Tapasya Spices partnership helps Dee Bee kickstart food service
Mukesh Tirkoti, Tapasya Spices and Mark Pattison, Cash and Carry Manager at Dee Bee Wholesale
A new spice importing business has joined forces with a long-established food wholesaler in a distribution partnership which is gearing up to support the hospitality sector as it bounces back from lockdown.
Tapasya Spices has added Dee Bee Wholesale to its expanding ranks of distributors as it works to deliver its exclusive range of spices, rice and pulses to retailers and hospitality businesses nationwide.
Dee Bee, which has cash and carry warehouses of more than 60,000 square feet in Hull and its hometown of Grimsby, has seized the opportunity to enhance its efforts to kickstart its food service, with Trading Director Andy Morrison expecting a big increase in demand from pubs, restaurants and hotels.
He said: “We’re getting mixed messages from our customers about the Covid recovery. Some are going to give it a go on 12 April when they are able to open outdoor spaces and we expect further activity from 17 May and a lot more from 21 June assuming everybody sticks to the timetable.
“We expect serious demand when we reach those points on the road map. There are 23,000 holiday caravans between The Wash and the Humber and a lot of people will be desperate to get into them so we think there will be some real pent-up demand.”
Tapasya Spices launched its range in autumn 2020 with CEO Mukesh Tirkoti drawing on his supplier network in India to source and package more than 50 authentic products.
Everything is specially selected for the UK market based on Mr Tirkoti’s experience of running fine-dining restaurants around the world to Michelin Plate standard
The company appointed Islam Foods in Beverley Road, Hull, as its first distributor and is now looking at the deal with Dee Bee to reach a wider area and a new market.
Mr Tirkoti said: “We have had very positive feedback from people who have been cooking at home using Tapasya Spices products during lockdown and we are in discussions with other significant distributors as we work to build our retail network.
“But as we move closer to the reopening of pubs and restaurants we needed a partner with expertise and contacts in that sector and we have every confidence in Dee Bee Wholesale.
“Together we will help food businesses thrive after reopening by offering their customers products of the highest quality and the widest variety.
“Every product has been tested and endorsed by some of the most celebrated Indian chefs in the world and brings something new to the UK market. We aim to inspire a new way of thinking about our cuisine – products which promote the health and wellbeing agenda and which display the versatility to match the creative explosion in plant-based cookery.”
Dee Bee Wholesale was founded in 1961 and is part of the Ramsden Group, which employs nearly 200 people across the retail and cash and carry sectors. The Tapasya Spices range will initially be available at the company’s warehouse in Leads Road, Hull, and for distribution to hospitality outlets as far north as Whitby and to Skegness and Boston in Lincolnshire.
Mr Morrison said: “We’re impressed by the packaging and presentation of Tapasya Spices which indicates high quality and we are proud to support a local entrepreneur.
“This is a useful opportunity for us at a time when we are looking to broaden our customer base and develop our food service offer. Whilst the Tapasya Spices range will help us service the Indian restaurant market, bringing in new business, it also helps us service our existing customer base where these ingredients can add authentic flavour to a menu.”
