Celebrating the best of British produce with Brakes 

At Sodexo we’re proud to partner with more than 5,000 suppliers and work hard to develop mutually beneficial relationships to guarantee the quality and safety of products across the supply chain. It’s a deliberately varied portfolio of diverse suppliers, spanning global players and small independents.   

One of our long-standing partnerships is with Brakes, trusted suppliers of the highest quality fresh, ambient, chilled and frozen food and ingredients to Sodexo sites across all business segments, for more than 25 years.  

Now part of Sysco, the global leader in food products serving 730,000 customer locations worldwide, Brakes still has a proud British heritage and constantly bangs the drum for home grown produce. Like Sodexo, Brakes is an official partner of Love British Food – the founders of British Food Fortnight, taking place this year from 20 September – 6 October.   

Simon Pilbin is a Corporate Account Director at Brakes and he’s been leading the Sodexo account for 12 years, so he knows what makes the relationship tick. “Supporting British suppliers is a core shared value, and British Food Fortnight is a chance to celebrate producers who are passionate about high-quality ingredients,” he says.

The Brakes business describes itself as ‘fresh produce fanatics’ and invites a host of partners to an annual Food Expo exhibition to share the British Food Fortnight message and its love for British produce.

Simon says, “This is a showcase of in excess of 3,000 products from more than 70 suppliers, with all the major Sysco brands in Great Britain involved, including Fresh Direct and Wild Harvest.” 

Fresh Direct has been sourcing the best of British for over 50 years and is the UK’s number one wholesale produce specialist. 

Whether it’s leaf salads from Lancashire, Kentish apples, potatoes from one of the few remaining family-owned potato businesses in the UK or tomatoes from the Isle of Wight, Brakes and Fresh Direct remain committed to sourcing an increasing range of British products and ingredients and in the past few years, have been able to raise the number of fresh produce lines available by around 20%.  

That’s great news for devising delicious dishes, supports our passion for food provenance and also has a significant impact on net zero journeys for both Sodexo and Brakes, by lowering food road miles and cutting the journey from field to fork, reducing carbon footprint.   

So, this is a relationship that’s grounded in much more than just delivering good food.  “We work to a Joint Business Plan, always looking for ways to improve efficiency, reduce environmental impact or enhance menu development,” says Simon. 

One such change has seen Brakes consolidate other suppliers’ produce onto its own delivery vehicles. “This means fewer trucks on the road, bringing environmental and safety benefits, and also eases the ordering process for Sodexo teams," says Simon. "In addition both business’s look to support SMEs, many of which don’t have their own transport infrastructure, so it’s a perfect solution all round.” 

Building on its passion for produce, Brakes supports Sodexo chefs to get the best out of great ingredients.  

“We have two food innovation centres and a team of development chefs who work alongside Sodexo to create new menus,” says Simon. “With chefs who specialise in specific sectors – education, healthcare and hospitality to name a few – we understand the variety of customer profiles and food preferences that Sodexo’s business caters for." 

This commitment to teamwork is fundamental to the success of our partnership with Brakes and there are clear parallels when it comes to business ethics and ethos too. Robust goals covering community, diversity and inclusion, responsible sourcing, food waste reduction and harnessing renewable energy all form part of Brake’s sustainability programme, under three pillars of People, Product and Planet, mirroring many of the ambitions of our own Social Impact Pledge.  

“We don’t view this as a supplier/customer relationship, we’re entwined.” 

It’s easy to see why this business partnership has remained a recipe for success for more than two decades. Quite simply, it has all the right ingredients. 

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