We don’t rank suppliers by paid placement — that helps no one. Instead, here’s how to build your own shortlist of suppliers worth calling.
Start with care-sector experience
Suppliers who already serve care homes understand IDDSI, CQC expectations, and batch sizes. That context beats a generic catalogue.
A supplier who gets care context saves you explaining your world. They’ll suggest kit that fits a 40-cover texture-modified service, not a 200-cover restaurant.
Build a shortlist of 3
- One national for price benchmarking
- One local for service and speed
- One specialist in care catering kit
Three gives you competition without paralysis. You can benchmark, you have a fallback, and you’re not dependent on one relationship.
Score them on what matters
- Response time on a test enquiry
- Quality of advice given
- Warranty and service terms
- References from similar homes
Score on a simple 1-5 per criterion and keep it. The act of scoring removes ‘they seemed nice’ from the decision and replaces it with evidence.
Keep the list live
Re-score your shortlist yearly. Suppliers change, and so do your needs as the home grows.
A shortlist from three years ago is stale. Service levels drift, new specialists appear, your volume changes. An annual refresh keeps your buying sharp.
Need Cover While You Upgrade?
New kit is one thing — keeping meals running while you switch it out is another. KitchenFlow provides DBS-checked, care-experienced chefs and kitchen assistants for sickness, holidays and emergency gaps across South Wales. Book cover or talk to us.
