JJ targets retail and higher-end restaurant growth in 2022

JJ Foodservice has announced plans to double its retail range and target higher-end restaurants and pubs in 2022, following its first supplier conference.

Held on Thursday 4th November at the Royal Society of Medicine in London, JJ’s senior management team and key suppliers gathered to discuss "Successful Partnerships".

JJ COO, Mushtaque Ahmed, said that the blurring of lines between foodservice and the consumer will see a more “business to customer” approach in the future.

“Whether you are a restaurateur or a home consumer we want to provide the best quality products and service, and our suppliers are key to making this happen,” he said.

JJ Home Growth

Chief Product Officer, Sezer Ozkul, revealed plans to grow the business by expanding the home retail range and moving into higher end restaurants and pubs.

“JJ Home is a popular part of our business with great growth opportunities – we have ambitions to increase the range from 500 products to 1000 by the first half of 2022,” he said.

On the foodservice side, JJ’s reliable service has caught the attention of a raft of new high-quality hotels, restaurants, and pubs, paving the way for a bigger push into this segment.

“Despite the challenges from COVID and Brexit, we maintained impressive service levels of 98 per cent throughout the year,” said Sezer.

“This helped to attract new higher-end food outlets to our business. With the right products and people, it is an area we believe we can increase our service to,” he added.

Chief Technology Officer, Mick Dudley, revealed that 75 per cent of customers now order online via a mobile device and 53 Per cent are using an iPhone.

“This is a great demonstration of the value our customers give to quality and service,” he said.

Record sales for 2022

Covering sales projections, JJ’s Chief Sales Officer, Baris Kacar confirmed that the business is well on track to exceed record sales of £250million for the year ending March 31.

Head of Operations, Kaan Hendekli, revealed new projects for 2022 including new branches, storage expansion and improved service for customers.

Patrick Mitchell-Fox, Senior Business Analyst at the Institute of Grocery Distributors chaired the day. Guest speakers included Jill Livesey, Managing Director of Lumina Intelligence; foodservice consultant, Peter Backman; Julian Bier, National & Key Account Manager at Coca Cola European Partners and Georgia Pemberton, Head of Away from Home, DCS Group.