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The Florette refrigerated artic I drove, parked beneath a blue British sky
NIX STORIES · LIFE FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT

THE GREAT
LETTUCE RELAY.

WHAT I’VE LEARNED DELIVERING FLORETTE SALAD AROUND BRITAIN

SCROLL TO FOLLOW THE COLD CHAIN ↓
THOUSANDS OF BAGS BEHIND ME

I THOUGHT I WAS
JUST MOVING SALAD.

Somehow, I’ve found myself travelling around Britain with thousands of bags of lettuce behind me. I climb into the cab, collect a refrigerated trailer from Florette at Lichfield and head for another supermarket distribution centre. Recently that has meant ASDA at Lutterworth, Sainsbury’s at Basingstoke and Aldi at Swindon.

At first, it felt simple: collect trailer, protect temperature, make the slot, tip the load. But mile by mile I realised I was seeing one small part of a huge, carefully organised British fresh-food network. My artic is not the whole journey. It is the baton carrier in a relay already well under way.

BEFORE I EVEN ARRIVE

THE LOAD HAS ALREADY
COME A VERY LONG WAY.

01🌱 Growing02🚜 Harvesting03🏭 Processing04💦 Washing05🥗 Mixing06📦 Packing07❄️ Chilling08📋 Retailer ordering09🚛 Transport planning
THE BRITISH FRESH-FOOD RELAY

ONE BAG.
SEVEN HANDOVERS.

I take over one small but important section of the cold chain. I am normally delivering into a supermarket’s regional distribution network—not directly to the shop.

01GROWER↓
02FLORETTE↓
03NIX + REFRIGERATED HGV↓
04SUPERMARKET RDC↓
05STORE DELIVERY VEHICLE↓
06SUPERMARKET↓
07CUSTOMER’S FRIDGE
A real Florette refrigerated artic positioned on a distribution-centre loading bay
MY VIEW OF THE NETWORKONTO THE BAY. BRAKE ON. PAPERWORK READY.My photograph from a real delivery; the wider logistics diagrams are illustrative.
THE REAL CARGO

TECHNICALLY, I’M CARRYING SALAD.
WHAT I’M REALLY PROTECTING IS TIME.

Fresh leaves have a limited shelf life. Every warm delay spends a little more of it. Refrigeration, booked RDC slots and fast handling protect the useful hours that remain for the shop—and the customer.

FIELDFLORETTEMY TRUCKRDCSTOREHOME
KEEPING FRESHNESS ALIVE

THE
COLD CHAIN.

01🌱 GrowerTemperature protected
02🏭 FloretteTemperature protected
03❄️ Cold storeTemperature protected
04🚛 My refrigerated trailerMy section of the chain
05🏢 Retailer RDCTemperature protected
06🚚 Store deliveryTemperature protected
07🛒 Supermarket fridgeTemperature protected
MY SALAD TOUR OF BRITAIN

LICHFIELD OUT.
FRESHNESS FORWARD.

These are examples of places I have personally delivered—not the limits of Florette’s network.

🥬FLORETTELICHFIELD
ASDA · LUTTERWORTH🚛 LICHFIELD → LEICESTERSHIRE🥬 REFRIGERATED PRODUCE · ❄️ COLD CHAIN
SAINSBURY’S · BASINGSTOKE🚛 LICHFIELD → HAMPSHIRE🥬 REFRIGERATED PRODUCE · ❄️ COLD CHAIN
ALDI · SWINDON🚛 LICHFIELD → WILTSHIRE🥬 REFRIGERATED PRODUCE · ❄️ COLD CHAIN
A DRIVER’S VIEW

THE NETWORK,
THROUGH MY WINDSCREEN.

  1. 01Climb into the cab
  2. 02Check the load and refrigeration
  3. 03Head down the motorway
  4. 04Arrive for the booked RDC slot
  5. 05Reverse onto the bay
  6. 06Wait while the trailer is tipped
  7. 07Collect the paperwork
  8. 08Pull away towards the next job

That routine is how the enormous system becomes real to me: mirrors, motorway signs, a booking time, a bay number and the quiet thud of pallets leaving the trailer.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I TIP?

ONE ARTIC DELIVERY.
MANY SUPERMARKETS.

When I reverse onto the bay and the pallets come off, my involvement ends—but the salad’s journey does not. The RDC receives, checks and sorts the stock, then splits it into smaller store orders.

🚛ONE FLORETTE ARTIC→RDC→
🚚STORE 01🚚STORE 02🚚STORE 03🚚STORE 04🚚STORE 05🚚STORE 06
EMPTY TRUCKS DON’T EARN MONEY

GOOD LOGISTICS THINKS
BEYOND POINT B.

Refrigerated transport is not only about reaching the destination. Planners also consider what the vehicle does afterwards. Long empty returns waste time, fuel and capacity, so good operations try to maximise utilisation, productive mileage and sensible route combinations.

THE FUTURE OF THE FLEET

NEW TECHNOLOGY.
THE SAME OLD PROMISE.

  • ⚡ Electric HGVs and depot charging
  • 📡 Telematics and live visibility
  • 🗺️ Intelligent route planning
  • 🌡️ Temperature monitoring
  • 📊 Better logistics data
GET THE LOAD THERE.
GET IT THERE SAFELY.
GET IT THERE ON TIME.
NIX STORIES · THE LAST MILE OF MY PART

I’LL NEVER LOOK AT AN ORDINARY BAG OF SALAD
QUITE THE SAME WAY AGAIN.

Behind it are growers, factory workers, refrigeration engineers, warehouse staff, planners, drivers, RDC teams and store-delivery drivers. For a few hours, one small section of that journey belongs to me.

KEEP IT COLD.KEEP IT MOVING.GET IT THERE.

Somewhere behind me, Larry the Lettuce continues his journey towards destiny. Or possibly a chicken Caesar salad.

LETTUCE HOPE HE MAKES IT. 🥬🚛