BIG INTERVIEW
CONFECTIONERY COMPANY SHOP
GROUP ON We interview Holly Mobley, Commercial Director at Company Shop Group, Waste
discussing how confectionery businesses can turn surplus stock into value while reducing waste and supporting communities.
C
ompany Shop Group describes themselves as UK’s leading redistributor of surplus products, supporting the food
and drink industry in managing surplus at every stage of the product lifecycle to reduce waste and recoup value for businesses. Holly Mobley is Commercial Director, working with partners across the confectionery industry to find solutions to stop surplus stock becoming waste.
Company Shop Group handles surplus across the confectionery supply chain. What makes confectionery particularly challenging when it comes to managing surplus, and how significant is seasonal confectionery within the volumes you redistribute?
Confectionery is high-value, brand-led and heavily occasion-driven, so any changes to forecasting can often leave stock behind. With a lot of seasonal and occasional products – often packaged specifically for events such as Christmas, or launched for Easter, Halloween or Valentine’s Day – residual stock can cause issues for brands and ‘traditional’ retailers, who are wanting to move on to the next moment in time. This is where Company Shop Group
comes in. As a surplus redistributor, we can take this stock at any time of year and through our ‘Surplus Supermarkets’ sell it on to our members. In a survey of our members, 87% told us that they are happy to consume festive treats after the occasion has passed, meaning we can stop perfectly good products from going to waste. Because our partners invest so much in
their products and their brands, they want total peace of mind when their products are redistributed and sold outside the traditional retail route. That’s why we treat every product we handle as if it were one of our own, tracking them from the moment they arrive, all the way to purchase. Because we operate membership-based surplus supermarkets, every purchase is linked to a
22 • KENNEDY’S CONFECTION • OCTOBER 2026
membership card, so we can trace products right through to the final customer. We also limit the number of each item that can be purchased, minimising the risk of any resale.
Seasonal ranges are designed around very specific moments in the calendar, but their value can drop sharply once that window has passed. What happens to confectionery products when they reach the end of their intended selling period, and how quickly does that process need to happen? Once a seasonal activity has happened, retailers need to move on to the next product range and any remainder stock can be left tying up valuable warehouse space and cash, so the last thing anyone wants is for it to go to waste. Working with Company Shop Group means this doesn’t happen because our members have come to expect Christmas, after Christmas! We buy this stock and help our partners move it out quickly, freeing up their warehouse space, and we help them generate value from the excess stock. As we have our own logistics fleet and two redistribution centres, this can happen in a matter of hours if needed. Partners can also donate
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