Wanis International Foods welcomed members of the Waltham Forest Youth Mayoral Team to their head office in Leyton on Tuesday 17th August 2021.
The Youth Mayor’s Team (YMT) initiative for the London Borough of Waltham Forest, is a subgroup of the council’s core youth engagement groups. YMT alumni will likely become future leaders, having gained a first-hand insight into how local democracy works.
Cllr. Elizabeth Baptise, Mayor of Waltham Forest will serve as mentor for the Youth Mayor’s Team and they will also accompany her to a number of events across the borough.
Their visit to Waltham Forest’s largest employers, Wanis Foods provided the 15 – 25 year-olds with an understanding of some of the key functions within the 120,000sq foot distribution centre and cash and carry. This included a tour of the site with the Operation Director, Alam Ameer who provided an overview of some of the 900 brands and 10,000 product lines stocked within the warehouse.
Next, they heard from Wanis Quality Control Manager, Emma Ashton-Oner, who spoke to the budding politicians about the importance of food standards and the need for accurate and factual food labelling and finally Commercial Director George Phillips briefed the YMT members on the logistics of importing products from every corner of the globe and exporting to key territories. He also explained the importance of Wanis’ community engagement and CSR initiatives and talked about their richly diverse workforce with staff from over 28 different countries.
Cllr Elizabeth Baptise Mayor said: “The young Mayor’s Team thoroughly enjoyed the experience of the tour of the warehouse and an insight into the import and export of products distributed by Wanis International.”
Dignitaries in attendance included: Cllr Elizabeth Baptise, Mayor of London Borough of Waltham Forest, George Phillips, Commercial Director, Alam Ameer, Operations Director, Emma Ashton-Oner, Quality control Manager, Kapil Wadhwani, Managing Director and Paul Harrison, Community Brand Ambassador among others.
Wanis International Foods was founded in 1964. Wanis has grown to be one of the UK’s leading and trusted World Foods distributors, representing household brands including Tropical Sun, Miracle and Tropical Vibes, as well as distributing World Foods to businesses across the UK and over 30 countries worldwide. Wanis operates a Cash & Carry in Leyton, serving mostly local retailers and food service businesses.
With over 10,000 products from 900 brands on offer, Wanis is a supplier to all major UK supermarkets as well as several thousand independent food businesses nationwide.
Wanis was the winner of the Best Wholesaler Award at the London Asian Business Awards 2019.
Wanis has the most ethnically diverse workforce in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, employing staff from over 28 different nationalities at its Leyton location.
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