Category Archives: Our customer’s news

Catering Staff Uniform

Food Industry, Hospitality Clothing, Hotel Industry, ,

Catering and hospitality is a very diverse industry, it can cover a wide range of business types, from fine dining in an exclusive restaurant, right through to a street food from a van, catering uniforms includes front of house staff to chefs jackets to pot washers.  This makes catering staff uniform incredibly varied and wide ranging.

Bubble Bros and their prosecco van
Bubble Bros uniform

The industries and people who need uniform

Hospitality and catering covers a vast range of businesses, some examples of these are listed below.

  • Restaurants
  • Hotels
  • School canteens
  • Cafes
  • Diners
  • Coffee shops
  • Staff restaurants
  • Outside caterers
  • B & B’s
  • Pubs
  • Bars
  • Theatres
  • Casinos
  • Cruise ships

Within the businesses above, there will be a range of staff who may need some kind of uniform, even if that’s just a dress code. Waiters, waitresses, concierge, sommeliers, cleaning staff, bar staff, reception, hosts, chef’s, cooks, chauffeurs, baristas, manager and housekeepers are just a few of the roles you might have. Some of these uniforms may be purely practical and protective for behind the scenes and some will be customer facing, so need to be much more style/ image led.

History of catering staff uniform

A hundred years ago catering was something experienced exclusively by the rich, having staff in your home to make and serve all your meals or going out for afternoon tea or for a meal was a real luxury and as such was treated with a high level of formality.  Catering staff uniform at that time would be a suit, waistcoat, shirt, tie or bow tie an apron and hat, chef whites and chefs hat.  

Staff Catering Uniform
Formal uniform for hospitality

Hospitality today

In current times going out for food has become part of many people’s weekly routine. The cost of eating out has reduced along with the increase of many people’s disposable income. As a result of this, formality has significantly reduced as a result, which means uniform is much more relaxed.  If you go for tea at the Ritz you may still experience the old fashioned formality and style, but for most catered offerings the feeling much more relaxed. Jeans, polo shirt, t shirt maybe an apron, may be not even a uniform!

Working in the uniform industry, we notice that catering staff uniform has become much less about formality but there is a real step up in branding and style.  Uniforms and catering has become very fashion led and hospitality designers create immersive experiences for the diners which is about much more than just the food.  Increased enquires into Pantone matched uniform and highly bespoke aprons. Some of our recent customers have ordered striped long sleeve t shirts with denim aprons, utility style jackets.  We have also supplied a hotel with braces to wear over shirts.

There is so much competition within hospitality, that restaurants and hotels are constantly trying to find new and exciting concepts to entice customers in.

Lady wearing jeans, striped top and full length apron
Catering uniform

The practicalities of uniform

Style and look of a catering clothes is important but when it comes to catering staff uniform, durability and practicality is a huge factor.  Spills and splashes of food are a daily hazard especially for those who prepare the food.  Long hot shifts mean that clothing should be comfortable and regulate heat.  Clothing is going to be washed and worn repeatedly and often on high temperatures with stain removers, so they need to be tough to stay looking good and last.

Putting your look together

If you are looking for catering staff uniform, please come and talk to us at Impact Trading. We have a huge range of stock uniform which we can guide you through. We can also manufacture bespoke garments to match your style and brand colours, such as aprons, polos, t shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts. Our team have vast experience of the options available to achieve your individual style and practical requirements. We can also help you with print and embroidery to brand garments with your logo. We can give you information on where logos can be positioned, maybe go for somthing new? Match embroidery thread or print colours to your brand Pantone colours.

Promotional T-Shirts

Charities, Uncategorized, ,

Promotional t-shirts are often an inexpensive t shirt printed with a logo or slogan. They are normally used in promotions, campaigns and giveaways where they are only going to be required for a limited amount of time.

When are promotional t shirts used?

  • Campaigns such as elections, protest marches.
  • Fundraising, to be sold, given out for people to wear when fundraising
  • Promotional events, exhibitions, pop ups in retail outlets
Charity Promotional T Shirts

Campaigns

Promotional clothing is a great way to get a look of solidarity, to show that you all believe in the same cause or idea. This is often represented in sport when fans wear their team’s colours. People who are campaigning for something such as a change in the law or policy.

Fundraising

Again the matched clothing gives an idea of all being in it together, if you are doing a sponsored activity it gives you a team appearance and also promotes the cause to onlookers. Often large charities will give out a fundraising pack to people who sign up to a sponsored activity.

Promotional events

This is all about brand awareness, getting your colours and logos out there to the buyers.  Giving out free clothing means that your brand is being promoted by your customers and may even create a feeling of fear of missing out. A great example of brands with a recognisable colour and logo are Coke or Cadburys.

Garment Decoration

Promotional t-shirts are normally screen printed, this is a cost effective way to print a huge quantity quickly.

If you are looking for a supply of promotional t-shirts you can contact us for a quote, we will just need an image of your artwork, the quantity you are looking to order and a Pantone code or colour you would like for your t-shirts.

Customised Printed Apron.

Bespoke Aprons, Food Industry, Hotel Industry, Made in Britain, , ,

An excellent way for you to stand out from the crowd and promote your brand is with our customised printed apron. You can create a strong, unique and vibrant look with an all-over print. Our team can help you to produce the perfect apron that will develop a sense of unity amongst your employees.

Stunning vibrancy of print.

A customised printed apron is the perfect solution for creating an apron with a large, detailed image. Your apron literally becomes a customised piece of artwork. There is no limit to the size or the number of colours in your logo or image. The results are stunning and far beyond anything that we can achieve with a traditional screen print.

Embed your logo as part of the image.

The beauty of this process is the flexibility to add your logo into the image, rather than having to add it afterwards at an extra cost.

It all starts with a high-resolution image.

Your artwork is reproduced using a library of hundreds of colours into a high-quality photographic image with excellent colour consistency. We achieve this by using reactive inks that have an excellent wash and rub fastness for durability.

Fabric

We carefully source all our fabric and use high-quality durable 300 gsm half Panama cotton. Ideal for aprons, this fabric quality comes in both regular and 100% organic cotton, for a more sustainable product.

Fast turnaround

Once the artwork has been agreed and you are happy with the print proof, the printing process is fast and very efficient. A pre-production sample is produced for you to review the completed design.

Low minimums.

The minimum for a customised printed apron is 32. The technology allows us to produce short print runs. We print out each apron as an entire pattern piece and cut it out by hand.

Flexibility

Adjustments are easy. We review the all aspects of the design, adjust them accordingly and re-print the apron.

Carry the design through to other customised products.

Once you are happy with your customised printed apron, we are able to reproduce the same design on to tea towels, oven gloves, tote bags, cushions and even washbags. All these products will make perfect customised gifts.

If you would like to discuss a future order with one of our team please click the link.

Premier Aprons

Bespoke Aprons, Ethical & Sustainable Garment Certification, Food Industry, Hotel Industry, Recycled, , , ,

Premier workwear is an established company who have been supplying to trade suppliers for many years.  One of their key products is aprons, they have a huge range of styles, colours, and ethical certifications. 

Our customers

Although we manufacturer and supply bespoke made to order aprons, some of our customers choose stock options because it fits in with their deadline, budget or requirements.  These are quite often premier aprons as they have a range that caters for many requirements.

Ethical

Premier aprons have several styles which have ethical credentials such as Fairtrade, organic or recycled. This is an area that we specialise in, particularly on our other site Cotton Roots.

Premium

If you are looking for something that is more of a premium look, premier aprons have a selection that may suit the style you need such as an artisan, industrial or bistro.

Colours

One of the big advantages of premier aprons is their huge colour range. They have over 60 colours accross all their styles which makes it perfect for someone who needs a small quantity or has a short lead time but needs a Pantone matched colour. 

Apron specialists

If you need to source aprons for your business, we can help you with stock and bespoke options. We supply restaurants, outside caterers, street food chains, hotels, food brands, nurseries and many other business’s . We can help you find the best style and colour for your branding. Contact the design team today on 01908 290482

We supply Aprons in Bulk

Bespoke Aprons, Food Industry, Hotel Industry, Pantone Matching, , , , , ,

Where is started

Traditionally aprons are a piece of clothing that covers the front half of the body to protect the clothing underneath. The word originates from the French word napron, which was a small tablecloth that covered the main table cloth to protect it from food spills.

Aprons today

Today aprons have become about much more than just the protection of clothing, they have become a huge part of the brand identity for businesses, especially in the hospitality and catering sector. Companies order aprons in bulk and then brand them with their logos, they make up part or all of their staff’s uniform.

Bespoke Aprons

At Impact Trading we supply aprons in bulk, these can either be made to order such as Pantone dyed, bespoke style or with specific pockets. By making bespoke you can have branding which is not possible on stock aprons, such as an all over print or an embroidery on a small pocket. Our design team sample the apron before the order goes ahead so we can make sure it is exactly what the customer wants.

Stock Aprons

Impact Trading have a large range of stock aprons in a wide range of styles and colours, there is often a style which suits our customers.  We can arrange samples to be sent out so the customer can check the size, colour and quality.  These can then have branding added such as an embroidered logo or a printed slogan.

Stock Apron

How can we help you

If you are looking for a supplier of aprons in bulk, please get in touch with us. We can talk through your requirements and arrange samples, print proofs and embroidery samples before we go into production so you can be completely confident in the product you will be receiving. Call the team on 01908 290482 or email [email protected]

Cross Back Aprons to Fit

Bespoke Aprons, Food Industry, Hotel Industry, Made in Britain

About 6 months ago, Liz from the design team came upstairs to the office to show us a new prototype apron she had made from striped navy and white denim with red straps.  I jumped up in excitement because I immediately fell in love with it.  I’m always one for a stripe, especially one that gives a nautical feel.  This, along with a pop of colour from the red strap had me completely smitten! 

Liz, seeing my excitement, offered to let me try it on and once I was strapped into it.  I realised that although I loved the look, the actual brilliance of this apron is the cross back which makes it fit like a glove.  I never really appreciated that the cross back, as well as creating a stylish look, is a fantastic way to make a standard apron fit all sizes of people.  The cross back allows the straps to shorten and lengthen at the neck which means all heights are catered for, this also applies to the width which accommodates all body shapes and most importantly makes it really comfortable to wear, almost like a dress.

For restaurants, cafes and hotels with a number of staff, cross back aprons are definitely the way to go to suit everyone.

Apron Strap Style

Bespoke Aprons, Food Industry, Hotel Industry, Made in Britain, , ,

If you are looking for something really unique that makes your brand stand out, apron straps are a great way to make an impression. At Impact Trading and Cotton Roots we are constantly developing new styles with different fabrics and material and colours to fit with our customer’s branding and to create inspiration for new customers. 

Customers can choose stock webbing that’s plain or striped, to completely bespoke webbing that can be printed with a particular image or design. You can even have bespoke webbing that is woven in your brand colours. If webbing isn’t your cup of tea you can have self-fabric straps, which are made from the same fabric as the apron, or a completely different colour or type of fabric to add a little bit of texture or contrast.

Some more unusual options are leather straps which are often made detachable so that they can be removed when washing the apron. If you like the look of leather but need it to be more practical and washable, a faux suede can be used instead which gives you the industrial look. Extra little details include choices from a range of neck sliders, both metal and plastic and adding contrast stitching, bar tacks, studs or poppers.

As well as a choice of interesting fabrics and materials for your apron and straps, you can also choose the style of straps and apron you want.  Standard bib aprons either with or without adjustable straps are a very popular choice, but cross back straps, waist aprons or a completely bespoke design are also available for you to choose from.

The Michel and Alain Roux Apron

Bespoke Aprons, Food Industry, Made in Britain, , ,

Manufacturer of Bespoke Aprons for Restaurants, Chefs and the hospitality Sector.

We have recently had the honour of working with Maggie from the Michelin star restaurant, The Waterside Inn, in Bray which is run by chef patron Alain Roux.

They were looking for a bespoke, made in Britain apron to sell in the restaurant gift shop and came to Impact Trading with a strong idea of what they wanted. Our design team began transforming the sketch they sent to us full of their bespoke ideas, into a reality.

Every component and detail was thought out, sampled and put together. The apron includes woven labels, printed logo, webbing and a beautifully embroidered motto “Taste, season, taste again”. The navy Pantone colour has been matched throughout, and coordinates perfectly with pastel blue of the apron.

Michel, Alain and Maggie were delighted with the results so the Roux apron went into production here at Impact Trading which is based on the edge of Milton Keynes on beautiful Rose Lane Farm.

The team at Impact Trading loved working on these aprons as they had unique features, such as the embroidery which is much wider than anything we would normally embroider. The aprons also had a many elements which required precise detail, for example the top stitching for the pen pocket within the larger pocket.

Alain and Michel proudly wearing their aprons

These bespoke aprons made by Impact Trading in Britain are available to buy from the Waterside Inn online shop here