Caterforce appoints new Group Buying Manager

Foodservice buying and marketing group, Caterforce, has appointed a new Group Buying Manager to support its head office team in Cheshire.

Joanna Halucha brings a wealth of experience to Caterforce and joins from Country Range Group where she spent almost 6 years as a Category Buyer.

Joanna, who replaces Kelly Orme, has worked in the foodservice industry for almost 10 years and will be working with the buying team to develop and deliver the buying strategy for the Caterforce members. One of Joanna’s key focuses will be managing and developing the Caterforce own-brand range, Chefs’ Selections, and she will also be responsible for the ongoing technical support for the group.

Gary Mullineux, Managing Director at Caterforce, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Joanna to Caterforce. Joanna has fantastic experience and coming from a Buying Group means she already understands the set up so can hit the ground running.

With all the challenges the industry is facing at the moment, it is a key time for Caterforce and our members and Joanna will not only strengthen our buying team, but also help us to achieve our goal of growing the Chefs’ Selections brand. I have no doubt that Joanna will be a great asset to the team and business.”

Caterforce Group has just announced that at the end of July, they were trading at 77% of sales versus 2019, with August tracking in line with 2019 sales. Some of the Caterforce Group members have experienced record sales so far this month and this can be attributed to the Eat Out to Help Out scheme and the coastal and rural areas which are performing strong.

Gary continues “We are seeing some really positive results across the Group and I am working hard with the members to plan for the future and ensure that we emerge stronger. We know that to come out of the other side, we need to keep adapting and investing in people and technology, and we plan to do just that.”