The past two years have shone a bright light on the need for close ties between suppliers and retailers. With supply chain issues across the globe, retailers have been forced to adjust their models to keep up with the surge in e-commerce and suppliers have shifted to meet the changing expectations of retailers. In such trying times, Advantage’s expert teams have become an even more crucial strategic partner as they work to help suppliers and retailers be better together.
Recognizing the need to celebrate these relationships long before the current disruptions, Advantage launched the annual Advantage Awards programme in 2018. These awards were designed to celebrate the top-performing suppliers and retailers according to feedback received by their customers and suppliers respectively via the Advantage Report.
Today, Advantage Awards are presented to suppliers and retailers in the over 40 countries in which Advantage operates. To celebrate the successes of our internal teams and apply the same principle of high performance, 2021 saw the creation of a new award to recognize outstanding market performance.

We’re delighted to announce Advantage Group UK as our 2021 Market of the Year. Through their dedication to listening and nurturing both sides of supplier–retailer relationships, they were able to generate meaningful insights and helped create impactful action plans that guided their clients toward better business-to-business relationships.
What makes the UK team’s performance even more impressive, is that in January 2021 they restructured, with the formation of a new team under the leadership of Managing Director, Mike Doole. As a result of this improvement and more, 2021 marked the UK team’s best-ever performance, one in which they served more clients with more valuable relationship insight:
- had a 92% client retention rate
- had a 92% UK Grocery retailer coverage rate
- surveyed 3,000 supplier and retailer businesses
- surveyed 14,500 total respondents (supplier and retailer combined)
- across 94 categories and sub-categories
These accolades are just a small illustration of what the UK team has delivered to suppliers and retailers across the country in the past year. Thanks to their work, suppliers and retailers in the UK and Ireland have come together to find solutions and create opportunities that will strengthen their own business performance and offer mutual growth. Congratulations to Advantage UK, our Market of the Year for 2021!

If you’re looking to work with our award-winning team to drive more meaningful B2B relationships or learn more about their work, connect with the Advantage UK Team.