Our Suppliers

Premier Foods spent GBP 1.4bn on externally sourced goods and services in 2011.

We are committed wherever possible to source raw ingredients, products and services from UK suppliers. 

Key highlights include:  

· Hovis is the only major bread brand to use 100% British wheat*, 1 in 8 British wheat fields are being grown for Hovis. Premier Food’ commitment to sourcing British wheat contributes £208 million each year to the UK agriculture sector;

· We are the third largest user of industrial sugar in the UK purchasing 80,000 metric tonnes of sugar a year and sugar is one of biggest categories of spend;

· We buy 70 million litres of milk a year from our Farm Assured milk suppliers, including Milk Link, a wholly owned co-operative of 1,500 dairy farmers located in the South West, and producing milk close to our Creamery in Devon;

· We buy 7,000 metric tonnes of UK Bramley apples each year for use in products such as Mr. Kipling apple pies. 35% all fruit and vegetables we use in the manufacture of our products are sourced in the UK.

· We buy 6,000 tonnes of UK sourced liquid egg, and egg products, each year which equates to 80% of our annual egg requirements.

We remain committed to working in close partnership with our key suppliers in order to facilitate and enhance longer term and more sustainable relationships. We continue to develop our Supplier Relationship Management programme in order to facilitate and enhance our relationship with our strategic suppliers.

We have built long-term relationships with many of our UK suppliers.  We have grown our businesses together, and in many cases, formed strong partnerships.  We will continue to seek opportunities to increase our already significant support for UK producers for those foods that can be grown and
produced in the UK.

In 2010, our new strategic partnership approach, with British Sugar was recognised when we jointly received the overall award by the Chartered Institute for Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) Awards for the ‘best example of supplier relationship management’.

Although we are primarily a UK focused business, we have a global sourcing strategy and acquire over 27,000 items from all corners of the world.  For example, each year we buy 4,000 metric tonnes of strawberries from Europe; 800 metric tonnes of honey from South America; 5,900 metric tonnes of cocoa from Africa and 6,000 metric tonnes of tomatoes from China.

As an importer of materials either directly or indirectly from many parts of the world our strategic sourcing process will take into account cost, quality, safety, the nature and reliability of the source, environmental impacts and workplace practices.

The procurement of goods and contracted services by Premier Foods will fall in line with (as a minimum) the current legal requirements and with the company’s Ethical Trading, Environmental and Health and Safety policies. 
 
Click on the document below to view our standard terms and conditions for the purchase of goods and services.

Terms and Conditions for the Purchase of Goods and Services.pdf

* Flour milled from 100% British Wheat, excludes product baked in Northern Ireland.