--- title: "Market Engagement - oral nutritional supplements for care homes" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0561af" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0561af" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0561af.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0561af.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH" published: "2025-07-17" --- # Market Engagement - oral nutritional supplements for care homes Buyer: UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0561af [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0561af) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0561af.json) ## Summary The University of Plymouth is currently in the planning stage of a procurement process titled "Market Engagement - oral nutritional supplements for care homes," falling under the industry category of homogenised food preparations and dietetic products. This process intends to supply oral nutritional supplements (ONS) to approximately 30 care homes across Devon, West Midlands, and Dorset & Hampshire, with deliveries starting in October 2025 and continuing until April 2028. Interested suppliers are encouraged to express interest by contacting Megan Worth via email by 4 August 2025. The engagement is part of the REFRESH trial, with a total procurement value of £600,000. The process is for goods and aims to assess market interest and gather insights ahead of formal tendering. This tender provides business growth opportunities for suppliers of nutritional and dietetic products, with a potential engagement extending over a few years and spanning multiple regions in the UK. The procurement is suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs), allowing diverse businesses to participate and expand their reach into the healthcare and food nutrition sectors. Suppliers adept in providing consistent and timely deliveries while offering a variety of product options that cater to different dietary needs will be particularly well-suited to compete in this tender. The procurement method focuses on strategic market engagement, opening the floor for negotiations and alignment of supply capabilities with the University's requirements. ## Notice The University of Plymouth is leading the REFRESH trial to compare the effectiveness of oral nutritional supplements (ONS) and of food fortification with routine care. We are looking to procure ONS to supply to the care homes assigned. This will be approximately 30 care homes situated in Devon, West Midlands and Dorset & Hampshire, to give to a total of 510 residents, during the active study phase Oct 25 to May 28. To view more detail of the study please visit: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/research/penctu/refresh-trial ### Planning Information • We wish to procure the following three oral nutritional supplements or equivalent: o Ensure Compact (Abbott Nutrition) o Fortisip Compact (Nutricia) o Altraplen Compact (Nualtra) • These will need to be supplied and delivered to up to 30 care homes distributed throughout Hampshire, Dorset, Devon and the West Midlands participating in a research trial. • Supply will be in batches to named care homes to be delivered monthly. • Care homes will be given the option to use one of the three brands so a delivery to any given home will only be one brand, but should include all available flavours, or the flavours specified in the order. • The maximum order size will be approximately 1020/month. • The first care homes will start ordering these ONS from Oct 2025 and orders from subsequent care homes will start at different times throughout the following 15 months. • Each care home will have the monthly delivery for 12 months. • Orders will be placed between Oct 2025 and April 2028. • Each care home will specify their actual needs monthly so the actual delivery amount will vary according to their needs. This is to avoid over-ordering and product wastage. • The pattern of ordering will mean most ONS are ordered between Aug 2026 and Jun 2027 (i.e. all 30 care homes are active, after Jun 2027 care homes will start leaving the trial) • ONS normally have a 12-month shelf-life from date of manufacture. The delivered ONS will be expected to have at least a 6-month shelf-life. Please email Megan.worth@plymouth.ac.uk by 04/08/2025 with any expressions of interest and clarification questions ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/041113-2025 | | Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Goods | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | SME, VCSE | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 17 Jul 2025 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 4 Aug 2025 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 30 Sep 2025 - 1 May 2028 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £500,000 | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planning | | Lots status | Planning | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH | | Locality | PLYMOUTH | | Post town | Plymouth | | Postcode | PL4 8AA | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) | | ITL 2 | TLK4 Devon | | ITL 3 | TLK41 Plymouth | | Local authority | Plymouth | | Electoral ward | Drake | | Westminster constituency | Plymouth Sutton and Devonport | | Delivery location | TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLE Yorkshire and The Humber, TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England) | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 15 - Food, beverages, tobacco and related products ### Codes - 15881000 - Homogenised food preparations - 15882000 - Dietetic products ## Release History - 17 Jul 2025 at 16:10 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/041113-2025 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/041113-2025 17th July 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents - https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/ - https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/research/penctu/refresh-trial ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0561af. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0561af.json.