Food supplier hungry for growth with fleet investment

A Black Country food manufacturing firm is on the road to success after being given the green light to invest in four new vehicles.

Direct Food Solution, which produces and delivers pre-packed sandwiches and a range of other chilled goods to convenience stores and petrol stations, has used a six-figure hire purchase loan from Lloyds to buy four new refrigerated vans to support deliveries to its customers.

The new vehicles, which are more efficient than the vans they are replacing, will join the business’ 18-strong fleet of refrigerated vans, delivering to around 1,500 customers across the UK.

The vans can be temperature-controlled to make them suitable for transporting different products, which will help the business as it continues to diversify into new areas including dairy goods.

The investment forms part of Direct Food Solution’s long-term growth ambitions, with further plans in the pipeline to invest in an extension to its site in Willenhall and open a new kitchen area so that it can produce more food in-house.

Raj Parekh, director at Direct Food Solution, said: “This is a really important investment for our business. The new vehicles will be more efficient and more reliable than our previous ones, and ultimately bring us big cost savings.”

Direct Food Solution also received support from Lloyds Bank through the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) as it looked to quickly return to growth, following a drop in demand for on-the-go foods during lockdown.

Raj added: “Conditions haven’t always easy during the pandemic, but the Lloyds team has helped us navigate the trickier times and come back stronger. In more recent months we’ve started to see a return to the sustained growth we had been enjoying, and now we’re hungry for more.”

Adam Hartshorne, relationship manager at Lloyds Bank, said: “Direct Food Solution is a great example of a local business that has been able to establish a footprint across the UK. We hope their new vans will help them as they continue grow and we look forward to working alongside them on that journey.”