Awards galore as Northern Ireland supplier experiences exponential growth in online sales

Newtownabbey firm, Henderson Foodservice is attributing a flurry of prestigious recent award wins to its growth in online sales over the past two years.

A leading supplier to the hospitality industry across Ireland, the company, which recently retained its Deloitte Best Managed Company status for the 10th consecutive year, posted a sales increase of 41.4% for 2022, and announced over 40% of its sales were processed online, thanks to the investment into its e-commerce offering.

At the recent Irish eComm Awards held in Dublin, Henderson Foodservice was the most successful company on the night, taking home four awards throughout the all-island contest, including Overall Irish Ecommerce Website of the Year, triumphing over big brands including Brown Thomas, Petstop.ie and An Post.

The team also won Food and Drink eCommerce Website of the Year, a promotion from their highly commended win in 2022, while also retaining their Business Growth Award for a second year. Finally, the company was awarded B2B eCommerce Website of the Year and achieved highly commended in the eCommerce In-House Team of the Year category.

Henderson-foodservice.com is now the company’s single largest channel for placing orders, with 47% of sales in the past month placed online and a 60% increase in online sales overall. New user numbers have increased 19% in the past year, with the conversion rate also rising by 22% on 2022.

The wins come just weeks after securing a huge win at the 2023 Institute of Hospitality Awards for Supplier of the Year, a testament to the commitment of the company to meeting the needs, filling in the skills gap and creating overall efficiency for the entire sector, says Cathal Geoghegan, managing director at Henderson Foodservice.

Cathal said: “We are thrilled to have been recognised by so many prestigious establishments in the past few weeks, and it really is a testament to the incredible work our teams have put in to developing those solutions that are really needed in the industry, while keeping everything efficient by investing in an online overhaul for our dot com offering.

“Since the global pandemic hit the hospitality industry in 2020, our customers have been in recovery mode. Myriad challenges have continued to strike the industry and our hundreds of customers across Ireland, so our long-term strategy has been very much about working alongside them to create solutions that aid recovery and boost both theirs and our own businesses.”

Henderson Foodservice recently launched its Effortless Christmas campaign which seeks to provide a festive ordering process for their foodservice customers across Ireland.

The full brochure of canapés, starters, mains, sides, desserts, cheese and crackers can all be viewed via henderson-foodservice.com, and include local suppliers such as Yellow Door, Glastry Farm, French Village, Ballylisk of Armagh and Ballymaloe, alongside leading foodservice brand, Country Range.