Sugro UK, the member-owned buying and marketing group comprising of over 80 independent wholesalers, celebrates another successful Networking Event and Business Conference with a record number of business appointments arranged between Sugro Members and Supply Partners.

With over 600 meetings taking place between Sugro’s members and suppliers, the networking event showcased a wide range of high-quality products and cutting-edge industry innovations. Attendees were introduced to the latest initiatives and digital technologies, as well as valuable insights into the latest Artificial Intelligence (AI) trends and opportunities, data usage, the upcoming Deposit Return Scheme and much more.

The two-day event commenced with a Business Conference, featuring compelling keynote speeches from Sugro’s leadership team, outlining the group’s key initiatives and highlighting its strategic accomplishments over the past year as well as many fantastic industry experts such as James Bielby from The FWD, Tanya Pepin from TWC Group, Michael Christopherson from Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and our guest speaker Emma Henderson MBE, who delivered an impressive presentation on leadership in turbulence.

The group also shared several key video presentations showcasing excellent examples of collaborative work between its members, suppliers and third-party suppliers across

AI, Digital, Data, Rebates, and other key group initiatives.

The highlight of the event was the Member Anniversary Awards, where excellence in wholesale was recognised. Congratulations to Forrest Fresh Foods Ltd, Raavi Foods Ltd t/a Pak Foods and Morris & Son Ltd, who are celebrating their 30th business anniversaries, as well as ICS (UK) Ltd on their 50th business anniversary.

Emma Senior, Managing Director at Sugro UK commented: "I am absolutely thrilled by the incredible engagement at this year's conference and networking event. Bringing our members and suppliers together face-to-face is where the real value is unlocked, and delivering over 600 individual meetings proves the strength of our buying group network. I want to say a huge thank you to our fantastic presenters for sharing their invaluable insights, and to all our

members and suppliers, whose active participation made this event such a resounding success. The immediate commercial pipeline generated during the event ensures that both independent wholesalers and our supply partners are perfectly positioned for collective, long-term growth."

Sugro UK’s Head of Commercial and Marketing, Yulia Petitt added: “The energy and engagement from both members and suppliers throughout the two days were outstanding. This event proved that face-to-face collaboration remains vital for uncovering new commercial paths. I want to extend our sincere thanks to the industry experts who delivered such impactful sessions on overall industry positioning, AI, data strategy, and sustainability, as well as to the members and technology partners whose joint video presentations perfectly illustrated the strength of our collective network."