Frankly Better: Professional Chefs’ Brand Of Choice Rolled Out To Independent Retailers

Frank Dale – the brand of choice for professional chefs – is extending its successful frozen occasions food offering to the independent sector.

With a 100-year-old farming heritage and a reputation for delivering excellence in the guise of superior tasting canapés, quiches, pies and cakes, Frank Dale has diversified from supplying wholesalers servicing the hospitality sector, to direct to both independent retailers and the general public. 

Owner Ed Miles explains: “We’ve long been recognised as leading suppliers to the trade and the brand is widely acknowledged by professional chefs as best in class thanks to our commitment to only selecting ingredients with provenance to create the highest quality dishes with outstanding flavour. Our products are created under one roof, completely from scratch delivering the signature Frank Dale handmade touch. However, with the hospitality industry being one of the hardest hit during Covid, it was time for the business to think outside the box and concentrate on what we do best, delivering delicious, authentically tasty occasions food but looking at new routes to market. Our new website, www.frankdale.online.co.uk  enables us to sell direct to consumers with a next-day service, therefore opening up another new distribution channel for the brand. In addition, independent retailers, farms shops and delis are well positioned to capitalise on the appeal of our frozen sweet and savoury goods to their customers by ordering via Delishops www.delishops.co.uk, the latest competitive wholescale marketplace and e-commerce platform dedicated to the independent sector.”

The brand-new online retail lines for independents includes the brand’s renowned miniature British classics with a quirky twist, famed for being big on flavour but small in size. These appealing bites represent a cut above the usual frozen supermarket fare and the ideal solution to fuss-free Christmas and New Year entertaining. Taste combinations include Fish & Mushy Pea Rosti; Beetroot Pastry, Spinach, Feta and Red Pepper Mini Quiche and Mini Yorkshire Puddings, demonstrating the brand’s clear ability to elevate UK favourites to a whole new level. In addition to the comprehensive party style food offering, the portfolio also includes a range of larger sharing tarts and quiches which share the same focus on new creative flavours such as Caramelised Onion Chutney and Mature Cheddar Tart in Turmeric Pastry; Winter Butternut Squash, Emmental, Red Onion and Spinach Tart and Smoked Salmon, Leek and Dill Tart in Beetroot pastry, all designed to provide speedy wholesome family meals. In response to the explosion of interest in plant based / vegetarian foods,

Frank Dale has developed a generous selection of mini pies, sharing tarts and mini / individual quiches. Finally, the four-strong mini cake collection maintains the consistent nod to tradition yet presented in a thoroughly modern format.

Ed Miles continues, “We are confident that our occasion and hearty family food will enable retailers to capitalise on the festive season when eating occasions are on the increase, exceeding customer expectations for delectable frozen foods that are not only convenient, tasty and exciting but also surprisingly competitively priced.  Thanks to their safety and ability to ‘lock-in’ nutrients whilst retaining product freshness and flavour, frozen foods are very much back in favour so we are hopeful that this trend combined with Frank Dale’s hallmark ‘homemade’ taste and exceptional quality will all contribute to a successful rollout in 2020 and beyond.”

Future plans for the brand include the roll out of a new gluten-free range (scheduled for early 2021), to cater for those with special dietary needs and the launch of wholesale packs online.

Source: Frank Dale

  Ed Miles, Frank Dale