View full tender data: https://app.hermix.com/opportunities/ukfts_032653-2026

A €616 million, 24-month framework covering dairy, bakery, meat, produce and patient feeding products for NHS sites across seven English regions, backed by a competitive landscape already worth €11 billion in similar contract awards.

Supply Chain Coordination Limited, operating as NHS Supply Chain, has published a contract notice on the UK Find a Tender Service for a fresh food and food to go procurement covering five distinct product categories. The estimated total value is €615,755,310.53 over 24 months, structured across five lots serving NHS sites across seven English regions. The procurement has been in the market since October 2025, with three prior information notices published before the formal contract notice appeared on 10 April 2026. A corrigendum followed four days later.

Opportunity Overview

• Contracting Authority: Supply Chain Coordination Limited (NHS Supply Chain)
• Buyer Type: Ministry or any other national or federal authority
• Main Activity: Unknown (as stated in the notice)
• Reference Number: FAG 1650
• Document ID: ukfts_032653-2026
• Tender Title: Fresh Food and Food to Go
• Contact: leila.bradshaw@supplychain.nhs.uk
• Issuing Authority (as stated in notice): NHS Supply Chain: Food, acting as agent for and on behalf of Supply Chain Coordination Limited

Scope of work:

• Fresh Dairy and Bakery
• Fresh Meat, Poultry, Fish and Meat-Free Alternatives
• Fresh Produce
• Food to Go, Patient Feeding Solutions
• Food to Go, Retail Concepts

Lot structure:

• Lot 1, Fresh Dairy and Bakery, €154,266,839.90: Milk (fresh and long life), Cream, Yoghurt, Butter, Cheese, Shell Egg, Liquid Egg, Bread Loaves and Buns, Baked Morning Goods, Non-dairy drinks (milk free)
• Lot 2, Fresh Meat, Poultry, Fish and Meat-Free Alternatives, €104,103,880.14: Beef, Game, Goat/Kid, Lamb/Mutton, Pork, Chicken, Turkey, Meat/Poultry/Game Pies, Offal, Fish, Meat-Free Alternatives
• Lot 3, Fresh Produce, €109,246,109.23: Whole fresh fruit, vegetables and salads; Prepared fruit, vegetables and salads; Par cooked chips and prepared potatoes
• Lot 4, Food To Go, Patient Feeding Solutions, €138,957,548.84: Patient Feeding Sandwiches, Patient Feeding Salads, Snack Pots
• Lot 5, Food To Go, Retail Concepts, €109,180,931.23: Prepared retail sandwiches, Hospitality platters, Prepared salads, Savoury pastry products and related food to go products for NHS retail environments, cafes and outlets
• Place of Performance (all lots): South East (England), East of England, South West (England), East Midlands (England), North East (England), North West (England), West Midlands (England)
• Estimated Total Value: €615,755,310.53
• Contract Type: Supplies
• Contract Duration: 24 months
• Procedure: Open
• Award Criteria (all lots): Financial (price) 70%, Non-Financial (quality) 20%, Social Value (quality) 10%
• Publication Date: 10 April 2026
• Submission Deadline: 8 June 2026
• Tender Opening Date: 8 June 2026
• EU Funding: No
• Source: UK Find a Tender Service

Related notices:

• ukfts_061570-2025: Prior information notice, 2 October 2025, Fresh and Food To Go Direction Solutions (no value stated)
• ukfts_077106-2025: Prior information notice, 26 November 2025, Fresh Food and Food to Go Framework, value €257,066,510.32
• ukfts_029696-2026: Prior information notice, 31 March 2026, Fresh Dairy and Bakery (no value stated)
• ukfts_032653-2026: Contract notice, 10 April 2026, value €615,755,310.53
• ukfts_033587-2026: Corrigendum, 14 April 2026 (no value stated)

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Authority and Procurement Context

Supply Chain Coordination Limited is the commercial arm of NHS Supply Chain, the national procurement organisation for NHS England. The notice states buyer type as Ministry or any other national or federal authority and lists main activity as Unknown. The procurement is issued by NHS Supply Chain: Food acting as agent on behalf of SCCL.

The Hermix procurement footprint for this buyer shows the following:

• 3,200 contract awards across all categories, totalling €141 billion
• 36 renewals across all categories, totalling €19 billion
• 341 similar contract awards, totalling €11 billion
• 0 similar renewals and 0 similar open tenders beyond this one
• 3 all open tenders totalling €11 billion
• 16 similar prior notices totalling €257 million; 124 all prior notices totalling €178 billion
• 384 other buyers with similar projects, representing €225 billion in total value

The prior notice history adds important context. The market was first put on notice in October 2025 with the Fresh and Food To Go Direction Solutions PIN. A second PIN followed in November 2025 with a stated value of €257,066,510.32. A third PIN appeared on 31 March 2026 covering Fresh Dairy and Bakery specifically. The contract notice published on 10 April 2026 carries a total value of €615,755,310.53, more than double the November 2025 PIN figure. A corrigendum was published four days later on 14 April 2026. Bidders should retrieve both the full ITT and the corrigendum before drafting.

Competitive Landscape

The Hermix dataset shows the top 10 winners of similar contracts. The full pool covers 341 similar contract awards totalling €11 billion. Data is limited to 10 results in the public view.

Ranked by total contract value:

• BRAKE BROS: €543 million across 19 contracts (average €29 million)
• HUNT S FOOD GROUP: €488 million across 15 contracts (average €33 million)
• BFS GROUP TA BIDFOOD: €467 million across 12 contracts (average €39 million)
• ON A ROLL SANDWICH COMPANY: €150 million across 6 contracts (average €25 million)
• RAYNOR FOODS: €147 million across 7 contracts (average €21 million)
• JOHAL DAIRIES: €141 million across 8 contracts (average €18 million)
• PORTION SOLUTIONS: €72 million across 10 contracts (average €7.2 million)
• NIJAR DAIRIES T A FRESHWAYS: €63 million across 9 contracts (average €7 million)
• NUTSHELL PACKAGING: €62 million across 8 contracts (average €7.7 million)
• PREMIER FOODS GROUP: €48 million across 7 contracts (average €6.8 million)

The top three contractors by value (Brake Bros, Hunt S Food Group, BFS Group TA Bidfood) account for approximately €1.498 billion of the visible top-10 total, or about 69 percent of the visible dataset. All three are UK-based foodservice distributors with broad product portfolios. Their high contract counts (19, 15 and 12 respectively) confirm they are repeat winners, not occasional participants.

The lower tier of the visible top 10 contains more specialist suppliers. On A Roll Sandwich Company (€150 million, 6 contracts) and Raynor Foods (€147 million, 7 contracts) are positioned in the prepared food and food to go space relevant to Lots 4 and 5. Johal Dairies (€141 million, 8 contracts) and Nijar Dairies T A Freshways (€63 million, 9 contracts) map to the dairy and fresh ingredients categories relevant to Lots 1 and 3.

Country distribution is nearly exclusive to the United Kingdom. The contractors’ countries table shows United Kingdom at €11 billion across 340 contracts with an average of €34 million per contract. Ireland has one contract worth €4.6 million. For a fresh food framework requiring daily or near-daily delivery to NHS sites across seven English regions, UK-based supply chains are the only practical option.

Commercial and Procedural Signals

Award criteria. All five lots use the same weighting: Financial (price) 70%, Non-Financial (quality) 20%, Social Value (quality) 10%. The 70% price weighting is dominant. This is a price-led procurement. Suppliers with the operational scale to compete on unit cost and delivery efficiency have a structural advantage. Quality and social value together carry 30%, which is still meaningful for differentiation, but price will drive most decisions.

Procedure. The procurement uses the Open procedure. Any qualified supplier may submit without a pre-qualification stage. For a national NHS fresh food framework with 59 days to deadline, this favours established food distribution businesses with existing NHS or public sector supply references and the logistics infrastructure to serve seven regions from the day of contract award.

Lot structure and bidding strategy. The five lots cover distinct product categories. Suppliers do not need to bid for all five. A dairy and bakery specialist can target Lot 1 without committing to meat or fresh produce. A food to go manufacturer focused on patient nutrition can target Lot 4 without competing across the full food basket. The lot boundaries also reflect different supply chain requirements: cold-chain dairy, fresh meat, ambient produce, chilled prepared food. Bidders should assess where their product and logistics capability is strongest and concentrate their response there.

Contract duration. The 24-month term is relatively short for an NHS supply framework. This creates more frequent re-tender cycles than a 4 or 8-year agreement, which means a supplier who loses this round will have another opportunity within two years. It also means the mobilisation requirements and forward commitment are lower than for longer frameworks.

Submission window. From publication on 10 April 2026 to deadline on 8 June 2026, bidders have 59 calendar days. Tender opening is 8 June 2026. Suppliers who engaged with the October and November 2025 PINs will have been preparing for six months. New entrants have 59 days from the contract notice.

Corrigendum. A corrigendum (ukfts_033587-2026) was published on 14 April 2026, four days after the contract notice. Bidders must retrieve and review it before finalising any response, as it may modify specifications, lot descriptions, criteria or timelines.

Strategic Context and Interpretation

The procurement timeline runs from October 2025 to April 2026. Three PINs were published across that period before the contract notice appeared. The November 2025 PIN carried a value of €257 million. The contract notice published in April 2026 is valued at €616 million, more than double the November figure. The gap may reflect a change in scope across the five lots, revised volume estimates, or the decision to include food to go categories (Lots 4 and 5) that were not fully captured in the earlier notice. Bidders who responded to the direction solutions PIN in October 2025 may have influenced the final lot structure.

The competitive landscape is concentrated at the top. Brake Bros, Hunt S Food Group and BFS Group TA Bidfood together account for 46 of the 341 similar contracts on record and approximately 69 percent of the visible top-10 value. These are the same three firms that dominate NHS foodservice distribution more broadly. For Lots 1, 2 and 3, any bidder targeting those lots should treat these three as the primary competitive reference points.

Lots 4 and 5 represent a different market segment. On A Roll Sandwich Company and Raynor Foods are the most relevant visible reference points for the food to go lots. These lots serve distinct NHS operational needs. Lot 4 covers patient feeding solutions where nutritional compliance and portion control matter alongside price. Lot 5 covers retail concepts for NHS cafes and outlets, where product range, freshness and packaging are more prominent factors. Suppliers specialising in prepared food for healthcare or catering retail have a cleaner run in these two lots than in the core distribution lots.

Hermix users analysing this tender can access the competitive intelligence instantly, including detailed contractor profiles, authority spending patterns, and the full renewal pipeline, in minutes rather than hours.

Practical Takeaways for Bidders

Who this tender suits:

• UK foodservice distributors with national or multi-regional cold-chain infrastructure and existing NHS or public sector supply relationships, targeting Lots 1, 2 and 3
• Specialist prepared food and food to go manufacturers with NHS healthcare catering or patient feeding experience, targeting Lots 4 and 5
• Dairy, egg and bakery specialists with multi-regional distribution capacity, targeting Lot 1
• Fresh produce and salad suppliers with the packing and prepared food capability to serve both whole fresh and prepared categories, targeting Lot 3

Critical attention points:

• Submission deadline is 8 June 2026, giving 59 calendar days from publication. Tender opening is also 8 June 2026
• Retrieve corrigendum ukfts_033587-2026 (published 14 April 2026) before drafting. It may modify lot descriptions, criteria or timelines
• Award criteria across all five lots are Financial (price) 70%, Non-Financial (quality) 20%, Social Value (quality) 10%. Pricing competitiveness is the primary decision factor
• The framework covers seven English regions. Distribution and logistics coverage across South East, East of England, South West, East Midlands, North East, North West and West Midlands England must be demonstrated credibly
• Suppliers do not need to bid for all five lots. Assess lot fit by product category and logistics capability before committing to a multi-lot response
• The 24-month contract duration means mobilisation requirements are lower than longer frameworks, but pricing must be sustainable for two full years from award

Closing

This is one of the largest NHS fresh food procurement exercises published on the UK Find a Tender Service in 2026, covering the full range of fresh and prepared food products served across NHS hospital sites. The 341 similar contract awards tracked by Hermix at a combined value of €11 billion confirm the scale and regularity of this market. For food distribution and prepared food businesses with NHS supply credentials, structured qualification against each lot is the clearest route to a competitive submission.

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