Sidesalads of New Covent Garden Market has a flagship new unit on the buyers’ walk in the London market in partnership with supplier G’s.
Both companies shared the view that it was time to bring the wholesale stand up to modern standards for customers.
By using up-to-the-minute information on new wall-mounted screens, the quality and freshness of the produce is allowed to shine, Paul Bishop, Sidesalads' MD, said. Real-time news images of flooding in Kenya this week, for example, give buyers an immediate sense of what is affecting supply and pricing in the market. In time, Bishop said, the plan is to have a live webcam feed from G’s fields to bring buyers closer to the product.
The unit now has a display fridge and fogging system and maintains the chill chain from entry to exit, and the new stand has a different kind of ambience. Bishop said: “It’s clean and tidy if all the work is done at the back of the unit, not to mention making it safer for customers; this is the way all wholesale stands will be in the future.”
There has been a very positive reaction from customers and other wholesalers alike, and Bishop hopes changing one stand will have a domino effect which kick-starts the modernisation of the others. “It’s not just to look good, it’s about achieving a certain standard of service and professionalism. That’s why we’ve started wearing shirts and ties; it goes back to the old school ethos of smart image and good service.”
