On 9 October, hundreds of our existing suppliers and prospective partners came together at Convene, 22 Bishopsgate, for JJ Connect 2026. 

This year’s theme was “The New Food Landscape”, and the programme was built to look at what’s reshaping foodservice and what it means for our industry.

The speakers covered a lot of ground. Mark Agnew shared how to confront “your polar bear”, Simon Stenning looked ahead with “Tomorrow’s World”, and Adam Leyland of The Grocer talked through foodservice and grocery trends.

We also heard from Neya Gwillim at Circana on winning in a new market, Flora Zwolinski at Lumina on the impact of GLP-1 on foodservice, and our own Omar El-Haj on practical ways brands can use AI.Alongside the talks, our Speed Connecting sessions were busier than ever. 

Welcoming New Future Partners 

Our buying team invited twice as many Future Partners as in 2025, which opened up conversations across dairy, soft drinks, bakery, packaging, fish, meat and more. As Sezer Ozkul, our Chief Product Officer, put it, the conversations were productive across a broad range of categories, and follow-ups are already under way.

There was news from Kaan Hendekli, our COO, too.

We’re planning a new pallet project to increase inter-trading with other wholesalers, starting with fellow Unitas members and frozen and chilled products.

He also confirmed we remain on track for 20 branches by 2031, with Nottingham recently opened and Ipswich to follow by the end of 2026.Kaan summed up our approach well: our mission has never been to be the biggest, it’s to be the best.

Thank you to everyone who joined us, and to our speakers and partners for making the day what it was. We’re looking forward to continuing the conversations.