Member Article

Dicksons strikes deals with Co-op and Iceland

South Shields food retailer and wholesaler Dicksons Pork Butchers has landed two new deals to supply its popular pies and pastries at Co-operative and Iceland stores.

The family-run firm will see its products, such as its flagship saveloys, pease pudding and jumbo sausage rolls, featured in 114 Co-op outlets as well as 36 Iceland sites.

Established in South Shields in 1953 as a stand-alone pork butcher, Dicksons today employs more than 300 staff and sells a wide range of hot and cold food on the go.

Chris Hayman, managing director of Dicksons, commented: “Growing our wholesale division remains a key focus for Dicksons, as we look to capitalise on our increased production capacity following our recent factory improvement programme.

“We are delighted to be working with two well regarded names like the Co-op and Iceland and are confident that the new deals will be the start of mutually, beneficial long-term relationships which will help us to grow the availability of our products across the North East and beyond.”

The growing wholesale demand for Dicksons’ fresh and frozen products follows a significant investment by the food manufacturer to improve its packaging earlier in the year.

New-style boxes were introduced to improve the visibility of products, whilst extending their shelf life which has enhanced their appeal to both customers and retailers alike.

Chris continued: “The new packaging of our pie range has been very well-received by Dicksons’ customers and our retail partners.

“Despite representing a significant investment for the business, we believe it is important that the packaging reflects the high quality of our products; without a doubt the new style packaging has been instrumental in opening up new wholesale opportunities for us.

“We are delighted that the investment we have made in both packaging and our production facilities is beginning to offer the longer-term returns for our wholesale division as planned.”

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