How dedication to quality and sustainability has fueled Woods Foodservice’s phenomenal expansion
Woods Foodservice is a family-owned business that provides a broad range of specialist fine dining produce. Managing Director and second-generation family member Darren Labbett shares the company’s history: “I took over from my parents in 2000. It was a much smaller business then, supplying a less specialized clientele. I decided to focus on the quality end of the market, which coincided with the boom in gastropubs. During this phase, to grow the business, we reinvested any profits. This enabled our turnover to grow from £1 million in 2000 to close to £40 million today.
“Fine dining became more accessible to people; this, coupled with the lack of major competition, facilitated a further mini-boom. There were some good companies specializing in the same area, but none that offered the high-quality ingredients required by these chefs, along with a high level of service and competitive pricing. Because we were able to offer all of these advantages and were willing to work very hard for less reward initially, we grew quickly.
“We continually reinvested in the business, and now we are regarded as the largest, most well-known, and best independently owned business in the sector. Although our turnover is close to £40 million and growing, we are still able to maintain a close, friendly relationship with our customers, suppliers, staff, and stakeholders. This makes us unique in this segment of the marketplace.
“This approach is always our number one priority. Whenever we take on any new staff, customers or suppliers, everyone has to understand the ethos and the business model. Our number one focus as a company has never been growth or profit; it has always been about doing what is right for the business, the staff, and our customers. This approach creates an environment where people genuinely enjoy coming to work and contributing. This philosophy is absolutely key in everything we do. It impacts every aspect of the business; once that goes, everything else would follow. As a result, many of our customers have been with us for 15 to 20 years, including some of the first customers I acquired when I took over the business. The same is true for many of the staff; this has served us extremely well.”
Exponential growth
Having such strong foundations can make the difference when significant challenges arise. Darren explains how the company managed to turn the most challenging circumstances of the Covid pandemic to its advantage. “Before the pandemic, things were ticking along nicely; we had a good rate of growth, and everything was moving in the right direction. Then, when it hit, 90 percent of our customers closed overnight. Of course, we still had all the costs associated with running a business with a turnover of £20 million. We utilized the furlough scheme and made arrangements to pay our landlords after the pandemic. Because of our strong financial position going into the pandemic, we had assets we were able to sell. At first, we were losing £20,000 a week, but we were confident that we could survive. We have an extremely capable finance director who was able to shield me from the stress enough to go out and fight in any way I could to generate more revenue.
“Thanks to these difficult commercial decisions, we were able to stay open five days a week while our competitors were not. We stayed open for our customers who pivoted to home delivery or takeaways. We also set up a home delivery service that brought in around £20,000 a week. The local community really appreciated this; it was even featured on the news a few times.
“Another brave commercial decision we made during this period was to invest in fresh produce. A very well-known fresh produce distributor went bankrupt in the early part of the pandemic. At this time, we didn’t have a fresh produce offering and they overlapped significantly with us in the fine dining sector, sharing many of the same customers. They were also located about five miles down the road. We approached our shared customers and invested £1 million in a new warehouse two doors down from our original. We hired many of their staff at great expense because they were unable to be furloughed. It involved huge costs; it was a gamble, but ultimately it paid off. When the lockdowns ended, our growth was phenomenal.
“Not only did we win back our own customers, but we also won many customers from the wholesalers that decided to close. The customers who came to us during the pandemic have stayed with us. This meant that coming out of Covid was almost more challenging because we were growing at around 98 percent. This can be difficult to manage for a highly operational business like ours. As a result, I had to immerse myself in the operational side of the business, helping out on the shop floor as needed. We had to completely restructure because we had doubled in size within a year.” 
Expanding capabilities
Darren goes on to reflect on how the company’s range of products has evolved and the benefits this has brought to the business: “When I took over, we were a dry goods supplier, predominantly providing ambient products. Around ten years ago, we added dairy to our range, which now represents about 30 percent of our turnover and is our fastest-growing sector. At this time, we also added a range of frozen products, including high-end pastries, fruit purees, luxury chips, and desserts. More recently, we added fresh produce, which now comprises around 4000 lines. We have also recently added a line of tableware and are discussing the possibility of adding fresh bread.
“Tableware is available through the marketplace on our website. When a customer places an order, it is added to their regular invoice but is shipped directly from the manufacturer. The marketplace will enable us to significantly increase our product range, leading to growth in the range of products we physically stock in a traditional manner, while also allowing us to offer items with low sales volumes. It represents an exciting addition to the company’s capabilities.”
Positive impact
Turning to the topic of sustainability, Darren shares Woods Foodservice’s multifaceted commitment to making a positive impact: “Our strapline is ‘sustainable foodservice’. In addition to caring for the environment, this means creating a business that will last and be here in ten-, 20-, or 30-years’ time. To maintain a sustainable business, you need to constantly reinvest. A significant portion of the money we make goes back into the business. We recently installed a new loading bay canopy on our second warehouse for example. We have also invested in crates and a crate washing machine for our fresh produce, which is another significant investment that has reduced our environmental impact. We’ve invested in 12 brand-new electric trucks that offer several benefits; not only are they exceptional vehicles with three separate compartments – frozen, chilled, and ambient – but they also help us reduce our environmental impact. Additionally, we have a new fleet of lorries, allowing us to send out one lorry instead of two or three vans.
“We’ve teamed up with a company called Greenly, which comes in every year to measure our environmental impact and help us reduce it year on year. We have been carbon neutral for three to four years now. We have offset some emissions to achieve this and are actively working towards being organically carbon neutral. Every year, we manage to significantly reduce our impact; even as we grow, our overall impact continues to decrease. This has been a major focus for us for over ten years, and we’ve won the Green Wholesaler of the Year award every year since our buying group began.
“It is something that is not only important to me but also as I consider my three children, who have recently joined the company, it’s important to ensure there is a good future for them, as well as for our employees and customers. One of our largest and longest-standing customers, for example, has mentioned that one of his main reasons for staying with us is our attitude toward the environment. It is also something that is becoming increasingly important to many more people. This is especially true within the food industry, which is so inextricably tied to the land and the environment.”
Looking ahead, Darren shares his hopes for the company’s future: “Our ambition is to eventually become a nationwide operation. We have recently opened a new distribution hub in Birmingham, and we are actively in talks to access the Scottish market. Looking further afield, my focus over the next five years will be to position the business, with the help of my children, to ensure it remains as strong and healthy as it is now without my day-to-day involvement.”