I’ve spent more than 40 years working in retail, buying and procurement, so I understand first-hand what buyers are looking for and what suppliers need to do to succeed.
Before starting Mervyn Jones & Associates in 2016, I held buying roles with Henderson Group and with Asda across Northern Ireland and Scotland. That experience gave me a real understanding of retail from the buyer’s side of the table, from negotiating with suppliers and managing commercial relationships to making the everyday decisions that drive sales and profitability.
Today, I use that experience to help food and drink businesses become more commercially confident and retail-ready. I’ve trained around 150 businesses across the UK and Ireland, helping founders understand what buyers really want, strengthen their proposition and present their products with greater clarity and confidence. In 2026, Mervyn Jones and Associates went global, when I delivered training in the US, Canada and Denmark.
My support is practical and tailored to the individual business. That might mean identifying gaps and opportunities, reviewing competitors and financials, making better use of data, preparing for buyer meetings or improving a sales pitch. Sometimes a focused conversation is all that’s needed; other businesses benefit from longer-term mentoring and support.
I work with organisations including Invest NI, Food NI, NIFDA, Aldi, Lidl, Go Succeed and local councils, delivering mentoring, masterclasses and Meet the Buyer events.
For the last seven years I have worked with Andy Maclachlan at Food 2 Market to deliver the Invest NI Capability Programme. Andy and I have worked together to design and deliver a full-service set of workshops for preparing to meet a Buyer. MJ&A and Food 2 market team up to deliver major programmes, training sales teams and large groups of producers.
Above all, my aim is simple: to help good businesses become better businesses and give founders the commercial knowledge and confidence to have better conversations with buyers.
