Sustain / Good Food Enterprises / Food Co-ops toolkit
Wholefood suppliers
Finding a supplier for wholefoods is relatively easy as there are a number of large wholesale suppliers who either make deliveries in a particular region or across the whole of the UK.
Most of these will offer free delivery but have minimum order requirements (generally £100-£300), and will deliver to particular areas on different days of the week, and so it is worth keeping this in mind when you plan what day to hold your food co-op and to ensure someone will be available to take deliveries. Many will also offer discounts, smaller orders and/or flexible timings if you are able to collect orders.
Some of the suppliers may require food co-ops to be formally registered before creating an account, but many are run as worker co-operatives and are keen to work with food co-ops serving their communities, however small.
Wholefood suppliers
- Essential Trading - based in Bristol, delivers throught England and Wales
- Greencity - based in Glasgow, delivers across Scotland with the exception of the Highlands and Islands but also say 'If you are outside our delivery areas, or need more information please don't hesitate to contact us'
- Highland Wholefoods - based in Inverness, delivers in the Highlands, Islands and north-east Scotland
- Infinity Foods - based in Brighton, delivers throughout the UK and Ireland
- Lembas - based in Sheffield, delivers within a 90 mile radius of Sheffield
- Rainbow Wholefoods - based in Norwichd, delivers across East Anglia 'and beyond’
- Suma - based in Halifax, delivers throughout mainland UK. Suma is primarily a trade wholesaler, and so only supplies direct to the public in areas where there is no Suma stockist within reasonable traveling distance
Specialist suppliers
Hodmedods is a small but growing independent business, founded in 2012 to source and supply sustainably produced beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas, quinoa and other similar products from British farms. Based in Suffolk delivers throughout the UK and internationally.
To find more useful food co-op related information visit our homepage
Food Co-ops toolkit: The Food Co-ops Toolkit will give you all the information you need to set up your own food co-op.
