Bidfood has entered into the third year of its Open Doors programme, which has introduced 33 innovative food and drink suppliers to the wholesale market.
The scheme, which first launched in 2023, provides SMEs with expert mentoring and industry insight, using a three-step development journey to ‘Nurture’, ‘Champion’ and ‘Accelerate’. From this, the brands have secured national distribution through Bidfood.
Among the latest group of suppliers to join Open Doors is Half the Story, a social enterprise supporting people who have experienced homelessness or faced significant barriers to employment. Through its bakery, Half the Story creates biscuits, while providing jobs, skills and opportunities.
Powdered plant-based milk brand Kwerky, which serves as an alternative to traditional liquid plant-based milk, has also joined the scheme. The business looks to help chefs and caterers reduce waste, save storage space and simplify catering for a wide range of dietary requirements.
“When we launched Open Doors three years ago, our ambition was simple: to remove the barriers that often prevent brilliant entrepreneurs from succeeding in foodservice,” said Bidfood entrepreneur in residence Andrew Allen.
“What started as a question to Bidfood’s CEO, Andrew Selley, has progressed into 33 suppliers so far, each bringing something fresh and innovative to the table. These brands demonstrate why supporting SMEs is crucial for the future of our industry, and I’m excited to see where Open Doors will go.”
Half the Story CEO Matt Parfitt said the partnership with Bidfood had “opened doors” for the business by opening up access to “thousands of new customers”.
Kwerky founder Nikki Garg added that the scheme has helped turn the business from “an emerging challenger brand into a product being explored across sectors including healthcare, education and public sector catering”.
“For me, it’s proof why programmes like this matter. Small brands don’t necessarily need the door held open forever. Sometimes we just need someone to open it once and allow us to show what we can do.”
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