Eight categories,
one method
The eight below are the ones we write up in detail, and there are more. Every one of them began as a client asking whether we could source something, so the range is a record of what has been asked for rather than a plan drawn up in advance. It is still growing.
Construction materials
Construction pricing moves with energy and freight, and it moves fast. Contractors buy on framework agreements and call-off schedules rather than one order at a time, which is the closest fit in our portfolio to how we already trade. Delivery reliability to a live site is usually worth more than the last two per cent on the rate, so we contract for both.
- Aggregates, cement and screed
- Insulation and plasterboard
- Timber and sheet materials
- Structural steel and metalwork
- Roofing and cladding
- Fixings and fasteners
- Drainage and groundworks
- Site consumables and PPE
- Declaration of Performance and technical documentation for any product covered by a designated standard
- Valid CE or UKCA marking, noting that CE is now accepted in Great Britain and UKCA is no longer mandatory
- FSC or PEFC chain of custody on timber, with UK Timber Regulation due diligence
- Batch traceability and test certification on structural lines
Who buys it Principal contractors, regional housebuilders, fit-out and refurbishment firms, groundworks specialists.
Health care
Qualification is slow and documentation-heavy, but a listing, once won, is unusually durable because substitution carries clinical risk. That makes health care the category where an annual commitment is easiest to justify to a supplier. Care home groups in particular buy the same consumables across dozens of sites with almost no variation, which is close to an ideal aggregation profile.
- Gloves, aprons and clinical PPE
- Wound care and dressings
- Incontinence and continence products
- Infection control and clinical cleaning
- Patient handling and mobility
- Ward and residential furniture
- Diagnostic and IVD consumables
- Nutrition and thickened fluids
- MHRA registration for every device, IVD, custom-made device and procedure pack
- A UK Responsible Person appointed under a Letter of Designation where the manufacturer has no UK legal presence
- ISO 13485 quality management at the manufacturing site
- Correct UKCA marking, or CE under the recognised transitional arrangements
- Post-market surveillance and recall procedures we can actually invoke
Who buys it National and regional care home groups, private hospital operators, pharmacy chains, community health providers.
Cosmetics and scents
The binding constraint here is not price, it is the minimum order quantity, and it applies per shade and per scent rather than per product. A brand wanting six shades faces six minimums. Combining several clients into one production run is the difference between a viable launch and a dead one, which makes this the category where aggregation is most obviously the product rather than a discount mechanism.
- Skincare and treatment formulations
- Haircare and styling
- Colour cosmetics
- Fine fragrance and body sprays
- Bottles, jars, pumps and closures
- Cartons, labels and secondary packaging
- Bulk actives and base formulations
- Full private-label and white-label programmes
- A UK-based Responsible Person, with the Product Information File and Cosmetic Product Safety Report held and current
- Notification through the SCPN portal for Great Britain, and CPNP where a line also goes to Northern Ireland
- ISO 22716 good manufacturing practice at the filling site
- UK REACH compliance on ingredients, and IFRA conformity on fragrance
- ADR and IATA classification handled correctly on alcohol-based fragrance freight
Who buys it Independent beauty brands, retail own-label programmes, salon and spa groups, subscription and gifting businesses.
Fashion and apparel
Minimums bite per style and per colour, and lead times punish anyone who commits late. Sourcing sits mainly across Bangladesh, India, Turkey, Portugal, Vietnam and China, with a steady pull back toward nearshore production wherever speed matters more than unit cost. Ethical audit status is now a gate rather than a selling point: without it the order does not get placed at all.
- Workwear and protective clothing
- Corporate uniform programmes
- Hospitality and front-of-house uniform
- Promotional and branded garments
- Retail private label
- Knitwear and jersey
- Accessories and headwear
- Footwear
- Supplier registration on Sedex with a current SMETA audit across all four pillars
- OEKO-TEX Standard 100 for chemical safety, and GOTS where organic content is claimed
- UK REACH Annex XVII compliance on restricted substances in textiles
- Correct fibre composition labelling, and flammability compliance on nightwear
Who buys it Facilities and contract cleaning groups, hospitality operators, care and health employers, retail own-label buyers.
Food supplies
Food is the hardest category the group trades in: the margins are thin, the frequency is high, the cold chain is unforgiving and fresh lines are worthless a few days late. We run it as a separate trading brand with its own operation because it needs one. It is also the best evidence we have that the model works, because it is the category where a sourcing house has the least room to be wrong.
- Ambient grocery and store cupboard
- Chilled and fresh
- Frozen
- Catering packs and bulk formats
- Beverages
- Non-food and disposables for catering
- Own-label and bespoke specification
- BRCGS certification at the manufacturing site
- HACCP plans, FSA registration and approval where required
- Allergen declaration and labelling, including Natasha’s Law where lines are pre-packed for direct sale
- Cold chain integrity records through to delivery
Who buys it Contract caterers, hospitality groups, care and education catering, independent retail and wholesale.
Automotive supplies
Aftermarket and OEM supply are different businesses and we treat them separately. Aftermarket runs on catalogue breadth, part-number cross-referencing and having the line in stock on the day. Fleet operators are the strongest aggregation candidates in this category, because consumable demand across a large fleet is both predictable and continuous, which is exactly what a supplier will discount an annual commitment against.
- Service parts and filtration
- Brake, steering and suspension components
- Lubricants, fluids and chemicals
- Tyres and tyre consumables
- Workshop equipment and tooling
- Garage consumables and shop supplies
- Bulbs, wipers and fast-moving lines
- Accessories and vehicle preparation
- E-mark approval under the UNECE 1958 Agreement for every component category that requires it
- IATF 16949 certification where a manufacturer also supplies OEM programmes
- PPAP submission on new part numbers, with FMEA and control plan evidence behind it
- Documented cross-reference and fitment data before a line is listed
Who buys it Commercial fleet operators, dealer groups, motor factors, garage and fast-fit chains, leasing companies.
Consumer electronics
Prices decay quickly enough that when you buy matters as much as what you pay, and factory minimums are high relative to what any single UK buyer needs. Both of those push toward consolidation. The part importers routinely underestimate is what happens after the container lands, because bringing finished electronics into the UK makes you a producer with obligations attached, and those obligations do not go away because nobody mentioned them.
- Small domestic appliances
- Cables, adapters and accessories
- Audio and personal electronics
- Lighting and smart home
- Power, charging and portable batteries
- Computer and mobile peripherals
- Seasonal and promotional lines
- UKCA marking, RoHS restriction of hazardous substances, and EMC and Radio Equipment compliance
- Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations conformity, including plug and lead safety
- WEEE producer registration through a compliance scheme, and battery producer obligations where a line contains cells
- Take-back arrangements in place, including free take-back for anyone supplying over 32kg of portable batteries a year
- Full technical file and test reports held, not merely referenced
Who buys it Retail and discount buyers, online marketplace sellers, promotional and premium businesses, hospitality fit-out.
Packaged consumer goods
Own-label competition is fierce and retailers buy against tightly written specifications, so the work is in the brief, the sample round and the factory audit rather than the negotiation. The live issue this year is packaging cost. From April 2026 extended producer responsibility fees are modulated by recyclability rather than charged flat, which means the packaging decision taken at specification stage now sets a recurring cost for as long as the line exists.
- Household cleaning and laundry
- Paper, tissue and hygiene
- Personal care and toiletries
- Ambient grocery
- Pet care
- Baby and childcare
- Private label across all of the above
- Packaging specified against its Recyclability Assessment Methodology rating, because a red rating is a permanent cost and missing data defaults to red
- Extended producer responsibility data complete and reportable through PackUK
- Plastic Packaging Tax position confirmed against the 30 per cent recycled content threshold
- Full ingredient, safety and labelling compliance for the product class
Who buys it Grocery and discount retail, wholesale and cash and carry, online own-label brands, contract and facilities buyers.
Not on the list?
Every category here started that way. If you buy it in volume, it is worth asking.