Sodexo, a leading provider of on-site service solutions, has held a two-day ‘meet the buyer’ event in Scotland, to engage with the key food suppliers in the industry and source quality Scottish produce for its services.

Held at the Norton House Hotel in Edinburgh, the event sought to develop links with Scottish food producers and help them to integrate quality Scottish produce into Sodexo’s supply chain, while also supporting them to promote their produce within Scotland and further afield.

The forum gave Sodexo the opportunity to communicate its commitment to sustainable procurement and healthy eating, in particular the ‘Better Tomorrow Plan' (BTP), the company’s sustainability strategy until 2020. Within the BTP, Sodexo has committed to supporting local, sustainable development, and the programme of ‘meet the buyer’ events helps to ensure this commitment is achieved. The event also gave Sodexo the opportunity to explain what the company expects of its suppliers, in order to ensure that supplier code of conduct targets are met.

Sodexo is a key player in the Scottish food and facilities management market, employing over 1,400 people in 98 sites across its Justice Services and Prestige sectors.

Over 20 of Scotland’s leading suppliers attended the event, showcasing some of the country’s finest products including baked goods, fish, fresh meat and vegetables.

Steve Jobson, buying director, Sodexo UK and Ireland, said: “The event provided us with an exciting opportunity to meet some truly outstanding Scottish suppliers, with whom we hope to work closely with in the future. We are committed to providing quality produce and in order to meet the objectives of our sustainable procurement strategy, we are keen to engage with suppliers that can meet the demands of our Scottish customers and clients.”

Clare Dixon, Seafood Scotland, commented: "It was great to see time given to this event by so many key figures within Sodexo and good to understand the overall businesses aims. Sodexo now feel like a real possibility rather than a distant huge company who you have no chance of dealing with!"

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