Impulse and soft drinks wholesaler JL Brooks has boosted its delivered service and range through the move to a new depot. 

The site is 25,000sq ft, with its previous site measuring 20,000sq ft. There is also room to expand the site’s capacity further. 

The firm’s managing director, David Longfellow, told Better Retailing the increased floorspace would enable it to boost its product range, which includes soft drinks, crisps and snacks, and confectionery. 

Although the firm primarily serves foodservice and hospitality, Longfellow said JL Brooks is open to “delivering to anyone”, with an online consumer delivered service offering orders of small quantities to retailers. 

He said: “The increased capacity will also enable us to boost the online consumer service. We saw a massive increase in demand during the pandemic and this is still really strong. Previously, we’ve delivered as far as London through DPD. We’re also going to open a click & collect option for the service at our new depot. 

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“We’ve also reduced some costs through the new warehouse, which we can pass onto our customers through lower pricing.” 

There is no minimum spend requirement for the DPD Express delivery service, with orders being fulfilled within one-to-two days. 

JL Brooks currently has a delivery fleet of 22 vehicles across its Leeds and Hull warehouses, with recruitment for expansion currently underway. Longfellow explained the company was also looking at other sites to open a third depot and potentially more. 

He added that JL Brooks has maintained the same customers since it was founded in 1920. Explaining how it provides good customer service, Longfellow told Better Retailing: “We’ll never be as big as wholesalers such as Booker and Costco, but we can focus on differentiating by providing good-quality localised service and affordable pricing. 

“Customers really value us for that in comparison to some of the bigger companies out there. We are also unique because we offer a wide range of products local to the area.” 

The company is also part of the National Buying Consortium (NBC), a wholesale buying group that negotiates cheaper prices on goods through the collective buying power of its members. 

JL Brooks can also use its membership to source products for customers from other NBC wholesalers in other parts of the country that might otherwise be unavailable. 

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