Schools sales to rebound with wholesalers in 2021

Latest research revealed by SalesOut suggests wholesalers will benefit from the rebound of schools returning.

With children set to go back to classrooms again from 8 March, the prospect of serving school customers again is providing some relief for foodservice wholesalers decimated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

And SalesOut’s data suggests the sector will soon be recovering most of the £110 million drop off in sales by schools within wholesale between 2019 and 2020.

While it’s not anticipated for all of the drop off to return in 2021, they expect the vast majority of this value to be back as homeschooling comes to an end.

Last year’s numbers suggested approximately 3,500 school customers stopped ordering from wholesalers in 2020 and the number of different SKUs purchased was down to 4%. But with restrictions set to be eased gradually in the coming months, there’s hope this should change.

This means that products seen as non-essential during the peak of the pandemic could enjoy a renaissance, with confectionery, crips and snacks, and cakes and desserts expected to prosper.

This is positive news for the sector with the government roadmap suggesting there’s plenty more optimism to come.

coronavirus covid-19 SalesOut schools Wholesalers