FDBusiness.com

Award winning Indian food producer, County Wicklow based Bombay Pantry, is developing and extending its successful Irish chill chain retailer service with support from specialist operator Oakland International.

Bombay Pantry engaged Oakland International to provide direct DC distribution in both Dublin and Cork, and plan further growth and to develop their working relationship with Oakland to support additional retailer contract expansion nationwide.

Emma Sheehan from Bombay Pantry said: “The fact that Oakland has a proven track record was important to us as we needed to hit the ground quickly to get deliveries up and running, whilst also supporting our transition to this new phase of distribution.

“We currently have 5 out of our 10 lines listed, and we would hope that for some of the larger retail store formats that, in time, we will be able to increase this to include all remaining lines. As a small company, distribution is not a key skill set and by outsourcing this to Oakland it has enabled us to really focus on sales and marketing and drive volume growth.”

A specialist Indian food producer of an all-natural handmade product range, Bombay Pantry’s access to a local, tight chill chain is crucial in maximising shelf-life, whilst Oakland’s flexible supply chain approach is highly valued by Bombay Pantry in their forward strategy, which in addition encompasses the possibility of exporting to the UK as Oakland has a strong UK presence, useful when wishing to access new retail avenues in the future.

Oakland International general manager, Richard Hill, commented: “We are delighted to be working with and supporting Bombay Pantry, a multi-award winning company. Oakland International is skilled at developing growth partnerships with food producers across Ireland, the UK and Europe and we look forward to further extending our relationship with Bombay Pantry as they develop category offer and market share.”