Foodbuy Joins Buy Social Corporate Challenge

Foodbuy, a leading group procurement organisation, has become the first company in the food and drinks sector to join the Buy Social Corporate Challenge – a ground-breaking initiative which sees high-profile businesses use their everyday spending to transform lives.

The Challenge, launched in 2016 by Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) and backed by the government’s Inclusive Economy Unit, brings together corporate partners from a broad range of industries with a collective ambition to spend £1 billion with social enterprise suppliers. As the profile of ‘social procurement’ rises, more and more businesses are joining the Challenge to embed innovation, diversity and social value into their supply chains.

Social enterprises are businesses that trade for a social purpose. SEUK’s research shows that there are now over 100,000 social enterprises in the UK, employing two million people and contributing £60bn to the UK economy. These numbers are growing fast and a large proportion of them operate in the business-to-business space.

Ian Murphy, Managing Director of Foodbuy said: “We believe social enterprises are going to be essential for a successful future. Not just here in the UK but around the world.  By working directly with social enterprise suppliers, we will be using our procurement spend and influence to support these businesses and in doing so, change lives for the better.”

Foodbuy already works with a number of social enterprise providers, including Change Please – an award-winning coffee company which is empowering the homeless community by training them to be baristas. Change Please believes that the nation’s love of coffee is so strong it could play a part in ending homelessness once and for all. The firm is making great progress in scaling up its operations and impact – with jobs created and lives transformed through every coffee purchased.

Foodbuy will be joining 22 other large businesses in the Buy Social Corporate Challenge, which is run by Social Enterprise UK and supported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and Business in the Community.

Ends

For further information about Foodbuy, please visit www.foodbuy.eu