Official UK procurement notice
The Provision of Ready Prepared Meals
Authority: Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (Central government)·Consortium: 2 public authorities
What is being bought4 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionThe provision of ready prepared meals
CPV: Desserts · Hospital meals · Industrial freezers · Industrial kitchen equipment · Microwave ovens · Potatoes and potato products · Prepared meals · Savoury pies · Snacks · Soups and broths · Vegan packs · Vegetables
How this framework works
From the published notice- Places
- up to 50 suppliers · 18 bids on the busiest of 4 lots (0.4 per place) · 31 appointed
Lots and requirements (4)Procurement structure
4 lots · all with a published value · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1Standard Ready Prepared MealsAwardedRenewal UK, South EastPublished value£180,000,000
Direct award under NHS Supply Chain Prepared Meals Framework Agreement
Lot #2Specialist Ready Prepared MealsAwarded UKPublished value£17,899,400
This lot will cover chilled and/or frozen ready prepared meals in various formats including single or bulk. These include but not limited to religious/cultural meals, texture modified meals, therapeutic diet and paediatric meals.
The value for the first 24 months is anticipated to be £8,949,700 and £17,899,400 for the full 48 months (if extended).
Lot #3Retail Ready Prepared MealsAwarded UKPublished value£1,280,700
This lot will cover a selection of chilled, frozen or ambient ready prepared meals that are suitable for the use in retail or restaurant services settings. Where meals are used in a retail outlet such as but not limited to vending machines, staff honesty freezers, retail outlets they will need to be packaged in retail suitable packaging that meets all legal labelling requirements for retail use.
Where meals are used for back of house services e.g. part of a restaurant setting they must be in packaging suitable for easy use in these settings as well as meeting all legal labelling requirements for food service use. Included in the provision of this lot is associated equipment which may include microwaves, freezers or other equipment used specifically for the products awarded.
The value for the first 24 months is anticipated to be £640,350 and £1,280,700 for the full 48 months (if extended).
Lot #4Small Community and Mental Health Site ProvisionAwarded UKPublished value£820,500
This Lot is for a selection of ready prepared frozen or chilled delivered ready meals including but not limited to soups, main entrees, vegetables, therapeutic diets and breakfast items.
Applicants had to be able to deliver to small community or mental health sites who have a low number of beds. Suppliers must have the capability to offer a flexible delivery service based on customer requirements. Typically these sites will have low minimum order values which the supplier will be expected to accommodate. Applicants must be able to manufacturer and/or distribute a selection of frozen or chilled delivered meals to these small sites. In some instances trusts may require their chosen supplier to provide a “one stop shop” solution.
The value for the first 24 months is anticipated to be £410,250 and £820,500 for the full 48 months (if extended).
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published sub-criteria (6)
- Price: 40%
- Social Value - Fighting Climate Change: 6%
- Social Value - Equal Opportunity: 2%
- Social Value - Wellbeing: 2%
- Sustainability: 25%
- Environment: 25%
Published award criteria (1)
- Price
- Suitability
Applicants may bid for one, more than one or all lots and Applicants should refer to the Invitation to Tender for more information in respect of this.
The term of contracts formed under the Framework Agreement may continue beyond the end of the term of the Framework Agreement itself.
NHS Supply Chain: Food will share savings information in order to assist its customers with making informed procurement decisions. NHS Supply Chain: Food intends to enter into arrangements under which it will be entitled to purchase supplies and/or services which it will make available for purchase by the following eligible users:
- any NHS Trust;
- any other NHS entity;
- any government department, agency or other statutory body;
- any private sector entity active in the UK healthcare sector and/or
- any local authority will be able to utilise this Framework agreement to run further competition with the written consent of NHS Supply Chain: Food in order to secure a direct contract.
Electronic ordering will be used and electronic invoicing will be accepted and electronic payment will be used.
NHS Supply Chain: Food does not guarantee any level of purchase through the Framework and advises applicants that the Framework shall be established on a non-exclusive basis. Tenders and all supporting documentation for the contract must be priced in sterling and written in English. Any agreement entered into will be considered a contract made in England according to English law and will be subject to …
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- “The Provision of Ready Prepared Meals” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, up to 50 suppliers, not a single contract.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Restricted procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Yes
- First published
- 14 Apr 2023, 14:53 BST
- Last source update
- 24 Dec 2025, 10:26 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- 15 Sept 2023 – …
- Authority reference
C409683- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-086077- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-03beddFind a Tender
- Electronic trading
- e-invoicing allowed · electronic ordering · electronic payment
- Performance terms
The Framework Agreement includes obligations with respect to contract performance for the successful supplier.
- Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures Appeals to be logged in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended).
Publisher note: Submission of expression of interest and procurement specific information: This procurement exercise will be conducted on the NHS Supply Chain eProcurement portal at https://nhssupplychain.app.jaggaer.com/ Candidates wishing to be considered for this contract must register their expression of interest and provide additional procurement-specific information (if required) through the NHS Supply Chain eProcurement portal using the URL https://nhssupplychain.app.jaggaer.com/ to access the portal. Please see instructions below on how to Express Interest and Intend to Respond: - Once you have registered and logged in to Jaggaer, you will see a section called ‘Supplier Area’. Under this you will need to go to ‘ITTs open to All Suppliers’. In this section you will find an ITT titled ‘Delivered Ready Prepared Meals’, click into this. - Once you have clicked into the ITT, click ‘Express Interest’ in the top right-hand corner. Once you have expressed interest in the ITT, a new option will appear titled ‘Intent to Respond’. You will need to click intend to respond to be able to fill in a response. - Once you have Expressed Interest and Intended to Respond to the ITT, this will now sit under ‘My ITTs’ in the Supplier Area and will no longer show under ‘ITTs Open to all Suppliers’. Please ensure to download and read all documents contained within the Attachments area. Details of how to submit your response can be found within the Invitation to Tender document. For any technical help with the portal please contact: Tel: 0800 069 8630 or email: [email protected]
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 14 Sept 2023, 15:00 BST
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission","written"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bid validity
- 210 days from the deadline
- Bids opened
- 15 Sept 2023, 09:00 BST
Timeline
27 Jul 2023 → 24 Dec 2025 · 4 dates- Next notice expected27 Jul 2023, 00:00 BST
- Admission / appointment period endsperiod end, not a bid countdown14 Sept 2023, 15:00 BST
- Bids opened15 Sept 2023, 09:00 BST
- Notice published303 days ago24 Dec 2025, 10:26 GMT
Notice history
7 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 28 Jul 2023- Published value updated to £200,000,00028 Jul 2023, 11:54 BSTwas £169,000,000
- Status changed to active28 Jul 2023, 11:54 BST
- Procurement method changed28 Jul 2023, 11:54 BST
- Deadline published: 14 Sept 2023, 15:00 BST28 Jul 2023, 11:54 BST
- Status changed to complete1 Feb 2024, 11:35 GMT
- Procurement method changed24 Dec 2025, 10:26 GMT
- Buyer details updated24 Dec 2025, 10:26 GMT
Published amendments (1 · 0 deadline changes)
| When | What | Before | After | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Text25.11 | — | Air freight for goods will only be considered if a Force Majeure event has occurred, suppliers must gain written approval from NHS Supply Chain: Food to utilise air freight for the delivery of any goods into NHS Supply Chain or any of its customers. |
1 amendment published without a description.
Routine re-releases (5)
- 2023-07: 1 release · 28 Jul 2023
- 2023-04: 1 release · 14 Apr 2023
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast5 suppliers are admitted to this framework without individual award values or dates, see the supplier list below.
Contracts
Contract 086077-2025-1
- Signed
- 9 Dec 2025
- Value
- £240,000
- Status
- active
Standard ready prepared meals
- Signed
- 5 Jan 2024
- Value
- £180,000,000
- Status
- active
Specialist ready prepared meals
- Signed
- 5 Jan 2024
- Value
- £17,899,400
- Status
- active
Retail prepared meals
- Signed
- 5 Jan 2024
- Value
- £1,280,700
- Status
- active
Small community & mental health site provisions
- Signed
- 5 Jan 2024
- Value
- £820,500
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Standard Ready Prepared Meals | 18bids | 13 | — | — |
| 2 · Specialist Ready Prepared Meals | 16bids | 13 | — | — |
| 3 · Retail Ready Prepared Meals | 18bids | 16 | — | — |
| 4 · Small Community and Mental Health Site Provision | 8bids | 5 | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeConsortium members and other public bodies
- NHS Supply ChainContracting authorityNational or federal agency/officeHealth
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- N/AReview body
Framework contractors & participating bidders
32 commercial parties on the notice- All Seasons FoodsFramework contractor
- Amai Foods & BeveragesFramework contractor
- Anglia CrownFramework contractor
- Anika Food CharityFramework contractor
- Apetito LimitedFramework contractor
- Apetito LimitedFramework contractor
- CheflyFramework contractor
- Coco Labelle LtdFramework contractor
- Compass Contract Services (UK) LtdFramework contractor
- Country Kitchen Foods (Norfolk) LtdFramework contractor
Show 22 more suppliers
- Dalehills Lts t/a Harvest FoodsFramework contractor
- Fairtrade VendingFramework contractor
- Field DoctorFramework contractor
- Food Network Corporation LtdFramework contractor
- Greenwood Foods LtdFramework contractor
- Holmesterne FoodsFramework contractor
- Kitchen Prep UKFramework contractor
- Maple Fine FoodsFramework contractor
- Medina Food Group LtdFramework contractor
- NH Case LtdFramework contractor
- Norfolk CateringFramework contractor
- NoshFramework contractor
- Oakhouse FoodsFramework contractor
- Planty London LtdFramework contractor
- Rockcliffe Group Int LtdFramework contractor
- Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS TrustFramework contractor
- Simply Food SolutionsFramework contractor
- Stan's Choice LimitedFramework contractor
- The Children's Healthy Food CompanyFramework contractor
- The Royal Wolverhampton NHS TrustFramework contractor
- Yearsley Food LimitedFramework contractor
- Yumchop Foods LimitedFramework contractor
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Economic and financial selection criteria
- Technical selection criteria