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Where it all began
From humble beginnings stocking just 4 products, to stocking over 7,000!
The story of Birchall Foodservice is a remarkable journey that began in 1905 with George Chichester Birchall’s simple yet visionary horse and cart deliveries of cream, eggs, butter, and yeast in Burnley.
In 1939, as the world braced for the Second World War, GC Birchall Ltd officially emerged, marking a new chapter for us.
We have always been based in Burnley, and we’re exceptionally proud of our working class, Lancashire heritage. Over the years, we’ve grown from horse and cart deliveries to a commercial mill in the 1930s and then onto our current home in Burnley Bridge Business Park in 2015.
We have to say, it’s been quite the journey – take a look for yourself!
1905
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1930
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1939
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1950
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1978
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1982
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1985
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1998
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2002
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2004
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2007
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2008
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2015
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2016
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2016
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2019
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2020
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2021
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2022
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Looking to the future...
We recognise that the foodservice landscape is ever-evolving, and we’re putting big resources into IT, AI and digital transformation, aiming to enhance both our internal operations and customer experiences.
We’ve begun the process of exploring various AI tools and technologies to identify if they can help us streamline processes, improve efficiencies, and save time.
Our marketing and IT teams are investigating generative AI technologies to assist with document creation, online image enhancement and product copy. And in operations, we’re hoping to trial robots for zone picking in the warehouse.
Looking to our online ordering platform, OrderMate, we’re aiming to launch a number of big upgrades in the coming years, including bringing Estimated Delivery Times and barcode scanning to the app.