allmanhall celebrates its 16-year anniversary of supporting clients and inspiring improvement in food procurement with a vision that good food shouldn’t cost the Earth
Founded in 2006 by father and son, Edward and Oliver Hall, the business began as specialists in catering procurement for the independent education sector. Sixteen years on, the business now employs a team of forty professionals. Edward and Oliver are still very much involved in the business as Chairman and Managing Director, and are proud to be owner-managed and independent, increasingly rare in the food procurement arena.
Much has changed since allmanhall was founded, both for the business and wider world in which it operates, but its philosophy remains consistent; deliver sustainable value for every client. allmanhall believe good food shouldn’t cost the Earth and, as such, they are on a mission to challenge and transform food supply so informed decisions become clear. It has grown and developed its core food procurement specialism, and by focusing on developing close working relationships with clients, has achieved a client retention rate of 99%, a huge testament to this philosophy. allmanhall now looks after and works collaboratively with well over 100 clients. This includes it’s very first, St Paul’s Girls‘ School in Hammersmith, London.
Communicatons and Development Director Jo Hall comments, “From a modest start in 2006 we have expanded to realise a turnover of £28m in FY 2021-22, a true example of a successful local business, growing and operating at a national level. And this expansion continues with circa £11m new business re-signed in the past six months, plus 2 new schools for the start of this academic year. We have an active programme of new staff recruitment and team development firmly underway and in place for the future.”
allmanhall has established itself as a market leader in food procurement for education catering teams, helping its school clients deal with the challenges that first the pandemic and now the food inflation crisis has created for all in the food sector. As well as an emphasis on the essential focus on sustainability and more readily available information. “Now more than ever, allmanhall’s procurement services, along with the utilisation of the latest industry-leading technology and supply-chain relationships, are proving essential our school clients.” continues Hall.
The original core of the procurement expertise offerings from those very early days are still apparent today but have expanded to include foodservice consultancy, with hands-on catering and nutrition advice and dietetics support for in-house school catering teams. Regarding the impact on the environment and sustainability, allmanhall has recently engaged in an exclusive partnership with Foodsteps, to provide carbon impact assessments for independent education foodservice.
In recognition of the level of service and expertise allmanhall provides, it has achieved a number of industry accolades. For the second year running it has been awarded Best Food Procurement Specialists 2022 from the Southern Enterprise Awards body. It won both this and the Customer Service Excellence Award 2021, building on the previous’ accolade for Customer and Staff Care in the Wiltshire Business of the Year Awards 2017. allmanhall works closely with the ISBA, recently delivering a much-celebrated Catering Managers Forum in partnership with them.
The company also has a strong altruistic bent and over the years has been a solid supporter of local charity, completing a number of annual Bath Half marathons and other challenges as a team over the years, for charity Jamie’s Farm, who promote farming, family and therapy.
To mark its anniversary allmanhall is publishing 16 recipes between September and Christmas 2022, all of which can be delivered on a budget and / or with a low carbon impact assessment rating.
allmanhall is an award-winning market leader in expert food procurement, specialising in independent education. For more information, please visit www.allmanhall.co.uk
