One of the leading suppliers of food to the health and social care sector, apetito, is investing £5m planning and preparing for Brexit.
The company wants to protect the supply of food to its customers, many of whom are elderly and vulnerable in hospitals, care homes and their own homes. 
Paul Freeston, chair and ceo of apetito UK & Canada, says the company has implemented a stock contingency plan. This includes increasing stocks of high risk raw materials and finished goods, with a working capital cost of £5m.
The plan has been developed from a detailed analysis of the company’s entire raw material and packaging supply chain, involving the 700-plus items it purchases to make its products.
Freeston says raw materials stocks of high risk items will be increased from four to eight weeks, finished goods stocks are being raised from an average of five weeks to six weeks and, to accommodate increases, apetito has contracted additional storage for the next 6 months, at cost in excess of £100,000.
“We are investing heavily in a contingency plan to protect our customer supply chain. However, we believe it is essential that the current political stalemate is resolved so the food industry can get on with its job of feeding the nation,” says Freeston.
“We are proud to serve some of the most vulnerable people in society and it is vital that we have certainty of future supply through frictionless trade with the remaining EU members, who form a vital part of the UK supply chain.”
