International food distributors using AI
About us and our approach
We are family-run international food distributors and wholesalers using artificial intelligence, and advanced technology to innovate international market expansion.
Free trade agreement country specialists
UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement
Entered into force on 31 May 2023, the UK-Australia FTA was the first entirely new trade agreement negotiated from scratch by the UK since Brexit and aimed to remove tariffs and reduces bureaucracy.
UK-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement
Having come into force on 31 May 2023, this agreement aimed to cut red tape for businesses and end tariffs on UK exports to New Zealand.
Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
Australia joined CPTPP in December 2018. UK agreed to join CPTPP July 2023 with UK accession to CPTPP on 15 December 2024 for Japan, Singapore, Chile, New Zealand, Vietnam, Peru, Malaysia, Brunei.
Quality food products
As international food distributors and wholesalers, we deliver quality products by integrating Quality 4.0 that combines best of quality and technology into your global food sourcing and supply. Certified, Chartered Quality Professionals apply quality competencies providing goverance, assurance and improvement, using standards like ISO 22000 and improvement methods like lean.
Our quality, helps our partners to proactively and efficiently meet customer quality specifications, trade compliance (customs, labelling, food safety etc.) and sustainable food distribution goals.
Professional and AI marketing
Our chartered marketers combine traditional international marketing with AI marketing and food industry data. We use AI to find the best international markets, get competitive intelligence, know the best prices, forecast foreign exchange, understand consumer sentiment, use efficient social media marketing and optimise return on marketing investment.
Our AI marketing gives our partners access to the type of edge that large corporations normally have.
Digital tools for international trade
Digital tools for trade we use with AI in our joint ventures:
- Food tokenisation, traceability and provenance in global supply chain management: Agrotoken, VOTTUN (collaboration and transparency) and Crystalchain
- e-invoicing: Tradeshift for payment speed and trust
- Sustainable food production systems: increase the economic sustainability of smaller farmers
- Carbon measuring and reporting technology: Mondra for collaborative decarbonisation and sustainable food distribution
- Data interoperability initiatives: ATLAS H2020 Project for more food industry data, deeper in global food sourcing and supply.
International food joint ventures
We buy and hold your inventory like other international food distributors and food wholesalers, but we do much more.
Using international food joint ventures, we invest in: customised AI, tokenisation and food traceability technology, certified marketing professionals, marketing assets for the new market, quality 4.0 programmes to achieve efficiencies and quality assurance and manage all the export-import logistics, customs and warehousing.
Our food joint ventures combine partner capabilities and align long-term incentives to innovate more efficiencies and sustainable food distribution.
Click the button for our standard food joint venture terms.
Our mission, brand and values
Mission
Use innovations in AI, and tech to provide our partners with additional international market expansion capacity, more efficiently and effectively.
Brand and values
Our brand design is inspired by the connecting values and history of international trade in the City of London, where we are based. Our brand logo design embodies our capabilities in AI (bottom left), end-to-end efficiency (top left) quality (top right) and sustainability (bottom right). All are connected through the strength of the cross (centre).
Our team
Our team includes Emily, John Paul plus AI technical teams of our joint venture partner, equitably.ai along with advisors from the School of Science & Technology and Bayes Business School at City, University of London, the UK Department of Business & Trade and Innovate UK.
Our Story
Our vision is building a future where businesses of all sizes easily joint venture and utilise the power of AI for sustainable, effortless market expansion.
1. Our roots
Our passion for global food distribution is deeply rooted in the backgrounds of our founders. John Paul accompanied his father to Flemington markets (a cattle market in 1883) in Sydney, Australia, while Emily’s diplomatic upbringing exposed her to diverse cultures. Her grandfather owned a family-run meat business near Calgary, Canada, famous for its ties to the Calgary Stampede (roots traced to 1886 Calgary and District Agricultural Society). Because of their food and international roots, from the beginning, our founders understood the importance of relationships and the complexities of global food distribution value chains as they began to innovate.
2. Crisis, economics and AI
As signs of AI’s growing prevalence emerged amidst global food sourcing and supply trade disruptions from US tariffs to post-COVID, Brexit, global conflicts, and escalating crises in the cost of living and climate, our founders began exploring how AI could address these challenges. Leveraging their experience in AI, technology, and performance improvement, plus training in professional institutes, economics, commerce, and finance, they set out to reimagine global food distribution.
3. A new AI era of trade
While at equitably.ai, working with international food suppliers and food distribution companies along with trade advisors of the UK’s Department of Business & Trade, our founder observed how global trade disruptions affected smaller companies and their international food imports and exports disproportionately and began to create digital tools for international trade using AI. He initiated talks with smaller companies about fair international food joint ventures delivering effortless market expansion.
4. AI First Trading is born
AI First Trading was established at City, University of London with strong ties to the City of London, a global finance centre defined by centuries of international trade and close to Smithfield Meat Market (one of the largest in Europe). The company’s early joint ventures and focus included equitably.ai for AI expertise, the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement, and Riley’s Creek Investments in Australia, where John Paul leveraged his British-Australian market knowledge and network. The company also received valuable support from the UK’s innovation agency.