointly manage the product development and ranging decisions on SUP Foods.
"I've spent 14 years in the food industry, predominantly in buying roles, and it's an industry that I love! I started out my buying career at Sainsbury's with some amazing mentors guiding my way. I then worked on a discounter joint venture, moved into wholesale and most recently the resurging doorstep delivery sector."
PARMINDER VIRDI
Co-Founder of SUP Foods
Parm heads up the SUP Foods side of the business, ensuring that our ecommerce platform and catering trailer is fit for purpose to ensure our customers have a delightful experience when shopping with us. Product development and ranging is managed by both Fran and Parm, with their five year old daughter, Lillamina, being chief taster!
"My passion for food was clear from the moment I was born however, working in the industry has only been a recent venture. On meeting Fran, it was clear that we shared the same passion and enthusiasm for the industry and what she brings in industry experience, I bring in customer service from working within the healthcare sector."
AN INTERVIEW WITH
FRANCESCA
What inspired you to start your business?
One of the pieces of feedback I always seemed to get during the first decade of my time in the food industry was “you’re too passionate, calm down, it’s just business” to the point where I started to try caring less, if that’s such a thing. In 2017, the year my daughter was born, I realised that the passion I was mostly criticised for having was not a criticism at all but actually one of my USPs. Once my daughter was 6 months old, I started looking for a role where my passion for the food industry would be accepted and encouraged and am happy to say that I found a position that ticked those boxes.
What made you move away from the ticked boxes?
I spent the next 4 years working mainly with small to medium food and drink suppliers and helping them to scale up their businesses sustainably within the market. After a few years in this position, though, I realised that supporting these small businesses in the small sector I was part of, which equated to <0.1% market share of the Grocery market, was not enough for me – I wanted to help these young, entrepreneurial, creative brands to succeed in the wider market and in a sustainable way. I felt that the best, and possibly only, way that I could continue to help several small brands at one time but across the wider grocery market was to setup my own consultancy business. A consultancy business that had to be flexible, affordable and, of course, passionate about the brands we work with, producing honest work and long-term successes within the food industry.
What makes your business special?
If you were to ask my friends and family what makes my business special, they would tell you that the time, effort and care that I dedicate to the people I work with is very similar to the time, effort and care that I give to them, albeit from a professional perspective rather than a personal one. Arguably, though, the most important part of all is that what I have strived to achieve is coming through in the testimonials that I have received from my clients, past and present, highlighting my ‘passion to help young businesses thrive’ [Rob Yates, MD of Tom Parker Creamery] and my being ‘super organised, laser focused and tenacious’ [Lex Thornley, Co-founder of Blue Goose Coffee].
What's next?
Our vision is to increase the number of start-up success stories in the UK food industry. Almost 60% of start-ups in the UK fail within the first 3 years of trading and I believe that some of those can be avoided if there were more accessible resources for these businesses. Our mission is to provide an accessible consultancy service and retail opportunity for SME food & drink businesses, bursting with knowledge, trust and passion. Within that, we push for the brands that we work with to scale in a sustainable way. Over the next 12 months, we have ambitious plans to expand our retail arm (www.SUPFoods.uk). We have invested in a mobile catering trailer that we will be using to attend more events in 2023 and to allow us to trade throughout the week to our local community. We're excited to launch this project and believe that increasing our visibility with consumers in southeast England will help us to support more food industry start-ups, driving volume through their supply chain and raising the awareness of their brand, both of which will help them to be ready for the next step into medium sized retailers.