The UK hospitality industry is growing – but it’s not an easy ride. The national foodservice market is forecast to grow from around USD 81 billion in 2025 to more than USD 117 billion by 2032, reflecting steady demand for eating out, delivery and contract catering. In 2024, there were roughly 140,000 hospitality and foodservice businesses operating across the UK, with some of the fastest growth happening in the Midlands. Behind every busy restaurant, school canteen, or event venue sits a wholesale supply chain – and that’s where regional partners such as Mason Foods have become critical.
Mason Foodservice has been supplying kitchens across the Midlands for around 80 years, working with cafés, pubs, care homes, schools and other caterers that need reliable deliveries and straightforward pricing. As demand rises, particularly in towns like Ashby de la Zouch and Loughborough, the role of Food Wholesalers Ashby de la Zouch and Food wholesalers Loughborough is shifting from “van at the back door” to strategic hospitality partner.
Growing hospitality demand – and rising expectations
The recovery of eating-out, contract catering and event hospitality is driving sustained demand for wholesale food and drink. Analysts expect the broader UK hospitality market to keep expanding through to 2030, with restaurants and general foodservice holding the largest share of revenue. That growth is not limited to London: regional markets, including the Midlands, have seen strong openings thanks to comparatively lower property and staffing costs.
For wholesalers, that means:
- More independent operators need versatile, small-drop deliveries
- Hotels, venues and stadia looking for multi-temperature logistics
- Public-sector caterers are under budget pressure but with strict nutritional and quality standards
Mason Foods sits squarely in this space, supplying frozen, chilled and ambient products to care homes, schools, universities, colleges, theme parks, cafés and garden centres across Leicestershire and surrounding counties.
Midlands wholesale demand is accelerating
Nowhere is this more visible than in the Midlands. Mason Foodservice has recently expanded storage capacity, added a new 20,000 sq ft warehouse and joined the Sterling Supergroup buying group – moves designed to sharpen buying power and widen its range just as local demand increases.
Locally focused services such as Food Wholesalers Ashby de la Zouch and Food wholesalers Loughborough are a good example of how that demand translates on the ground:
- In Ashby de la Zouch, Mason Foods works with cafés, restaurants and mobile caterers, supplying everyday wholesale groceries with regular delivery routes and no inflated minimum orders.
- In Loughborough, the company offers more than 1,400 products – from Adkins bakery goods to frozen vegetables, dairy, cleaning materials and packaging – with free delivery on qualifying orders and a simple ordering experience.
These local hubs also support seasonal surges such as Loughborough Fair, where Mason Foodservice promotes dedicated delivery runs to ensure traders and hospitality outlets stay stocked during peak trading days.
Wholesale partners to cafés, restaurants, hospitals and more
The modern hospitality supply chain is broader than high-street dining. Mason Foods and other foodservice wholesalers are now underpinning:
- Cafés, pubs and restaurants that rely on consistent quality in bakery, chilled and frozen lines, often with limited storage.
- Hospitals, care homes and schools, which need dependable multi-temperature deliveries and tight control over product specifications and allergens.
- Event and leisure venues, from local fairs to theme parks and corporate hospitality, where any break in supply directly impacts the guest experience.
The urgency here is not just about keeping shelves full. As menus become more diverse, dietary requirements become more complex and labour scarcer, kitchens need products that are consistent, easy to handle and backed by clear information. Wholesalers like Mason Foods, with long-term regional knowledge, can help hospitality operators rationalise ranges, simplify ordering and still protect guest satisfaction.
2026: a crunch year for cost, quality and resilience
Looking ahead to 2026, the biggest challenge for UK hospitality will be balancing quality with cost. The Foodservice Price Index reached record highs in 2025, with food and drink prices for the sector rising for six consecutive months. At the same time, leading trade bodies warn that business-rate changes and tax policy could hit wholesalers’ already thin margins, forcing some to either pass costs on to customers or compromise on product quality and service levels.
For cafés, restaurants, hospitals and event caterers, that means:
- More volatility in ingredient pricing
- Tighter menu engineering to protect margins
- Greater reliance on wholesalers who can secure a consistent supply without cutting corners
Mason Foods’ recent expansion and buying-group membership are part of an industry-wide response to these pressures – using scale in procurement while retaining local delivery and personal service.
Competition and “hype” around Midlands food wholesalers
The Midlands has become a competitive hotspot for foodservice distribution. New entrants such as CaterChoice Foodservice in Birmingham are investing in large, modern depots to serve the region. Established players like MKG Foods market themselves as “your foodservice partner in the Midlands”, focusing on pubs, restaurants, hotels and other catering industries. National wholesalers, including Bidfood and Brakes, continue to strengthen their distribution capabilities across the UK, including regional hubs that serve the hospitality sector.
Within this landscape, Mason Foods operates as a long-standing regional specialist: big enough to invest in warehousing and supplier partnerships, but still close enough to the ground to understand the practicalities of running a café in Ashby or a school kitchen in Loughborough.
Event hospitality competitors – and where Mason fits in
In event hospitality specifically, Mason Foods sits alongside a mix of regional and national providers:
- Creed Foodservice – a UK-wide foodservice provider supplying sectors including destination leisure and hospitality, and known for supporting events and festival catering.
- Crowndale Foodservice – a Midlands-based wholesaler that serves the public sector and hospitality and is recognised for catering major UK events and festivals.
- MKG Foods – a multi-temperature foodservice supplier positioning itself as a partner for hotels, pubs and restaurants across the Midlands.
Compared with these businesses, Mason Foods’ strength lies in combining local delivery routes, a broad but focused product range and long relationships with everyday hospitality operations – from village cafés and schools to care homes and regional attractions. Rather than competing purely on scale, it offers a pragmatic, Midlands-centred service that complements the national reach of larger wholesalers.
How Mason Foods is helping hospitality stay ahead
For hospitality operators planning towards 2026, the lesson is clear: the right wholesale partner is now a strategic decision. By:
- Expanding storage and product range to meet surging regional demand
- Strengthening buying power through groups such as Sterling Supergroup
- Maintaining flexible, low-minimum deliveries to towns like Ashby de la Zouch and Loughborough
- Supporting a wide mix of partners – cafés, restaurants, hospitals, care homes, schools and event venues
Mason Foods is helping Midlands hospitality navigate growth, cost pressure and rising guest expectations at the same time.
As the UK hospitality industry moves into a more demanding 2026, local Food Wholesalers Ashby de la Zouch and Food wholesalers Loughborough will play a decisive role in whether kitchens simply cope – or truly thrive.
