Multi-national food sector distributor has doubled its employee numbers in Cork over past 12 months

A MULTINATIONAL distributor to the food service sector has doubled the number of people it employs in Cork over the past year.

Nisbets has grown from a one-man operation in Bristol to a global catering retailer with more than half a million customers worldwide.

The company has a strong presence in Cork and has doubled the numbers employed here over the past 12 months to a total of 39 people.

The company was set up by Andrew Nisbet in 1983. He began selling knives, clothing, and textbooks to catering students after the success of his father’s pottery business providing hotel ware to businesses in the Southwest of England.

The company quickly expanded, launching a mail-order catalogue before setting its sights on the export market. In 1992, Nisbets opened its first Irish office in Cork.

By the mid-1990s Nisbets had a range of 8,000 products available in the UK and Ireland.

Today it stocks more than 35,000 products with customers able to buy online, by phone, and at 40 locations including its newest customer showroom at the Blarney Business Park in Cork.

It employs more than 2,000 people worldwide, receives 12,000 orders daily, and has offices in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Holland, France, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand.

Nisbets’ Irish operation is headquartered at the Blarney Business Park. The new distribution centre was officially opened in March 2023 and extends to 62,000 sq feet.

The company’s customer support, sales, accounts, and warehousing operations are located at the facility which is also home to more than 6,000 products for bars, hotels, restaurants, and home kitchens.

An additional 22,000 lines are available online.

Eoghan Donnellan, Nisbets’ general manager, said: “It has been an exciting period of expansion for us in Ireland with Cork at the very centre.

“Cork is where our first Irish office opened in 1992 and opening our Irish distribution centre is certainly one of the highlights over our 30-year history in Ireland. We’re delighted to see our team here expand.

“In addition to our Cork location, we have a nationwide field sales team and service engineer as well as retail stores in Dublin and Belfast.”

Businesses in the hospitality industry have had a challenging few years, dealing with increasing costs after facing prolonged closures and staff shortages during the pandemic.

“It has been inspiring to see our customers’ businesses go from strength to strength despite the economic challenges,” Mr Donnellan added.

“The food industry is hit hard and fast whenever there is a crisis, whether it’s a severe weather event, an ash cloud, covid-19 or an economic downturn.

“However, the food industry is also the most resilient and continues to bounce back time and again.

“From the smallest cafe owner to the larger hotels, the passion for creating good food and welcoming guests is incredible,” he continued.

“Our aim is to support our customers whether they’re running a restaurant, bar, a work canteen or simply love to cook.

“These people drive everything we do at Nisbets; they encourage us to innovate and develop new products to help them succeed.

“We’re committed to offering our customers the best experience whether they’re shopping online, ordering over the phone or paying a visit to our new showroom.

“We also know how valuable our customers’ time is and we aim to provide a seamless, hassle-free way to get all the catering equipment they need.”

Energy saving and switching to environmentally friendly options are key concerns for the hospitality industry, with businesses looking at ways to reduce food and other waste.

“We’re finding that energy efficiencies, reducing costs and eliminating unnecessary waste are high on the agenda for the hospitality sector,” Mr Donnellan explained.

“We have an extensive range that aims to address these challenges, including induction-cooking equipment which can almost double the energy efficiency when compared to gas hobs.

“Customers are also opting for eco-friendly, recyclable, and compostable packaging whenever possible.”

Nisbets has a strong online presence with more than half of its business conducted online. It offers next day delivery with a 5.30pm cut-off time for items dispatched from the Cork distribution centre.

Its extensive range of kitchen appliances includes combi ovens; refrigeration; induction-cooking equipment; food smokers; pasta makers; water boilers; veg prep machines; ice cream, crepe, and waffle makers; and pizza ovens.

It also carries professional cookware, furniture, cleaning equipment, commercial crockery, eco-friendly compostable containers, and chef clothing.

For more information or to shop online, visit nisbets.ie.