Suma Wholefoods Arvostelua 

You have no idea what’s in stock and available for you at the time of placing an order via their website. They just invoice you a day or two before delivery and you get what’s available, that’s if they pick the order correctly as mistakes are frequent. Our latest order almost everything we wanted was unavailable and we just got a few lines that we added to the order to meet the MOQ for free delivery. Lines which we could get cheaper elsewhere.

Error rate on order picking is high, but used to be much worse. Suma used to have a ludicrous rate of mistakes on orders we’d make with them. It was literally 1 in 3 orders that we’d receive lines we hadn’t ordered and be missing the lines we had ordered. This has improved in recent years but they’re still making errors at a high rate judging on our last few orders.

We tend to order items which are small, so could easily be sent via a next day parcel courier. But Suma insist on sending every order, big or small, on huge HGVs on fixed weekly slots. This isn’t very convenient. It can’t possibly be cheaper for Suma to use the HGVs for every single order regardless of size, so why do it?

The attitude and manner of their staff is inconsistent. Soma have been really kind and helpful but I’ve also had a few dealings with staff that are quite passive-aggressive and rude. They don’t seem to have the same fear of being rude to customers that conventional companies have, with Suma being a co-operative, I imagine it’s hard to fire badly performing workers. Everyone is on the same pay regardless of ability or performance and there likely must be a committee meeting to sack someone. The company structure is probably one of the main reasons the persistent problems just aren’t being addressed, as they can’t bring in a good CEO and shake things up.

The main takeaway I hope whoever reads this has is, why should we shop with you when we can get everything cheaper elsewhere, with next day delivery and we actually receive what we order? Your ethical pluses aren’t really pluses, as every dairy cow is mistreated and slaughtered in the end, so being a vegetarian supplier doesn’t really make any difference to us.

I’ve been a customer of Suma since last year and I have had so many issues!

1) The stock control system needs an over haul…. NOW! Items state that they are in stock when I don’t find out they are not until just before I get my delivery. I ordered £400 worth of vital stock for my small business and I only received £162 of it. I have lost customers because I’ve told them the stock is coming in when it doesn’t. Like seriously your relation with Ecozone and Moo Free need fixing!!

2) They have taped up a box with a product in it, when I need the box for display purposes and now I can’t use it!

3) The delivery driver has just travelled across the country just to deliver me a few small parcels because of point 1. This should have been posted and saved the environmental impact it caused.

4) The minimum spend is £350 + VAT with only 7 days payment?!!!!! This is crazy for such a large company. 30 days and I could forgive the £350, or 7 days if it was £200.

The only reason I have used Suma is because of the Gluten Free Pasta and Oils. It costs me more money to order the other bits when I have direct wholesale accounts with the other company’s. For example I have a wholesale account with Tony’s. But I ended up ordering a few boxes from Suma purely because of this spend minimum.

5) I accidentally didn’t hit the stupid £350 minimum and no one told me…. I just didn’t get a delivery and had to call up myself. No automatic email, in fact I got an email from the sales team telling me they processed it!!!! Because of this I had to wait an extra week for the stock (not that it mattered as half of it wasn’t delivered!)

Because of all of this I will be finding an alternative supplier and eventually stopping my orders through Suma.

The only positive side to Suma has been the delivery drivers who have been very nice, and they are the poor people who get the brunt of all your issues.

Sort it out, it’s absolutely shocking.

This company still participates in the torture of animals because of its refusal to drop Delamere Dairy.

I am writing this review about a particular SUMA product - their Organic Tuscan Bean Soup and also about their rather unsatisfactory response to my complaint.

I bought several tins of this soup to try for the first time - thinking that because it was a SUMA product, it was surely guaranteed to be tasty and of great quality - how wrong and disappointed I was - this soup is extremely weak in flavour and body - it lacks a pleasant taste or a kick and instead has a strange perfume taste that is hard to place as to why it is there. It lacks any kind of richness or body and instead corn flour has been used to thicken what would presumably just be watery tomato liquid - giving it a translucent, glue-like appearance.
All in, an unpleasant experience and at a price bracket that ranks with some of the highest quality tinned soups on the shelves.
I submitted a complaint direct to SUMA and the member of staff from Quality Control who replied actually agreed with me that it wasn't the best-tasting of soups yet they failed to offer any kind of re- embursment for my experience - so I would say SUMA not only need to seriously review their recipe for this product but also need to take a few lessons on the importance of keeping their dis-satisfied customers happy.

An update: still waiting for SUMA's response...

Stop supporting and selling Delamere dairy products. Please read all the reviews here. There is clearly evidence of abuse. Animals are suffering. Don't you have conscience? Shame on you.

Time to stop your cruelty to animals. Not buying your products until this happens.

Not buying because of their links with buying products where there is huge animal cruelty!! And they know this and are still doing so!!

Pls respond to my emails re your connection with non-ethical companies. Thankyou.

My Partner suggested we used up a couple of Suma products she had, saying that she was not buying anymore from that company. Some issue she had learnt of with the company, over Animal cruelty. I can honestly say that the Beans and Sausages contained in the Suma branded tin. Looked and tasted horrible.

I would hope that Suma will take action over this specific supplier, where there is recorded evidence of abuse. They sell just 8 Delamere Dairy products, but unfortunately, it seems that profit comes first, irrespective of animal suffering, for Suma.

I have heard horrible stories of animal abuse. there is no need for cruelty.

Unethical company totally refusing to end an association with a violent and extremely cruel Delamare Dairy. I had used this company for a number of years but having seen the abuses, neglect and totally unacceptable animal cruelty they are funding by still buying from Delamare dairy I would not use this company ever again.

This company supports animals abuse. Video evidence shows horrific abuse towards goats at Delamere Dairy, a supplier of Suma Wholefoods. I will not be buying from Suma until they drop Delamere Dairy as a supplier.

Suma Wholefoods are by no means an 'ethical' wholesaler if they are supporting the killing of kid goats and the neglect and abuse of hundreds of others. Please stop as any life is a life

Poor customer service & even poorer quality food products- what’s going on Suma? Won’t be buying anymore - food is inedible!!

Disappointed that a so called ethical company supports the shocking abuse of goats . You need to cut toes with Delamere Farms

Ethical? Sustainable? I don't think so. As long as you keep stocking Delamere Dairy products despite all the evidence about the horrific abuse of goats happening on suppliers' farms, you're neither in my view and I definitely won't be buying any other products from you either. Clearly you're understanding of ethical and sustainable are very different to mine so who knows how unethical and unsustainable other products you're endorsing are.

Suma Wholefoods, the so-called 'ethical' wholesaler, must end its relationship with Delamere Dairy immediately and never stock its products again. Instead, they are refusing to acknowledge ANY of the investigation findings and are continuing to believe the exploiters over us.

Shame on a company that refuses to acknowledge proven animal cruelty and neglect because it puts profits first