3663 for thought

If you have eaten out in Britain lately, you most likely ate food delivered by 3663. The company 3663 First for Foodservice is the largest foodservice distributor in Britain. Popularly known as just '3663', the company supplies raw materials to restaurants, pubs, canteens, and even the Queen - the firm holds a royal warrant for delivering "groceries and frozen goods" to Her Majesty. Some of their 10,000 products are fresh, high-quality ingredients and others are processed foods destined for the deep fat fryer of local fast-food outlets.

What is special about this highly successful yet discrete firm is that 3663 spells "food" on your telephone keypad. And that's no coincidence. That was intentional. According to their website, which is located at www.3663.co.uk, "3663 (three double six three) spells 'food' on your phone keypad. " In Britspeak, customers refer to it as "Three Double Six Three".

3663 is owned by a South African company, The Bidvest Group Ltd., which belongs to a growing group of Southern Hemisphere organizations that are pioneering the concept of the wordnumber.