We work with all type of independent business owners, retailers, buyers and outlets just like you. With years of experience, we’re able to work with our customers to understand their specific needs, matching them with innovative and cool new brands. The last 12 months have been like no other. However despite testing times, success can be achieved by being flexible, pivoting to changing demand and staying on the consumer pulse. Here’s a success story thanks to Justin Gilchrist, Director @ South Catering / WellBox.

South started in 2006, as a corporate catering company servicing Greater Manchester and Cheshire. Over the last decade, we’ve outlived many of our competitors to become one of the largest privately-held corporate caterers in the North West. We’ve achieved this primarily through a great team, and the ability to harness technology to make us efficient and provide a great customer experience.

When lockdown first happened, everyone left the office to work from home. Almost overnight, demand for our services plummeted; we had to pivot quickly to survive.

While many workers were enjoying the flexibility of working from home, it felt short-lived. Once people got past the novelty of wearing leggings on Zoom calls and watching Tiger King on their lunch break, many would experience feelings of isolation, loneliness, depression and anxiety without the usual perks and team activities from a pre-pandemic era.

Wellness Reflected through Snacking

In May 2020, we launched WellBox, initially selling healthy snacks to employers who had employees working from home. The service resonated well with large employers who had yet to find a way to tackle the problem of morale, mental wellbeing and motivation for staff being forced to work from home.

At the core of our mission was finding a way to do good, by doing good. Each box sold results in 1 meal being donated to a local homeless shelter or a donation to mental health charity MIND. While companies were helping their staff, they were also doing good in their local community.

The last few months of 2020 saw our product offering expand into food, drink and wellbeing-based gifts for virtual events and work-from-home staff. Companies were looking for an alternative Christmas gift for their staff in place of being able to hold in-person Christmas parties. The range of products WellBox met this brief for many of them.

Choosing the Right Wellbeing Brands with Epicurium

Our Production Manager had used Epicurium at previous companies and found the product range exceptional and the service reliable. They were one of our first points of call when looking for items to include in our new boxes. We find the website easy to navigate and deliveries are made promptly.

The people we speak to always go out of their way to make things happen for us. As this was our first year with WellBox, it has been great to have a supplier that can be so flexible with us while we are still finding our feet!

We know Epicurium is among the best places to find not just leading health and wellbeing brands, but cool start-ups which offer something different.

Retailer Insight - How to Survive and Thrive

Earlier this year, people left the offices in droves to work from home. Almost overnight, the demand for services in certain sectors plummeted while others grew. As an organisation, and as individuals we had to evolve quickly to survive.

Organisations have to be honest about change to survive. One year ago, many people believed this was temporary and people would simply return to their normal way of working and living. The reality is, we’re facing huge uncertainty, but it’s likely we’ll change our habits even when the pandemic is over.

We believe that to stay relevant, companies should practice rapid iteration of the product or service offering, along with frequent surveys or customer development calls to get a pulse on what people need now, and what they’re likely to need in the next 2 – 5 years. This also extends to the way people buy.

The demand for home delivery has skyrocketed and it’s likely to remain high as people discover the convenience and refuse to go back. While walk-in retail may be declining in our sector, e-commerce is growing – fast, and the only way we can stay competitive as a small business is to own the customer experience. Channels like Amazon shouldn’t be ignored but they also shouldn’t be your only channel as you lose your competitive edge.

To compete, companies need to invest in creating an extraordinary ecommerce experience by harnessing technology and becoming best in class at areas like Warehouse management and digital marketing.

Order Todays Trending Snacking Products With Epicurium

Whether you are stocking up for a full healthier snacking bay, or looking to develop your snack-box, a wealth of healthy and trendy snacks awaits! With a quick turnaround of 24-48 hours and no minimum order, click here to register an account with Epicurium