Blakemore Wholesale Distribution

What Blakemore Wholesale Distribution does

Blakemore Wholesale Distribution is the trade-facing wholesale distribution arm of the family-owned A.F. Blakemore and Son Ltd, headquartered in Willenhall, West Midlands. Founded in 1960, the company supplies 5,000+ products across ambient, chilled, and frozen categories to fuel retailers, independent retailers, forecourt providers, vending operators, and leisure/hospitality sites across the United Kingdom. Its operational backbone is a multi-temperature fleet that delivers ambient, chilled and frozen items in a single free-of-charge drop to customer locations, supported by an online order portal that enables self-serve catalogue browsing, ordering, and delivery tracking. A complementary Symbol Fascia Partnership Programme allows independent retailers to trade under a branded fascia while retaining independence.

The company monetises through wholesale product sales on a transaction-based pricing model, with margins for retailer customers supported by a data-driven price optimisation tool that uses customer missions and category strategy to set Recommended Selling Prices. Customer acquisition relies on direct B2B sales relationships within Travel (forecourt and fuel retail), Retail (245 company-owned stores plus 500+ independents), and adjacent Education and Leisure sectors serviced through a foodservice division. Marketing is light-touch, focused on LinkedIn and X channels for the parent group, with the digital order portal serving as the primary bottom-of-funnel conversion surface. Technology differentiators centre on distribution integration (multi-temperature fleet), pricing optimisation, and e-commerce ease-of-use, with no public API, AI modalities, or proprietary ML models disclosed.

Name

Blakemore Wholesale Distribution

Legal name

A.F. Blakemore and Son Ltd

Website

https://blakemorewholesale.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Blakemore Wholesale Distribution, part of family-owned A.F. Blakemore and Son Ltd, is a UK wholesale distributor supplying 5,000+ ambient, chilled and frozen products via multi-temperature fleet to fuel retailers, independent retailers, forecourts, vending operators and leisure/hospitality sites.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Grocery Distribution

NAICS

General Line Grocery Merchant Wholesalers (42441), Beer, Wine, and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers (4248)

SIC

Wholesale-Groceries, General Line (5141), Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180)

akta.pro primary industry

Beverage Wholesale (Alcoholic & Non-Alcoholic) (AFAIABAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bar, Restaurant & On-Premise Beverage Supply Wholesale (AFAIAGAI), Non-Alcoholic Beverage Wholesale (Soft Drinks, Water, Juice, RTD Coffee/Tea) (AFAIAGAB)

Keywords

• Wholesale grocery distribution
• Convenience retail supply
• Forecourt retail services
• Multi-temperature logistics
• Symbol group partnership

Headquarters

HQ city

Willenhall

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Product Sales: Revenue generated from selling 5000+ products from leading brands across fresh, ambient, chilled and frozen food categories to retailers, fuel retailers, forecourt providers, vending operators, and leisure/hospitality businesses. Products include soft drinks, confectionery, crisps & snacks, beer/wine/spirits, grocery, dairy & chilled, and frozen foods.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Blakemore Wholesale Distribution supplies groceries, confectionery, soft drinks, beer, wine and spirits, crisps and snacks, and dairy and chilled lines to independent retailers, fuel forecourts, vending operators and hospitality/leisure businesses. It complements product supply with a multi-temperature fleet delivery service, an online order portal, a price optimisation tool, and a symbol fascia partnership programme for retailers.

Product overview

Blakemore Wholesale Distribution is a UK wholesale distribution company with over 60 years of experience, operating as one of the UK's leading wholesalers. The company offers a unified wholesale solution comprising an online order portal for digital procurement, combined with a physical multi-temperature fleet delivery service. Their product portfolio spans three main temperature categories: ambient products (beer, wine, spirits, snacks, confectionery, soft drinks), chilled products (bread, cakes, dairy, food-to-go, fresh produce), and frozen products (fish, chicken, chips, ice cream, ready meals). With access to 5000 products from leading brands, the company services fuel retailers, independent retailers, forecourt providers, vending operators, leisure and hospitality sites across the UK. They operate 245 company-owned stores and serve over 500 independent retailers. The offering includes a price optimisation tool that uses customer mission data and category strategy to help maximise retailer margins.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wholesale Grocery Supply Service Core B2B wholesale service supplying groceries and related convenience ranges to independent retailers, forecourt operators, vending operators and hospitality businesses across the UK, backed by a multi-temperature fleet and field sales support.
• Online Order Portal Web-based ordering platform that lets trade customers place wholesale orders, manage their account and access pricing information online.
• Multi-Temperature Fleet Delivery Service Logistics service using multi-temperature vehicles to deliver ambient, chilled and frozen product to retail and hospitality customers in a single drop, with free delivery available on qualifying orders.
• Price Optimisation Tool Web-based tool that provides real-time Recommended Selling Price (RSP) data to help independent retailers set competitive retail prices across their product range.
• Symbol Fascia Partnership Programme Retail partnership programme that enables independent retailers to operate under a Blakemore symbol fascia, gaining brand recognition, marketing support and wholesale supply in return.
• Dairy and Chilled Range Wholesale range of dairy and chilled products supplied to independent retailers, forecourts, vending operators and hospitality customers as part of the multi-temperature delivery offer.
• Beer, Wine and Spirits Range Wholesale range of beers, wines and spirits supplied to independent retailers, forecourt operators, pubs and hospitality businesses.
• Confectionery Range Wholesale confectionery range supplied to convenience retailers, forecourts and vending operators as part of the broader grocery catalogue.
• Crisps and Snacks Range Wholesale crisps and snacks range supplied to convenience retailers, forecourts, vending operators and hospitality businesses.
• Soft Drinks Range Wholesale soft drinks range supplied to convenience retailers, forecourts, vending operators and hospitality businesses.

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Booker Group: UK's largest food and drink wholesaler, now a Tesco subsidiary, serving convenience retailers, forecourts, pubs and restaurants with multi-category grocery and beverage ranges. Most directly comparable peer to Blakemore on product mix, customer base and B2B wholesale model.
• JJ Food Service: UK delivered foodservice wholesaler with multi-temperature capability serving restaurants, takeaways and convenience operators. Comparable on fleet-based multi-temperature distribution and online order portal.
• Bestway Wholesale: UK cash-and-carry and delivered wholesaler serving independent retailers, symbol groups and foodservice operators, now also owner of Costcutter symbol group. Closely comparable to Blakemore on grocery/beverage wholesale and independent retail support.
• Brakes Group (Sysco): UK foodservice distributor owned by Sysco, supplying restaurants, pubs and hospitality operators with ambient, chilled and frozen ranges. Directly comparable on foodservice/wholesale distribution to Blakemore's leisure/hospitality customers.
• Nisa Retail: UK convenience store wholesale and symbol group (now part of Co-op), supplying thousands of independent retailers with grocery, chilled and frozen ranges. Comparable to Blakemore on symbol fascia support and wholesale-to-convenience model.
• Costcutter Supermarkets (Bestway): UK symbol group for independent convenience retailers, now owned by Bestway. Comparable to Blakemore's Symbol Fascia offering for independent retailers competing with national chains.

Regional players

• Musgrave Group: Ireland-based wholesale and retail group operating SuperValu, Centra and Musgrave MarketPlace across Ireland and Spain. Comparable wholesale-to-independent-retailer and symbol group model but geographically focused outside the UK.
• Henderson Wholesale (Henderson Group): Northern Ireland-based wholesale distributor serving SPAR, EUROSPAR and ViVO branded independent retailers with grocery, fresh and chilled ranges. Comparable symbol-group wholesale model but operates in a distinct regional market.

Emerging players

• Paragus Group: UK specialist foodservice distributor focused on ethnic cuisine, restaurants and hospitality operators. Comparable multi-temperature wholesale-to-foodservice model but narrower cuisine and customer focus.

Broad incumbents

• Sysco Corporation: Global broadline foodservice distributor (parent of Brakes in the UK). Larger, publicly listed incumbent in foodservice distribution with overlapping multi-category ambient/chilled/frozen capabilities but a far broader global footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AF_Blakemore
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/a-f-blakemore-&-son-ltd

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 Blakemore Wholesale Distribution