A successful working partnership
with Orian Solutions
Orian Solutions is a facilities management company and they offer bespoke school meal catering services for both primary and secondary schools across the north west and north east of England.
We are proud to be Orian Solution’s chosen single supplier for all food produce to their school customer base in Cumbria and the North East. We supply and deliver a wide range of meat, frozen and ambient products alongside fresh fruit and vegetables to their school clients on a daily basis. We have worked together for over six years now and the relationship is going from strength-to-strength.
We work hard to maintain and build great relationships with all our major customers
Our key account manager, Brian Baxter, has a well-established and close working relationship with Orian’s operations managers who in turn look after their individual school accounts.
Brian says: “We’ve established an excellent and open dialogue which always helps towards a positive working relationship. We speak and communicate regularly; our commitment to Orian Solutions is a priority key driver for both me personally and Pioneer Foodservice.
At the end of the day, our objective for the partnership is the same; to offer schoolchildren delicious and freshly prepared meals and I think our expert knowledge and high service levels help Orian achieve this. We always have to consider the variety and quality of foods we offer, which obviously includes vegan, gluten free with high consideration given to the importance of allergens.”
VISITS
We recently welcomed the Orian team to our Rosehill premises with a fascinating tour of our premises. They really got to see behind the scenes which helps them understand how we work and who we are.
Unfortunately, they seem to think they weren’t very good at making sausages, however perhaps we could invite them back for another go!
Our butchery sales manager, John Cowen, has also been visiting schools across Cumbria with Orian Solutions staff helping them deliver their healthy eating message.
He visited nearly a dozen Cumbrian schools to talk about the provenance of local produce, the importance of both healthy eating and exercise in a fun and interesting way.
Orian Solutions brought along their ‘smoothie bike’ with the children and teachers alike taking turns in cycling to produce a delicious smoothie drink to show just how great a healthy drink can taste.
Headteacher of Warwick Bridge School, Mark Ashton said: “The children really liked the smoothie bike afternoon. It was a fun and informative way to learn about food and the nutrients contained in different foodstuff. The children especially enjoyed powering the smoothie bike and tasting the finished products. A very educational and entertaining session all round.”
Clary Rigby, Marketing and Bid Assistant at Orian Solutions says of our collaborative relationship:
“We have worked closely with Pioneer on several recent school initiatives with the shared aim of educating young children about the benefits of fruit and vegetables, how produce is sourced and the role both companies play in serving up thousands of school meals each day across Cumbria and the North East.
Engaging with our suppliers is important to us, not only in forming longstanding and close working partnerships but also in gaining more of an understanding about how they deliver a service to us ‘behind the scenes’. We are fortunate that we have not only achieved a close and trusting relationship with Pioneer over many years but that we are also neighbours, sharing a Cumbrian heritage, based in Carlisle. The more we work together, we are realising the great potential and impact our knowledge and expertise have in guiding the next generation to eat well and support local and the success of our smoothie bike ‘pit stop’ tour is proof of this.”