Turner Price builds on its heritage with investment, innovation, and keeping its customers at heart
For more than 30 years, Turner Price has been helping professional caterers get the food they need – where, and when, they need it. The business has grown into a £100m+ food wholesaler with over 300 employees, two UK depots, and a customer base spanning food service, offshore, and international markets.
Founded by David Gould and Trevor Harrison, following their careers supplying North Sea trawlers, Turner Price has come a long way since it was established. Today, the company supplies over 2500 customers across the UK, from schools, care homes, pubs, and restaurants to ships travelling as far as the Antarctic.
Most importantly, while the business has grown, its focus has remained the same; centered around strong relationships, quality products, reliable service, and a determination to keep finding new and improved ways to support its customers. Today, as part of the Caterfood Buying Group, Turner Price is building on that heritage and looking firmly to the future. Steve Potter, Managing Director, tells us more.
“I’m not too sure where the phrase ‘The Purple People’ originally came from, but I first heard it when we were discussing our branding. When we looked at potentially changing our brand colors, it quickly became clear just how much our people identify with purple, so it’s here to stay. You’ll see hints of it throughout our new office building too,” he reveals. “For me, our culture is simple: without our people, we don’t have a business. We’ve grown significantly, but we still want to maintain that family feel.
“Everyone who works here is a person first, with a family and life outside of work, and when they join us, they become part of the Turner Price family. Growth shouldn’t change that. We have recently purchased a new head office that will bring more of our people together, helping us strengthen those relationships, and keep that sense of community as we continue to grow.”
More than simply providing a larger base for a growing business, the company’s new head office has been designed to bring people and expertise together, strengthening the relationships and collaboration that underpin the Turner Price family.
“The new site is an important investment in the next stage of Turner Price’s history. It will put different skills under one roof, which will improve collaboration, and, importantly, give our people more opportunities to build stronger relationships,” Steve explains. “Our customers will feel the benefit through quicker decisions and better problem-solving. The site also gives us more operational capacity, with a new yard providing space for more than 20 vehicles and additional warehouse space that will allow us to increase our stockholding as the business continues to grow.”
Profitable partnerships
Alongside this, Turner Price is doubling its freezer capacity from 1237 locations, helping to broaden its range and availability. With its service levels already over 99.9 percent, these investments are underpinned by the business’ continued commitment to providing the best possible service for its customers and partners.
“The last couple of years have seen us invest heavily in our fleet, multi-temperature vehicles, and IT over the last 12 months, and we’re now seeing the benefits for both our people and our customers,” Steve highlights. “For me, it’s a win-win – investing in our people and infrastructure while improving the service we provide to every customer is a big part of how we continue to grow year after year.
“Similarly, two partnerships have been particularly important to Turner Price in recent years: joining the Caterfood Buying Group and our relationship with Foodservice Online,” he continues. “Joining Caterfood in 2024 has strengthened our buying power and supplier relationships, while giving us access to a wider network of expertise and collaboration across the independent foodservice sector. Our website developers, Foodservice Online, have also played a key role in our digital development. Our website and ordering platform make it easier for customers to browse our range, place orders, and access important product information, while giving us a strong platform to continue developing our digital customer experience. For us, the best partnerships are those where both sides are invested in making things better for our customers.”
That commitment to going the extra mile is perhaps best demonstrated by Turner Price’s long-standing relationship with customers in the Falkland Islands. While investment, technology, and strategic partnerships continue to strengthen the wider business, it’s these close customer relationships that remain at the heart of the service, supporting customers across the UK foodservice sector, offshore or overseas.
“We have a very strong relationship with our partners in the Falkland Islands, and our export and offshore teams are experts at sourcing whatever our customers need. If we don’t stock it, we’ll find it. This includes everything from vehicles, building materials and refrigeration equipment to, most importantly, Christmas presents for the islanders. It’s a great example of the relationships we build with our customers and the lengths we’ll go to to support them,” Steve enthuses.
Future focus
As Turner Price embarks on its next chapter, its approach remains rooted in the values that have shaped the business for more than 30 years. Continued investment in its people, infrastructure, technology, and partnerships is helping the company grow, but the ambition is clear: to evolve without losing the personal service and strong relationships that set it apart. From Hull to the Falkland Islands and beyond, Turner Price is continuing to build on its heritage while looking to what comes next.
“At Turner Price, we don’t stand still,” Steve concludes. “We have great people across every department who are constantly looking for ways to improve, so our focus for the rest of 2026 and into 2027 is about delivering the plans we already have in place. That means managing steady, sustainable growth, bringing our people together under one roof and progressing our increased freezer capacity. We’ll continue investing in our people, technology and infrastructure, while making sure we don’t lose sight of what matters most: giving our customers the service and support they expect from Turner Price.”
