Food & Beverage (Foodservice) research

Which businesses are included?

• Broadline foodservice wholesalers
• Specialist and regional wholesalers
• Catering supplies and disposables distributors
• Drinks and beverage wholesalers

What does The Index measure?

Five jobs a customer needs a website to do. Each is scored out of 20, giving a total out of 100. For food & beverage (foodservice), the journeys can include:

1. 1. Find the product

   Search that understands brands, product codes and the names caterers use.

2. 2. Choose the right one

   Pack sizes, case quantities, ingredients and allergen details where published.

3. 3. See the price and availability

   Account prices and availability from the customer's depot.

4. 4. Buy it

   Placing a trade order against a delivery day, with credit terms where offered.

5. 5. Buy again and self-serve

   Order guides, favourites, quick reorder, invoices and statements online.

How is a review carried out?

1. We visit the business's public website as a customer would, on desktop and on a phone.
2. We work through the five jobs using real products from the business's own range.
3. We record what we find with dated screenshots and the pages checked, using four evidence statuses: Detected, Observed, Not found in this review and Not checked.
4. Checkout and logged-in journeys are reviewed only where access is available and authorised.
5. A reviewer checks the findings before anything is published.

What the score means, and what it does not

The Index score describes what a customer can do on a business's public website on the day it was reviewed. Each of the five jobs is scored out of 20, giving a total out of 100, using dated evidence that anyone can check. It does not rate the business, its products, its staff or its service, and it is not a measure of size or sales.

Who uses it

• Wholesalers comparing their ordering experience with others
• Caterers and buyers choosing a supplier
• Food brands looking at how their products are presented

Why this matters for food & beverage (foodservice)

Caterers order often, against tight delivery cut-offs. Clear product data and a fast reorder make the difference between an online order and a phone call.

How we keep it fair

• Every published review uses the same five jobs, from public evidence that anyone can check.
• Not found in this review means we looked and did not see it on the pages checked. It is not proof that a feature does not exist.
• Recommendations are hypotheses to test, not claims about lost sales.
• Existing iWeb clients are represented through a case study, not a public critique.
• If a detail is wrong, the business can tell us and we will check it.

Key terms

Depot

The distribution centre that delivers to a customer's area.

Order guide

A saved list of products a customer buys regularly.

Delivery cut-off

The latest time to order for a given delivery day.

Questions about The Index

Is the Foodservice edition live?

Not yet. It is coming soon. No records, scores or reviews are published for this sector.

What will the Foodservice edition look at?

How easy each wholesaler's website makes it to find products, check pack and allergen information where published, see account prices and availability, and place and repeat orders.

What will the Index score measure?

The Index score describes what a customer can do on a business's public website on the day it was reviewed. Each of the five jobs is scored out of 20, giving a total out of 100, using dated evidence that anyone can check. It does not rate the business, its products, its staff or its service, and it is not a measure of size or sales.

• How we review and score
• The Index Awards
• iWeb's work with foodservice