Hartwood Foods | Premium Meat Wholesaler

Background

Hartwood Foods is a family-run wholesale supplier of premium halal beef and lamb products, serving restaurants, cafés and foodservice businesses across the UK.

Operating from its production facility in Bedfordshire, the company combines traditional butchery expertise with modern production capabilities, supplying customers nationwide through its own delivery network.

As the business continued to grow, so did the complexity of managing customer orders. The team needed a solution that would help them scale efficiently without compromising the high levels of service and personal relationships that had helped build the business over the previous nine years.

The Challenge

Before implementing Orderlion, Hartwood Foods received orders through multiple channels including WhatsApp, text messages and email.

Managing orders across several communication platforms was becoming increasingly difficult and time-consuming. Orders could easily become fragmented, valuable information was spread across multiple conversations and the team was spending significant time chasing and processing orders manually.

"We take orders on text, WhatsApp and email. Orders were getting missed and customers weren't getting their orders. We needed a solution to bundle everything into one place."

At the same time, the business wanted a better way to showcase its full product range. Many customers were only ordering products they already knew Hartwood Foods supplied, limiting opportunities for cross-selling and growth.

The team needed a platform that would centralise ordering, improve efficiency and make it easier for customers to discover everything the business had to offer.

The Solution

Hartwood Foods implemented Orderlion ordering app to create a single, centralised ordering platform for both customers and internal teams.

Customers gained access to a digital catalogue where they could browse the full product range, place orders at any time and easily discover new products. Internally, the team could manage all orders through one system rather than juggling multiple communication channels.

Over the last three years, Hartwood Foods has continued to grow alongside Orderlion, embracing new features and functionality as the platform has evolved.

"We've been using it for about three years. Orderlion has improved throughout the years as well and there have been new features that Orderlion has given to us and we've offered to customers. We've grown with Orderlion as well."

Fayaz Gulamali, Operations Director at Hartwood Foods.

The result is a streamlined ordering process that supports both operational efficiency and long-term business growth.

The Results

Three years after implementing Orderlion, Hartwood Foods has transformed the way customers order and engage with the business.

One of the company's biggest achievements has been customer adoption. While some customers initially preferred more traditional ordering methods, the team worked closely with them throughout the transition and successfully migrated the vast majority onto the platform.

"You'll always get your first 30% who jump on board straight away, your next 30% who need a little convincing and then your final group who prefer doing things the traditional way. Eventually they came on board too. Today, 95% of our customers are now on board and they all enjoy it."

Beyond improving efficiency, Orderlion has become a valuable sales and marketing tool.

By giving customers visibility of the full Hartwood Foods catalogue, the business is creating new opportunities for product discovery and upselling. Customers regularly discover products they were previously unaware Hartwood Foods supplied, leading to larger orders and additional revenue opportunities.

One customer who was expanding from a single restaurant to multiple sites used the app to explore new menu options and discovered several additional products through the catalogue.

"They were looking to expand and increase their menu. They dropped me a message saying, 'I saw this on the online app. How do we test it?' They're able to scroll through and see what else we do."

These moments have become increasingly common as customers use the platform to browse the wider range and explore new opportunities for their own businesses.

The business has also seen sales increase since implementing Orderlion.

"Our sales have actually increased. Having a system and app like Orderlion helps us manage this and helps us actually see some improvements."

The platform's reporting capabilities have also given the team better visibility of top-selling products and customer buying patterns, helping them make more informed commercial decisions.

Perhaps most importantly, Orderlion has changed the nature of customer communication.

Before, much of the team's interaction with customers centred around chasing and processing orders. Today, those conversations are focused on product recommendations, new opportunities and strengthening relationships.

"Before, communication was mainly about chasing orders. It's now communication to build that customer relationship."

For a family-run business where customer service remains at the heart of everything they do, this shift has been invaluable.

Key Results

• 95% customer adoption of digital ordering
• Increased overall sales
• Increased order values through greater product visibility
• Improved product discovery across the full catalogue
• Simplified onboarding of new customers
• Reduced risk of missed orders
• Centralised ordering into a single platform
• More time available for production, sales and business development
• Better visibility of customer buying trends and top-selling products
• Stronger customer relationships through more meaningful communication
• Successfully grown alongside Orderlion over a three-year partnership

Client Perspective

"The main thing for us is trying to manage everything. Two hours you save chasing orders can then be allocated elsewhere. Two more hours on production, two more hours doing sales, two hours on the financial side. The time you save is very valuable for me personally and also for the business."

"We've seen great success, so I don't see why other businesses in our industry wouldn't see success as well."

Fayaz Gulamali, Operations Director at Hartwood Foods

Looking Forward

As Hartwood Foods continues to expand its customer base across the UK, technology remains an important part of its growth strategy.

Having already achieved widespread customer adoption, the business is now exploring additional Orderlion features and innovations that can further improve efficiency, support sales growth and enhance the customer experience.

By combining traditional family-business values with modern technology, Hartwood Foods is well positioned for continued growth in the years ahead.

Bottom Line

Orderlion helped Hartwood Foods transform a fragmented ordering process into a streamlined digital operation.

The result is a business that has successfully onboarded 95% of its customers to digital ordering, increased sales, improved order values and created more time to focus on what matters most: serving customers, building relationships and growing the business.

Ready to achieve similar results?

Whether you're a meat wholesaler, foodservice supplier or food and beverage distributor, Orderlion can help you centralise ordering, improve efficiency and create new opportunities for growth.

Book a personalised demo today and discover how Orderlion can transform your wholesale operation.