Planet Vending spoke to Alistair Price of WPS, to discover just why he’s so bullish about the future.
If you wanted to hire a sales agency that’s focused on the vending and coffee sectors, you wouldn’t have many to choose from… In fact, there’s only one, and that’s WPS.
What Price Solutions Ltd was set up by former Premier Brands man Alistair Price. Since 2001, the company has earned an excellent reputation for taking on brands with no presence in either sector – and getting them established.
Two prime examples of this are Harrogate Spring Water and Burtons Biscuits. From a standing start 15 years ago, these days both companies are very much part of the scene.
Just over a year ago, Alistair invited Richard Allen to become his business partner. Richard is a well-known face in vending, thanks to his time at Premier, Tedeco and more recently, 4 Aces.
‘I was delighted to welcome Richard to WPS’
‘I was delighted to welcome Richard to WPS’, Alistair told PV. ‘He brought a range of strengths that contributed to the day to day running of the business, which allowed me to concentrate on strategic development, including acquiring and nurturing new clients.’
It’s a strategy that’s borne fruit: since Richard arrived, three new clients have come on board, all of whom are keen to access the vending and coffee distributor markets. – ‘Maxpax, Lyons Freeze Dried Coffee and Jimmy’s Pure Popcorn have been very valuable additions to our roster’, Alistair said. ‘WPS has already had significant success with all three brands and others are waiting in the wings.’
‘Credibility is very important to us.’
Alistair and Richard are approached by interested suppliers ‘most weeks’; but getting new business isn’t as simple as that. ‘If we don’t think a product is right for vending, WPS won’t take it on’, Alistair said. ‘Credibility is very important to us and we know that operators will look seriously at products if they know that WPS has vetted them for suitability.’
Those criteria apply equally to ‘healthy’ and C-Quin approved products. They may tick today’s boxes, but if WPS doesn’t feel it will work , they’ll say ‘no thanks’ – even at the cost of losing a client.
‘WPS has no conflicts of interest’, Alistair said, ‘because we feel that’s very important to our credibility and hence our business model. So, for example, we only represent one water brand, Harrogate Spring and Thirsty Planet charity water and one roast and ground coffee company, which is Coburg Coffee, specialists in own label packs.’
‘We fully expect the business to double over the next two years.’
Both Alistair and Richard believe that success lies in strong and open relationships both with vending and coffee distributor customers, and companies who are key providers of routes to market – most notably Automatic Retailing.
‘We fully expect the business to double over the next two years, on the back of growth in selected client brands within the two sectors, consultancy (for suppliers who know nothing about the sectors) and also contract catering’, Alistair said, referring to a sector in which they have already made inroads, courtesy of Thirsty Planet charity water.
‘Honesty, integrity, credibility and drive are our four WPS keystones’ Alistair concluded, ‘and they are the reason we feel we can look forward to a bright and dynamic future.’
