A new delivered wholesaler is looking to partner with and help more convenience stores fill a gap in the medicines, cosmetics and toiletries categories. 

Sandea Wholesale formed four years ago and has since seen turnover grow from £126,000 to £2m in its latest financial year. 

Although the company supplies food and drink, excluding alcohol and tobacco, it specialises in medicines and toiletries, offering more than 5,000 products from more than 500 suppliers. 

Founder Sanjeet Manek told RN the company is looking to expand its base of retail customers. 

Although the company mainly delivers within a 10-mile radius of its headquarters in west London, Manek added it now covers the whole of the UK in some circumstances and has delivered as far north as Manchester. Minimum delivery from the wholesaler is £500, with orders arriving within three-to-five working days. 

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Explaining what the company can offer retailers, Manek told RN: “We specialise in over-the-counter medicines, cosmetics and toiletries. We have a lot of direct accounts and are part of the wholesale buying group Sugro, so we can negotiate the best prices and pass them onto our customers. The margin we offer retailers across our product range is at least 20%. 

“We’re not going to compete with the likes of Booker and Bestway in food and drink, but we are very strong in medicines. 

“There is a huge market here which we can help retailers make the most of. We can pick up trends and seasonal demand quite quickly due to how closely we work with our suppliers. 

“Customers are cautious with the medicines category, as they want to ensure what they’re consuming is right for them. We’re able to provide full product guides to help retailers sell the lines, information to help retailers meet any special requirements customers have or meet legal responsibilities. We can also provide pictures of the products themselves. Some of our top-selling products include core lines such as Calpol and Lemsip.” 

Manek said the company was also investing in artificial intelligence (AI), with improvements to service to be made available to stores over the coming months. 

He said: “The team is growing, and we want to be able to help our customers 24 hours a day. The investment we’re making into AI has been designed to enable us to offer an online chat to answer retailer queries and take orders at any time. We will also be able to provide real-time status updates on a retailer’s order.”