The Wholesale Group (TWG) reported combined group turnover of £4.6bn for H1 2026, a 10.1% increase against the same period last year. The buying group disclosed the figures at its annual conference, held in northern Tenerife with 115 delegates in attendance.

The numbers come from 241 member distributors serving 350,000 end-user customers. Their combined range spans 28,477 SKUs (stock-keeping units) across 142 categories.

Foodservice generated £2.66bn, up 10.3%, while retail reached £1.94bn, up 9.7%. TWG said both channels grew ahead of the wider market, though the group provided no independent benchmark figures to support that comparison. Frozen was the standout category, up 77% year on year.

What does the growth mean for members?

For members, scale translates directly into buying power. TWG added 161 new supplier partners over the past 12 months and extended all four of its own-brand ranges. Own-brand SKUs grew by 80 lines to reach 209 — the level at which private label starts to shift margin structure away from branded suppliers.

The group also launched CORE Juices, its newest own-brand line, already forecast to reach £500,000 in sales in its first year. That forecast is a projection, not a disclosed result; the first-year figure will test whether own-brand extension can carry volume beyond the established ranges.

Own-brand growth matters for customer economics. For a wholesaler, private label typically carries higher gross margin than branded equivalents and is not directly price-comparable across competitors. A 209-line own-brand portfolio across 241 members gives TWG leverage in supplier negotiations that individual distributors cannot exercise alone.

How the conference supports the numbers

The Tenerife event combined 632 one-to-one business meetings with new Member Roundtables and a programme focused on future growth. Buying groups live or die by supplier terms; a meeting density of roughly five scheduled one-to-ones per delegate concentrates a year's worth of trading conversations into three days.

Jess Douglas, managing director – People and Operations at The Wholesale Group, said: "There is nothing quite like bringing members and suppliers together face to face, and Tenerife's beautiful north gave us the perfect backdrop to do just that."

Douglas added: "The Roundtables also achieved exactly what we hoped: members speaking candidly with one another about the pressures they're facing – from staffing to sustainability – and leaving with practical ideas they can take straight back into their own businesses. These events show how integral relationships and human interaction are in developing business across the buying group in these difficult times."

What to watch next

The measured facts are the £4.6bn turnover, the channel splits and the frozen category's 77% surge. The assertions — growth ahead of market, the £500,000 first-year juice forecast — will need disclosed results to verify. With own-brand lines still expanding and supplier numbers up by 161, the test for H2 2026 is whether frozen's exceptional growth holds and whether the new CORE Juices line converts its forecast into booked revenue.