Smith & Brock is a wholesale supplier of fresh & prepared fruits & vegetables to hotels, restaurants, event and contract caterers, bars, pubs and schools. The business also supplies dairy, chilled goods and a smattering of dry store products, which is mainly customer-led. The business started trading in July 2016 from humble beginnings with a solitary hire van, brothers Joe and Nick and a driver. Whilst Joe and Nick have been in the industry for more years than they would like to admit, the impetus to create Smith & Brock was born out of frustration with being part of something that wasn’t doing things properly. So their mission, very simply, is to have the best people supplying the best product with the best service at the right price to customers who value these attributes in a supplier. ‘Simples’ – as they say…’’ Today the business employs over 180 members of staff. The business is owned and financed by Joe & Nick and is located centrally in South London, SE5, where it has 9,000 sq ft of temperature-controlled warehousing and offices. The central location enables the business to provide a flexible delivery schedule to customers and they are very responsive to 2nd deliveries. They also have a skilled team offering freshly prepared produce and this ensures that we have absolute control over the quality and supply of our sliced leeks, washed salads, peeled potatoes, Jenga chips, fresh juices, sweet potato wedges etc. Lots of companies wax lyrical about how important people are to the business so we won’t. They prefer to walk the walk. For Joe and Nick, it was critical to create a business and culture which attracts the best people and empowers the team to grow, develop and flourish – a nice place to work put simply. If you speak to any of their team you will hopefully hear that the business is akin to a family. It’s a very flat structure, but they have a clear strategy and direction everyone mucks in, and is proud to do so. There are no ivory towers here at S&B