Good question, there are a variety of reasons why our costs might appear to be high.
Meet Gosia, our Chief Fulfilment Officer,
who will be happy to answer your questions.
who will be happy to answer your questions.
Shipping seems expensive. Why is this?
Firstly, we are extremely limited with respect to couriers who will deliver our perishable items nationwide.
Currently only one courier company is able to offer this service to us.
Secondly, it takes a lot of time, care and materials to package each order. Our team work their hardest
to ensure your order has been carefully packaged so it arrives with you in perfect condition.
How will you prepare my order?
Well, we have two main people involved in preparing orders. One is a Picker, the other is a Packer.
The Picker will pick all the items required for the order from our warehouse. These items are picked
in the warehouse and can be picked from either the freezer, fridge or dry goods store. The Picker
will then assemble the order.
The Packer then takes over and their role is to check through the items and match them against the
packaging slip. The packer will check the quality of each item, for example look for any blemishes
in fruit, dents in tins, expiry dates etc.
Once all the correct standards have been met, items are split into 3 categories:
Frozen, Chilled, or Ambient.
Do you use eco-friendly packaging?
We use a vast array of different materials to package our products, depending on the above will
determine what we use.
Frozen Goods – Presently need to go into a poly box (we are constantly on the lookout for
an alternative to these) with recyclable ice packs and dry ice (-63 degrees).
Chilled Products – These are wrapped in special air-filled recyclable paper together with
recyclable gel packs. This acts like a refrigerator.
Ambient Products – Generally due to the nature of these products they do not require any
special packaging. Items in glass containers will be wrapped carefully in padded paper or
bubble wrap if necessary.
We always recycle the packaging we receive from our suppliers. Nothing goes to waste!
How long does it take to package an order?
How long is a piece of string? Ok, so the nature of the item determines the time it takes to package it up
and which materials are required to ensure it travels safely and securely to its destination. It can vary
from a minute and a half for an ambient order, to up to half an hour for a mixed order! In general:
5+ items of various categories will take 8-10 mins
10+ items of various categories will take 15-20 mins
15+ items of various categories will take 20-30 mins
Our average packing time tends to be 16 minutes.
Here are some Fun Facts.
~ Since 2009 we have replaced 90% of plastics with paper
~ We have used 266km of recyclable tape per year
~ We have reduced our polystyrene usage by 75% since 2022
~ 97% of our shipments were delivered in perfect condition by our couriers
(This high rate is due to our care and attention to packaging)
(This high rate is due to our care and attention to packaging)
~ Less than 1% of our deliveries arrive late
~ At least 72% of our orders are sent without poly boxes
What days do you deliver?
We deliver 5 days a week including Saturdays. We don’t deliver on Sundays or Mondays because we don’t work on the weekends – everybody needs a break!
What are your shipping options?
Note: Royal Mail and 'Standard' Courier services will not be available over over the Christmas period.
| Delivery service | Carrier | Items this suits | Transit time | Cost | Tracked? | Signed for? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Courier Delivery (outside Greater London) | DPD For orders that contain Perishable items, delivery postcodes outside Greater London will default to this courier. | 'Dry' packaged goods (such as rice and flour) and semi-perishable goods (such as edible flowers and some cheeses) are eligible for Standard service. Every product on the website is eligible for Named Day and Expedited services. | Standard - next available delivery date, usually delivered within 2-5 working days (8am - 8pm) (Not available over the Christmas period) Named Day Delivery (choose your day) Expedited Services (extra cost): - Pre-1.00pm (8am - 1.00pm) - not available in Scotland - Pre-10.30am (8am - 10.30am) - not available in Scotland Saturday Regular (8am – 5.30pm) Saturday Pre-1.00pm (8am - 1.00pm) - not available in Scotland | £7.99
£11.95
£18.95
£20.95
£18.95
£20.95 | Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
| All our DPD services are usually Signed For, but Covid 19 protocols mean that delivery drivers do not currently require a signature. |
| Courier Delivery (within Greater London - see map and list of postcodes covered) | Packfleet For orders that contain Perishable items, delivery postcodes in Greater London will default to this courier. | Every product on the website is eligible for this service. | Standard - next available delivery date, usually delivered within 2-5 working days (8am - 8pm) (Not available over the Christmas period) Named Day Delivery (8am - 8pm) When available, Packfleet will allow you to upgrade your delivery to an expedited time slot. | £7.99
£11.95 | Yes
Yes | Yes
Yes |
| 2nd Class Post (not available over the Christmas period) | Royal Mail 48 | 'Dry' packaged goods such as rice and flour and any non-Perishable items (c.10% of our products are eligible for this service) Products must be under 2kg in weight including packaging. | 2-5 Days | £4.99 | Yes | No |
Do you deliver on Saturdays?
We do! Receive your Delivery on a Saturday by selecting Weekend Shipping at Checkout.
Do you offer Same-Day Delivery in London?
We offer special same-day delivery to selected London postcodes, priced at £30.
Order before 11am Monday-to-Friday for delivery between 2pm - 6pm the same day. Includes delivery to:
N1, N2, NW1, NW3
E14, EC1, EC2, EC3
SE1, SE5, SE11, SE17, SE24
SW1, SW2, SW3, SW4, SW5, SW6, SW7, SW8, SW9, SW10, SW11, SW12, SW15, SW18, SW19
W1, W2, W4, W5, W8, W11, W12, W14, WC1, WC2
What if I live in a remote area?
Hard-to-reach areas to might require a 2- or 3-day transit time. If you live in one of the following locations,
our Checkout will block Next Day shipping and will instead offer a 2-3 Day service:
Scottish Highlands & Islands - £27
Isle of Man - £27
Northern Ireland - £23 (Not available over the Christmas period)
What if I don't live on the UK mainland?
Due to post-Brexit Customs restrictions on the international transportation of foodstuffs, we are not currently able to offer delivery overseas, including to the Republic of Ireland.
Delivery to Jersey & Guernsey and the UK Channel Islands is charged at a flat rate of £70, and is transported by boat on a 2-3 Day Service.
Northern Ireland (Not available over the Christmas period) and the Isle of Man are served by our 2-3 Day service to remote areas (see above).
Due to its proximity to the mainland, the Isle of Wight is served by our regular mainland Shipping services.
What’s best for me?
We've designed the delivery system on our website to cross-reference lead times, cut-off times, destinations, the items in your basket, and to give out the next available delivery date accordingly. Our system is designed to make sure that we get your products to you in the best condition, and in the shortest time we can.
We hope this has answered any questions you may have about Fine Food Specialist’s delivery service.
If you have any additional questions, simply get in touch with our team! Details are in the footer of this page.
