What First Choice Purchasing does

First Choice Purchasing is an Irish procurement services firm headquartered in Cork, founded in 2010 and now operating as part of Avendra International following acquisition. The company delivers managed procurement services to hospitality, healthcare, and education operators, helping clients optimize food and non-food spend, manage supplier relationships, and improve operational efficiency. Its core product offering combines access to a global supplier network (2,500+ agreements within the Avendra platform), price analytics and strategic consultancy, and a small proprietary technology suite including the Pi Stock Management Tool and an All-In-One Menu and Allergen Management Tool. Reported client outcomes include 5-15% average procurement savings and quantified wins such as €120,000 in savings for Buswells Hotel.

The business model is a recurring/membership-based procurement services revenue stream supplemented by transaction-based savings sharing, sold through a direct enterprise field-sales motion with dedicated client account directors and regional account managers. Customers span hotels (Buswells Hotel, Hotel Ariane, PREM Group Ireland), healthcare operators (Curragh Lawn Nursing Home, Royal Brompton Hospital, Silver Stream Healthcare, Evergreen Care), theatres (Trafalgar Theatres), and education (Busy Bees Ireland), served primarily across Ireland and Europe. The company is supported by strategic content marketing (commodity market reports, trend guides, the 'Mark This!' podcast) and a co-marketing relationship with Aramark. As an 11-50 employee subsidiary of Avendra International, First Choice Purchasing's standalone economics are not separately disclosed, and its competitive position is materially shaped by access to the parent's aggregate purchasing power and supplier portfolio.

Name

First Choice Purchasing

Website

https://firstchoicepurchasing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

First Choice Purchasing is an Ireland-based procurement services firm serving hospitality, healthcare, and education operators with supplier access, price analytics, and proprietary management tools, now operating as part of Avendra International.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Procurement Services

SIC

Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products (5140), Wholesale-Groceries, General Line (5141)

akta.pro primary industry

Buying Clubs & Community Bulk Purchasing Co-ops (CRAHALAE)

Keywords

• Hospitality procurement services
• Foodservice supply chain
• Procurement cost reduction
• Supplier agreement management
• Healthcare food procurement

Headquarters

HQ city

Cork

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Procurement Services: Managed procurement services for hospitality, healthcare, and education operators, providing access to supplier agreements, price analytics, and supply chain optimization. Revenue derived from membership/participation fees and transaction-based savings sharing.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

First Choice Purchasing provides managed procurement services for hospitality, healthcare, and education operators, optimizing food and non-food procurement through access to a global supplier network, price analytics, and strategic consultancy. The offering combines dedicated client account management, proprietary technology tools (Pi Stock Management, Menu and Allergen Management), and curated supplier agreements to deliver 5-15% average cost savings while supporting menu innovation, supply chain reliability, and compliance.

Product overview

First Choice Purchasing was a procurement services company that has been acquired by Avendra International. The source material does not contain specific details about First Choice Purchasing's individual products or service modules. Avendra International, the acquiring company, offers a broad portfolio of procurement solutions including cost reduction services, price analytics and strategic consultancy, supply chain management, advanced technology tools, sustainable sourcing solutions, culinary and menu support, furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) support, and compliance and industry standards advisory services. First Choice Purchasing's offerings are now integrated into this larger Avendra International platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pi Stock Management Tool
• All-In-One Menu and Allergen Management Tool
• Price Analytics and Strategic Consultancy
• Managed Procurement Solutions
• Culinary and Menu Support
• FF&E Support
• Sustainable Sourcing Solutions
• Compliance and Industry Standards Advisory

Quantifiable outcome

• 5-15% average savings on procurement costs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• AramarkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAvendra International and Aramark spotlighted global expansion and customer-centric service on the 'Mark This!' podcast, highlighting their collaborative approach to serving hospitality clients.
• QuantumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerQuantum has joined the Avendra International family, expanding the company's capabilities and service offerings in the procurement network.
• First Choice PurchasingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst Choice Purchasing is now part of Avendra International, integrating their procurement expertise and client base into the Avendra network.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Aramark: Aramark is a global provider of food services, facilities, and uniforms with deep procurement expertise for hospitality, healthcare, and education. As a strategic partner of Avendra International and a broad incumbent in foodservice procurement, it is a comparable peer at scale.
• Performance Food Group: Performance Food Group is a major US foodservice distributor with procurement capabilities serving hospitality and healthcare operators. It is a broad incumbent peer whose distribution-plus-procurement model overlaps the supplier-aggregation work that FCP performs.
• US Foods: US Foods is a major US foodservice distributor offering procurement, supplier agreements, and technology solutions to hospitality and healthcare operators. It is a broad incumbent peer with overlapping procurement capabilities, though operating at much larger scale than FCP.
• Efoods (Brakes Group): Brakes Group is one of the UK's largest foodservice distributors and procurement platforms, serving hospitality, healthcare, and education operators. It is a broad incumbent peer offering both distribution and procurement services that overlap with FCP's value proposition.
• Sysco: Sysco is one of the world's largest foodservice distributors with broad procurement capabilities serving hospitality and healthcare. While a broad incumbent rather than a pure GPO, its procurement and supplier aggregation capabilities overlap materially with FCP's offering for large operators.

Direct peers

• Foodbuy: Foodbuy is the group purchasing organization owned by Compass Group, the world's largest foodservice company. It is a direct peer to First Choice Purchasing / Avendra International because it offers the same core proposition — procurement aggregation, supplier leverage, and analytics — to hospitality, healthcare, and education operators.
• Caterforce: Caterforce is a UK foodservice buying group that negotiates supplier agreements and provides procurement support to independent caterers and hospitality operators. It competes with First Choice Purchasing in the same foodservice procurement niche, with deep UK overlap alongside Avendra's UK presence.

Regional players

• Bidfood Ireland: Bidfood Ireland is the Irish arm of Bidfood, a multinational foodservice distributor. As a regional player focused on Ireland, it competes with First Choice Purchasing for hospitality and healthcare procurement relationships in the same local market.

Others

• Bunzl: Bunzl is a multinational distribution and procurement outsourcer specializing in food service, hospitality, and healthcare supplies. It overlaps with FCP as an adjacent participant in the procurement-of-supplies space, particularly for non-food categories such as FF&E and disposables.

Emerging players

• eProcurement / Determine (Corcentric): Corcentric (formerly Determine) provides procurement and spend-management technology platforms for indirect procurement. It is an emerging-player peer where its technology-enabled procurement tooling overlaps the price-analytics and strategic-consultancy platforms offered by First Choice Purchasing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/firstpurchasing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about First Choice Purchasing