Ulster Grocer Summer 2021 by Helen Wright

GROCER ULSTER

SUMMER 2021

N O. 1 M AG A Z I N E F O R T H E LO C A L G R O C E R Y S E C TO R

Over 45 years at the heart of the Northern Ireland food industry

SOLUTIONS ARE THERE BUT POLITICAL WILL NEEDED ON NI PROTOCOL AFTER THE LATEST MEETING OF THE EU/UK WITHDRAWAL AGREEMENT JOINT COMMITTEE ENDED WITHOUT PROGRESS ON JUNE 9, NORTHERN IRELAND RETAIL CONSORTIUM DIRECTOR AODHÁN CONNOLLY LOOKS AT THE PATH FORWARD

t is Groundhog Day for the business community in Northern Ireland. Hopes were built up that we could see a chink of light in the NI Protocol negotiations and that we might see some movement. But it is disappointing again to see that another Joint Committee meeting between the EU and UK has ended without substantial progress. For the retail industry and for households across Northern Ireland, the clock is counting down to the end of the grace period on chilled meats on July 1 and the end of the grace period on products of animal origin from October 1. We need immediate solutions to keep goods flowing now and we need a breathing space so that the UK government and the EU can, in the longer

8-9

STORE FOCUS: THE 100TH CENTRA STORE OPENED AT DUNMAN, COOKSTOWN IN APRIL, WITH THE DYNAMIC CONWAY BROTHERS ALREADY MAKING A SUCCESS OF THEIR FIRST FORAY INTO RETAIL

term, find a workable solution that allows NI retailers to continue to give households the choice and affordability they need. This requires pragmatic controls which satisfy the EU’s concerns, recognise the deeply integrated GB-NI supply chains, and can be introduced in a workable manner over a sensible time frame. The solutions are there including a veterinary agreement, even a temporary one with a guillotine clause that would still give the UK the freedom that it wants to negotiate trade deals with Australia and the USA. What we need now it the political will on both sides to deliver those solutions. That means that both sides need to move and both sides need to live up to

21-48

INDUSTRY LEADERS: LED BY MOY PARK, MEAT & POULTRY IS AGAIN THE BIGGEST CATEGORY IN OUR EXCLUSIVE ANNUAL TOP 75 NI FOOD & DRINK COMPANIES LISTING RANKED BY TURNOVER

their commitments under the preamble to the Protocol where they said they would implement it with ‘the least disruption to NI communities’. There is no viable alternative to the Protocol on the table, so business has continued to work hard and use their best efforts to make this work. It is only through sheer force of will and dogged determination that we have kept supply chains flowing. The Protocol will provide opportunities in the future, but we need the UK and EU to help to decompress the situation in Northern Ireland by delivering short-term solutions to remove friction now and a long-term workable solution that keeps NI business competitive and keeps prices down for NI households.

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AL FRESCO REFRESHMENT: WITH BBQS THE LEADING AT-HOME SUMMER ACTIVITY, APEROL SPRITZ HAS CREATED LIGHT & REFRESHING COCKTAILS PERFECT FOR AL FRESCO DINING OCCASIONS

IN THE HOT SEAT: FEATURING MARTIN RICE OF GREEN FIELD MARKETING, A NEW COMPANY CREATED BY A TEAM BOASTING A STRONG TRACK RECORD OF FIELD MARKETING IN FMCG

email: info@ulstergrocer.com Volume 56 Number 6 SUMMER 2021 Editor: Alyson Magee E: a.magee@independentmagazinesni.co.uk Tel: 028 9026 4175 Contributors: Michele Shirlow, Sam Butler, Jason Winstanley, Jonathan Cushley, Aodhán Connolly Sales Manager: Chris Keenan E: c.keenan@mediahuis.co.uk Tel: 028 9026 4266 Art Editor: Helen Wright Production Manager: Irene Fitzsimmons Ulster Grocer c/o Mediahuis UK Limited Belfast Telegraph House 33 Clarendon Road Clarendon Dock Belfast BT1 3BG www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/ ulstergrocer/ @ulstergrocer www.facebook.com/ulstergrocer Subscriptions: £27.50 per annum £37.50 per annum (outside UK) Designed & Produced by: Mediahuis UK Limited Tel: 028 9026 4000 Printed by: W&G Baird, Antrim Tel: 028 9446 3911

EDITORIAL COMMENT

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NO SAD-ASS SAUSAGES IN THE TOP 75

elcome to the double summer edition of Ulster Grocer, featuring our exclusive annual Top 75 NI Food & Drink Companies listing. Compiled by D&B, the list is ranked by turnover and drawn from local agri-food/ grocery businesses filing their financial reports in Northern Ireland. The list always makes for good reading as a barometer of the sector, whether looking at year-on-year performance of the 75 as a whole or the fortunes of individual companies. While there is generally no seismic change in the businesses featured in the list, there are always new entrants and exits and plenty of jostling for position. And of course, companies may boost impressive turnover while their profit margin tells a different story. Fortunately, we have an expert on hand in analyst Jonathan Cushley to drill down into the figures and demystify such terms as ‘tangible net worth’ and ‘sales equity ratio’ (ps24-25). Our comprehensive Top 75 feature also looks at the grocery categories performing best in the list, by number of companies featured, including meat & poultry, alcohol and of course grocery retail and wholesale. A good cross section of businesses making the list are profiled in the feature, among them Moy Park, Henderson Group, SHS Group, Dale Farm, Cranswick Country Foods, Savage & Whitten, Genesis and Andrews Flour. And our thanks are due to Top 75-sponsor Green Field Marketing, a new operation created by some familiar names from the FMCG field marketing sector, Russell Johnston, Martin Rice and Lisa Curran, formerly trading as Contract People and most recently PRL In-Market Solutions (NI). Also to be found in this edition: our usual busy news sections, reflecting confidence in the grocery sector with high

levels of investment going into both stores and new product development, as well as the businesses servicing them. This month’s store focus (Centra Dunman - ps8-9) boasts a distinction as the 100th Northern Ireland store carrying the Musgrave NI-owned symbol. But it also represented another milestone, as my first in-person interview post-lockdown. Much as Cookstown has to recommend it, pre-pandemic I could never have imagined the excitement generated by a road trip there on a sunny day in May… and I’m pleased to say the Conway family’s bold, innovative store was well worth the visit. It’s good to get out on the road again and meet people face to face and, all being well, by the time this magazine falls on your doorsteps, I’ll have returned once more to the bucolic setting of the Culloden for a day of Ulster Grocer Marketing Awards judging. Entries are strong, and we’re looking forward to unveiling the shortlist in our August edition with further details to follow of this year’s awards presentation. At time of writing, contention around the Protocol shows no sign of diminishing with the business community begging UK and EU officials to stop playing politics and get behind some of the solutions already offered up to make it workable. US President Joe Biden has arrived for the G7 in Cornwall promising to defend the Protocol, while the DUP’s Sammy Wilson is pledging the opposite, tweeting an image of himself holding some seriously sad-ass looking sausages. Come on now Sammy… you can find a plethora of proper sausages on your doorstep from the many major meat processors featured in our Top 75 or smaller, artisan producers such as the superlative Ilse van Staden at Ballylagan Organic Farm.

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NEWS

PROGRESS MADE ON LIQUOR LICENSING REFORM

hour until 2am most weekends and relaxing restrictions around Easter trading. An amendment was also introduced to permit alcohol sales in cinemas, while current restrictions capping alcohol licences - with new ones only issued if another is surrendered – are to be reviewed. The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) welcomed an amendment which would allow NI’s growing number of small independent brewers to operate onsite taprooms 104 days a year. “Craft brewers want the opportunity to offer the choice and variety of local

products that consumers demand and these changes to allow taprooms on a limited basis are a positive step forward for craft brewers in NI,” said William Mayne, SIBA regional director and owner of Bullhouse Brewing Co. “However, urgent clarification is needed to ensure that setup costs are kept to a minimum for small brewers as, if strict planning regulations and solicitor fees are introduced and industrial derating is lost, then it may be completely unviable to open taprooms under the limited days and times they are allowed.”

NEW £16M HENDERSON SITE EXPEDITED FOR EASING OF LOCKDOWN

incorporate the latest sustainability and energy efficiency techniques, including maximisation of natural light in work areas, with any artificial lighting photo and movement sensitive. Other features include a stateof-the-art charging optimiser for all mechanical handling equipment and an energy optimised refrigeration system. Packaging waste is recycled or reused while food wastage is minimised or processed for re-use via an anaerobic digestion plant. “As hospitality has thankfully been able to open up, our move couldn’t have been more timely,” said Cathal Geoghegan, managing director, Henderson Foodservice. “We’re thrilled to be able to support the industry in what has been such a challenging year and we look forward to working closely with our customers as the economy continues to move forward in a positive trajectory.” Plans are in place for further phases of development up to 2040.

upermarkets may face new restrictions around in-store advertising of alcohol, one of 63 amendments to Northern Ireland’s outdated liquor licensing laws debated by local MLAs on June 8. The Licensing and Registration of Clubs (Amendment) Bill is expected to be approved by the NI Assembly in late June with the new legislation potentially coming into effect as early as October. Amendments include making the voluntary code of practice for drinks promotions mandatory, allowing pubs and clubs to serve alcohol for an extra

Kiera Campbell, sales director; Cathal Geoghegan, managing director; and Mark Stewart-Maunder, commercial and development director.

new £16m warehouse has been opened by Henderson Foodservice, marking the latest phase in a major redevelopment of the Group’s Mallusk complex began in 2010. The Foodservice team accelerated its move to the 190,000-square-foot ambient and chilled distribution centre to be ready to service the hospitality sector as it eases out of lockdown. The new larger storage facility

enables Henderson Foodservice to offer customers an expanded product range; greater efficiencies in deliveries, order processing and picking; and an enhanced supplier and customer experience. Multi-site processes were implemented, and a new version of the warehouse management system made operational, without impact or interruption to customers, said the Group. Design and build of the new site

CALL FOR ACTION AS RETAIL CRIME CONTINUES TO RISE

olice and government are being urged to tackle growing incidents of violence, threats and abuse against retail workers, with The Federation of Independent Retailers (NFRN) pushing for tighter legislation. “Independent retailers have been and continue to be at the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic and have to deal with physical and verbal threats on a near-daily basis for simply doing their jobs,” said Stuart Reddish, national president. “Nobody should have to deal with such incidents but, sadly, all too often retail

workers have come to see it as just that – part of the job. “We will continue to lobby the government to tighten the law so that any form of attack on shop workers is taken more seriously and ensure there are more stringent penalties for those who commit such crimes. I would also urge everyone involved in retail to report every crime incident.” Reddish’s comments followed a Westminster Hall debate on June 7 about greater protection for workers. MPs from all parties paid tribute to

the retail sector’s efforts throughout the pandemic, agreeing it was ‘completely unacceptable’ that incidents of retail crime were rising, said NFRN. Home Office Under Secretary Chris Philp called for more reporting of crimes, stating a recent survey of 8,742 people working in retail had found only 53% reported crime incidents to the police. A recent survey by the British Retail Consortium indicated a sharp rise in the number of attacks suffered by retailers, with incidents of violence and abuse now reaching 455 a day. 5

NEWS

IN MEMORY FOOD SECTOR PAYS TRIBUTE TO FINNEBROGUE FOUNDER DENIS LYNN

epresentatives from across the agri-food sector have paid tribute to Denis Lynn, the 63-year-old founder and chairman of Finnebrogue, who died suddenly after a quad bike accident at his Killyleagh home on May 2. Starting out selling pizzas and pies out of a white van, he built Downpatrick-based Lynn’s Country Foods into a major food producer employing 1,000 people across four Co Down sites. With a turnover of £142m according to its latest annual figures, the business has been propelled by constant innovation from the Posh Dogs created for M&S to its nitrate-free Naked Bacon and most recently a move into plant-based foods. Last November, Lynn was named Entrepreneur of the Year in The Grocer Gold Awards while, in 2018, he was awarded Director of the Year for Innovation at the UK-wide Institute of Directors Awards. In the Ulster Grocer Marketing Awards 2020, Finnebrogue Artisan won Best Brand for its Naked Bacon and Best Sustainability Initiative, with judges commending its strong ethical credentials. Accepting the latter award, Lynn said: “It is our company-wide drive and determination to build a better future for this planet that makes Finnebrogue a truly special team to be a part of.” “Denis was an exceptional entrepreneur, a true innovator, and a man of great vision and energy,” said Nick Whelan, chairman of the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association (NIFDA). “His commitment to making the world a better place extended beyond his considerable achievements in business. His charity work, championing of his local community and personal kindness provide inspiration to us all.” Finnebrogue sausage brand The Good Little Company dedicates 50%

PANDEMIC GROCERY UPLIFT ENDS AS LOCKDOWN EASES A

of its profits to sustainable farming solutions, education and food supplies in Kenya and Malawi. A statement from Food NI reflected on the remarkable growth of his business, which was created in 1985 and took off when he bought the 700acre Finnebrogue Estate and began supplying Oisin-branded venison to M&S and top chefs such as Heston Blumenthal. Finnebrogue then expanded into premium own-label bacon, sausages and burgers, supplied to M&S, Asda and Waitrose and launched its acclaimed Naked Bacon range. In 2020, a new £25m site was completed to add plant-based lines to the Naked brand. ‘A serial and successful entrepreneur, Denis was an inspirational personality within the Northern Ireland food and drink industry and a tremendous visionary for all that Food NI stands for,’ it reads. Following a meeting of the Board of Directors at Finnebrogue Artisan, nonexecutive director David Manning was appointed interim-chairman and Colin Walsh interim deputy-chairman. Denis is survived by his wife Christine and children Kerry, Clare, Tara and Ciara.

year of consistent monthly sales growth, as consumer spend was diverted from closed hospitality outlets to their grocery shop, has come to an end as Northern Ireland eases out of lockdown. Kantar’s figures for the 12 weeks to May 16 indicate a 6.9% decline in total Northern Ireland grocery sales year on year, including a £14m fall in off-trade alcohol sales. Marking the first monthly report from Kantar to report a decline in grocery sales since Northern Ireland entered its first lockdown in March 2020, the decline follows outdoor hospitality reopening on April 30. Indoor hospitality, hotels and other attractions subsequently reopened on May 24. “The Northern Irish grocery market grew by 7.9% in the 52 weeks to 16 May 2021,” said Emer Healy, retail analyst at Kantar. “A shorter-term view paints a slightly different picture, however. The fall comes as we compare the market to the height of the first national lockdown in 2020, which saw record-breaking grocery spending in Northern Ireland. “Over the 52-week period, Tesco remained Northern Ireland’s biggest grocer. It held 35.5% of the market, grew by 8.6% and boosted its sales by an extra £102.6m. The average basket size at Tesco jumped by 18.7%, equivalent to each person picking up nearly three extra items – the highest growth rate among all the retailers. “Sainsbury’s maintained its position as the second largest retailer, growing 6.7% and increasing its takings by £39m as shoppers checked out with bigger baskets and made more frequent trips. Asda’s sales rose by 7.3% this period. “Lidl’s growth reached an impressive 16.5% as it remained the fastest growing retailer. This was largely driven by consumers buying more per trip, helping it to add £34.5m to its sales.”

NEWS

DALE FARM REBRAND TARGETS MODERN ‘CONSCIOUS’ CONSUMERS

aximising impact in store and modernising the brand for a new era by connecting with consumers in a meaningful way are at the heart of its rebrand, according to Dale Farm. Recently the dairy brand unveiled a new logo and redesigned packaging, inviting consumers into the world of Dale Farm and its farming story across its core range of products, including milk, cream, custard, Sukie, and protein milk drinks, ice cream and lollies. The decision to rebrand followed research revealing many Northern Ireland consumers were not aware that Dale Farm is farmer owned. The rebrand features farmer owners on pack, while focusing on Dale Farm’s brand mission of ‘sharing goodness every day’ by highlighting the company’s supportive, wholesome and family focus.

The new pack designs are “more reflective of the modern consumer, while showcasing the brand’s unique farmer ownership and local credentials, ensuring Dale Farm products stand out in the crowded dairy market,” said Aisling Bremner, brand manager. “We believe this new packaging and redesign is a vital step in bringing Dale Farm’s family favourites to many more consumers and we want shoppers to know that every time they buy the Dale Farm brand, they are supporting local farmers who will ultimately share their farms with the next generation and have a big impact on our local economy.” The rebranding will be supported by a heavyweight ATL media campaign over the next three months to drive awareness and increase market share, including digital, OOH, radio and a TV campaign for the first time in four years.

IFEX RETURNING IN SPRING 2022 UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP

FEX, one of Northern Ireland’s longest-running food and drink trade exhibitions, is set to return in 2022 under new ownership following its acquisition by 365 Events. The biennial foodservice and hospitality expo, which was due to be held in Belfast last year but cancelled as a Sean Owens, director of Salon Culinaire at IFEX, Jeanresult of the pandemic, has been acquired by 365 Events Christophe Novelli and David Close, patisserie judge, are pictured at the opening of IFEX 2018. partners Toby Wand and Billie Moore from the Montgomery Group. The event attracts around 6,500 visitors and was last held in 2018 at the Titanic Exhibition Centre. 365 Events has also acquired Scotland’s leading showcase for food, drink, tourism and hospitality, ScotHot, which is returning to Glasgow in March 2023. “As the world of hospitality recovers and realigns post-pandemic, vibrant business events like IFEX and ScotHot will provide vital meeting places for the industries to reconnect, uncover new learnings and discover relevant technologies to improve their businesses and customer focus,” said Wand. Lori Hoinkes, managing director of Montgomery Events, said: “The last 14 months have been extremely difficult for us all, but especially our colleagues in hospitality and the wider events industry. As we move forward at Montgomery Group, growing our biggest trade events across the globe, we’re delighted that the new owners have such strong experience in events, specifically in foodservice and hospitality.” IFEX’s dates for Spring 2022 are due to be announced in June.

RETAIL SECTOR UNITES TO SUPPORT CUSTOMERS WITH SIGHT LOSS

eturning to shops as lockdown eases can be particularly stressful for blind and partially sighted shoppers, an issue sight loss charity RNIB is addressing alongside local retail groups and businesses. Retail NI, the Federation of Small Businesses in NI and many local shops and businesses are all supporting the initiative to help people with sight loss safely and confidently return to shops. For the 56,400 blind and partially sighted people in Northern Ireland, challenges include social distancing when shopping and eating out, as well as navigating new street and store layouts and new pavement furniture as people dine outside pubs and restaurants. “Last year, we were alerted to the issues that people with sight loss in NI were facing, particularly around social distancing,” said Glyn Roberts, chief executive, Retail NI. “We shared RNIB’s simple guidance with our 2,000 strong membership and called on all retailers to follow suit. “The re-opening of the retail world should be for everyone and we want to offer reassurance that our stores and businesses are doing all they can to meet the needs of everybody.” For more information, visit rnib.org.uk, while a RNIB helpline is available on 0303 123 9999. 7

STORE FOCUS

CENTRA DUNMAN, COOKSTOWN GOING THE EXTRA MILE - FROM DOUBLE-HEIGHT RETAIL SPACE & SUPERSIZED PARKING TO SECURING THE FIRST FORECOURT PARTNERSHIP WITH CULT LOCAL ICE CREAM BRAND NUGELATO - HAS RESULTED IN INSTANT SUCCESS, CO-OWNER PETER CONWAY TELLS ALYSON MAGEE

Already well utilised, the forecourt space will be able to handle increased traffic after completion of the planned A29 Cookstown Bypass. A total of £1.4m was invested in the project, with support from Centra brand owner Musgrave Northern Ireland and forecourt partner LCC Oil’s GO brand. The new shop features around 2,000 square feet of retail space, much of which is double height for the wow factor, while also leaving some first-floor office space for the Conways’ business interests. Being onsite allows the brothers to ensure shop standards are maintained day to day.

Trevor Magill, managing director, Musgrave NI, with store owners Declan Conway, Martin Conway, Daniel Conway and Peter Conway.

reating a spacious, visually impressive store and forecourt to draw in shoppers was a goal for the Conway family when embarking on their first foray into the grocery retail sector. Brothers Peter, Daniel and Declan have business interests in amusement arcades and property, and previously rented out the site to a tenant retailer. Identifying an opportunity to redevelop the large plot and realise its potential, the brothers decided to take on the challenge with invaluable support from their extended family circle. And the move has rapidly paid off, with Centra Dunman reaching its sales projections for five years on mere weeks after opening in April, while also by chance garnering the honour of the 100th Centra store to open in Northern Ireland. “We knew the size of the site wasn’t being utilised beforehand,” says Peter.

“There was another station here and it was stuck right bang in the middle. It didn’t do the site justice.” From conception and planning approval to completion of the build, redevelopment of the site took around 18 months, with the brothers managing subcontractors themselves. A priority was moving the shop to the back of the site, to create a spacious forecourt with easy access to facilitate lorry parking and 44 car spaces. “We needed lorry lanes as letting them mix through other traffic would be chaos for everyone,” says Peter. “So, we made it as accessible as possible for lorries and, for everybody else, we put in three-metre carparking spaces. “Your standard space is 2.4 metres, so we could have crammed in more but decided not to. There’s no point in putting three, four more spaces in when you can make it easier for people, and I actually think it’s a unique selling point.”

FOCUS ON DELI OFFER Laying out the shop, the brothers’ ethos was to focus on the deli, and grocery will follow. Musgrave’s high-quality deli offer sealed the deal for the Conways when choosing a retail partner. “They build the shop around the deli,” says Peter. “We have a transient site here and what we are aiming for is a really good deli spend. Musgrave got that. “I think I’d been into every shop in the country, trying to do my homework, and noticed the quality of their deli offer with the standardised look and processes in place to get that bit extra out of them. We find the deli is the heartbeat of the shop.” Around £85,000 has been spent on kit for the deli, including £12,000 on a machine producing high-quality chicken goujons from scratch for the hot food counter. While a prepacked sandwich range is also stocked, Centra Dunman places the emphasis on its sandwich bar and has introduced Musgrave’s new chopped salad brand Green Kitchen. “We’ve a gym across the way, and everyone is getting more health conscious,” says Peter. “It’s good to have other options as well as hot food.” The high-profit-margin categories of coffee and ice cream are central to the deli offer, with Peter already a fan of Musgrave’s Frank and Honest coffee brand before entering the partnership. With ice cream, the Conways made a fruitful decision to partner with the popular Nugelato brand, approaching co-

STORE FOCUS

owner Michael Nugent after Peter noticed how its Portadown outlet was always queued out the door. The ice cream is supplied by Nugelato as a fresh vanilla mix, for finishing in Centra Dunman’s own ice cream machines before the signature lavish toppings are added. “It’s taken off to a level of sales we never anticipated,” says Peter. “Nugelato has eight stores at the minute, and this is their first foray into petrol stations. “There’s a lot of hype about the ice cream and the theatre it creates, and

we’re actually doing sales similar to what their standalone was. Nugelato’s social media presence is quite high, about 60,000 followers, and we’re seeing people coming in and taking pictures of their ice cream and tagging the shop. It’s created a great buzz. “When the shop would traditionally have a lull after 7pm, it’s bringing people in through the door and we’re getting great feedback about the ice cream.” As many as 10 of the 35 full- and part-time staff are dedicated to the ice cream concession, “to give it the

attention it needs and room to flourish,” says Peter. Beyond the deli, the Asianinfluenced Karri Kitchen and Musgrave’s new SimpliDish ready meal range prepared by Co Antrim butcher McAtamney’s are selling well. “With the SimpliDish range, you notice the difference from a standard vacuum-packed ready meal,” says Peter. “You can tell the quality behind it.” McCloskey’s Bakery and Corner Cakes are among other local suppliers, and the Conways will continue to boost their provenance credentials as they find their feet. “We’re looking to bring in a few more local suppliers,” says Peter, voicing his support for community and supporting area businesses where possible. Nugelato’s popularity has created an ideal launch pad for Centra Dunman’s Facebook and Instagram pages, with competitions to win ice cream vouchers and a year’s supply of coffee boosting interest. Other promotional activity includes door-drop leaflets and ads in local newspapers while Peter, who is armed with a marketing degree, saw the value of maximising the visual appeal of the building and retail space. “The reason we went for double height in the shop is we thought it adds a presence and the site markets itself in a way,” he says. “People are curious when they go past, think it looks nice and want to call in. Spending that bit more on the building to make it look more attractive, I think will bring more sales in off the back of it.” As well as passing trade, the shop is attracting regular custom and social media interaction from the surrounding community. When a lady living across the road reported her granddaughter’s keen interest in watching the redevelopment progress, the Conways invited the girl over as a ‘site inspector’ and ice cream tester the day before the official opening on April 20. Will Centra Dunman be the first in a retail empire for the Conway brothers? Maybe in a year’s time when the first shop is well established, says Peter: “We’re young and hungry, and I can envisage us going on and up. Once you’re into retail, opportunities seem to arise and we’re willing to push on and go again.” 9

RETAIL NEWS – INDEPENDENTS

GROWTH LOAN ALLOWS TOM AND OLLIE TO EXPAND RETAIL FOCUS

ocal business Tom and Ollie has invested £300,000 in opening a new production facility, expanding its online presence and retail division, and creating nine new jobs. The artisan food manufacturer and retailer secured the funding through Whiterock Finance’s Growth Loan Fund II, which provides loans to Northern Ireland SMEs of between £100,000 and £1.5m. Belfast-based Tom and Ollie specialises in handcrafted Mediterranean deli foods with over 65 lines made in-house including hummus, pesto, tapenades, harissa paste and a variety of marinated olives and peppers, all made without preservatives and said to offer an authentic Mediterranean taste. The funding has helped the team develop its website and add an online

FIRST LOCAL WIN FOR ICE CREAM VAN OF THE YEAR

immy Robinson, owner of Robinsons Ice Cream in Craigavon, has become the first all-Ireland vendor to win the UK and Ireland-wide Ice Cream Van of the Year award. Now in their 43rd year, the annual awards are hosted by trade association for the ice cream sector for the UK and Ireland, the Ice Cream Alliance.

Jenna Mairs, senior investment manager at Whiterock Finance, and Shay Mullan, director at Tom and Ollie.

delivery service to its offering, with over 300 products now available for next day delivery across Ireland. Customers in wholesale and retail markets across Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the UK include Dunnes, Sheridans Cheesemongers, Nisa, SPAR and over 40 independent retailers. “The pandemic was devastating for Robinson operates three vans and three trailers in and around Craigavon, Portadown and Lurgan and in parks in Lisburn and Belfast, employing 11 fulland part-time staff members. “This is an absolutely fantastic honour and I’m delighted,” he said. “I have spent 36 years running and growing this business and all the hard work has paid off. And it’s a family effort, with both my sons, my wife Carmel and my brother-inlaw all working with me.” Robinson is the third generation of his family to sell ice cream. In the 1950s his grandmother Cora arrived in Northern Ireland from Lucca in Tuscany to make and sell ice cream, subsequently passing the business onto Robinson’s father

our wholesale market and being able to invest in our website and operate a delivery service has been invaluable to our business during a year of lockdowns,” said Shay Mullan, director at Tom and Ollie. “We can now deliver an unrivalled selection of the best of Irish and European foods to doorsteps across the region. We are also developed a full retail offering which is available across the Island in a number of local shops, farm shops and large retailers.” Before expanding into wholesale and retail, the business was one of the first traders to open a stall at St George’s Market following its refurbishment in 1997 and, post-lockdown, was among the first traders to return to St George’s Market when it re-opened in April.

Jimmy Snr and his brother Michael. Prior to taking over the business in 1985, Robinson was a full-time Irish International table tennis player and coach.

Jimmy Robinson.

FARM SHOP & DELI SHOW RETURNING WITH NEW MEAT AWARDS

new Meat Product Awards scheme, showcasing the quality and calibre of produce supplied by the industry, is set to be launched at the Farm Shop & Deli Show in the NEC Birmingham over July 5-7. Farm Shop & Deli Show is part of the UK Food & Drink Shows, run by William Reed Business Media, which is aiming to make the new Meat Product Awards a gold-standard in butchery produce and indication of all-round excellence. “There’s no doubt that the Covid-19 crisis amplified the demand for locally-sourced, high-quality products,” said Andrew Reed, managing director, Events 10

& Exhibitions. “Consumers are considering origin and welfare more than ever before and retailers who adapt their offering stand to profit. In creating these awards, we hope to shine a spotlight on the fantastic UK butchers behind these products and champion their dedication to excellence.” The awards will kick off in 2021 with an exclusive focus on meat-based products, celebrating produce reared and produced exclusively in the UK. Entries will be judged on July 6, with the category winners announced later that same day, live on Foodex Centre Stage.

RETAIL NEWS – SYMBOLS

SPAR OPENS MILESTONE 300TH STORE IN ANNIVERSARY YEAR

shop in Coagh, Co Tyrone has become the 300th SPAR to open in Northern Ireland, as the Henderson Group celebrates 60 years of locally operating the symbol brand. SPAR is by far the most popular local convenience store brand, with the Coagh shop representing the Group’s fifth opening this year to date of 13 new shops planned for 2021. The opening of SPAR Coagh has created 24 new jobs and represents an investment of nearly £500,000 by operators Andy Davis and Graham Johnston of SPAR 77 Retail. It sits on a site formerly owned by John and Pearl McGaw, who ran a motor store there for 47 years. “SPAR has brought countless opportunities for entrepreneurs, independent retailers and local suppliers since it arrived in the ‘60s, and no more so than in recent years,” said Paddy Doody, sales & marketing director, Henderson Group. “SPAR is an international network, and our retailers thrive from it on a local level. We offer hundreds of locally sourced fresh ranges and produce which not only meet

Graham Johnson and Andy Davis, owners of SPAR Coagh, celebrate their store’s honour as the 300th SPAR to open in Northern Ireland, with Martin Agnew, joint managing director, Henderson Group.

demand but support our thriving agri-food industry, providing profitable businesses for our retailers setting them apart from their competitors.” As well as Henderson Wholesale’s enjoy local and The Greengrocer’s brands, the new shop offers 77 Retail’s award-winning The Green Deli serving hot breakfasts, homemade lunches and carvery dinners, Mauds Ice Cream and an Arc Wines offlicence. Davis said: “We opened SPAR Cadogan in 2010 and since then have built our own network of SPAR stores across Northern Ireland, employing over 140 people across six sites. We are passionate about bringing an amazing shopping experience made for those local communities and developing careers within our retail industry.”

MAXOL DEVELOPING CONVENIENCE BRAND WITH £2M INVESTMENT

eading local forecourt and Central to Maxol’s carbon convenience retailer Maxol has offset programme launched announced plans to invest over last year, its Premium Fuel is £2m in its local retail network said to offer fewer pollutants this year, as well as planning alongside better power, Brian Donaldson, CEO of The applications already in the acceleration and overall Maxol Group. pipeline for further development performance for cars. over 2022/23. The group is also supporting The investment will focus on growing interest in electric cars with expanding instore retail space, increasing three of its local service stations currently grocery and convenience lines and featuring charging points, and plans to introducing the SPAR Daily Deli food invest in further dedicated chargers over offering to an increasing number of the next three years. stores, as Maxol continues its transition “As we begin the path to recovery, from primarily a fuel brand to a we are committed to playing our part convenience foodservice brand selling in supporting the economic recovery fuel. and building for the future,” said Brian Meanwhile, in line with its goal Donaldson, CEO of The Maxol Group. to become a more environmentally “Our service stations are run by local sustainable company, the group is people for local people, employing local expanding availability of its Maxol people; that has been our business Premium fuel to a further six local model for more than 100 years and we sites including Townparks in Antrim, look forward to seeing these investments Eglinton, A26 Services at Tannaghmore, deliver for the local communities that we Glenabbey, Belvoir and Kinnegar. serve in the coming years.” 11

RETAIL NEWS - MULTIPLES

LOCAL SUPPLIERS SHOWCASED AS M&S UNVEILS LISBURN REVAMP

ocal suppliers are at the heart of a revamp at Marks & Spencer’s busy Lisburn Foodhall at the Sprucefield Shopping Complex. Creating 30 new jobs, the Lisburn redesign follows M&S Abbey Centre as the second store in Northern Ireland to roll out the new look. Among the retailer’s top-performing food stores in the UK, the redesigned M&S Lisburn features a new Mai Sushi counter, rotisserie chicken station, in-store bakery, cheese barge, Fill Your Own selection and checkouts, as well as enhanced grocery and frozen departments and a new-look wine shop. “For the last few months, we have been busy making our Foodhall bigger, better and fresher and I’m extremely proud to finally unveil the finished result to our customers,” said JP McShane, M&S Lisburn store manager. “Sourcing locally is really important to us so we’re delighted to be launching some of the fantastic new products being produced by our local supply base here. Northern Ireland is one of our biggest supply regions with 11 direct suppliers and around 1,600 farms producing quality produce for us.”

Lynsey Weir, store liaison manager, and JP McShane, M&S Lisburn store manager.

Downpatrick-based Finnebrogue Artisan has introduced five new vegan lines to the M&S Plant Kitchen range, as well as a new BBQ Banger to the hugely popular Posh Dog sausage range. Avondale Foods in Lurgan has created a Burger Slaw, fusing coleslaw with flavours commonly associated with your favourite burger. Magherafelt-based Genesis Bakery has launched four new lines with a further six set to hit M&S stores nationwide in the coming months. Its Colin the Caterpillar Cupcakes are proving popular with M&S customers.

FOREST FEAST SECURES SAINSBURY’S LISTING FOR PREMIUM NUT RANGE

ith consumer demand for premium, in-home snacking occasions in growth, Sainsbury’s has listed two of Forest Feast’s innovative ranges of nuts. The Portadown-based Original Snack Explorers launched the ranges into 480 Sainsbury’s stores across the UK over the last few months. Its Slow Roasted & Seasoned Nuts range includes Sea Salt & Black Peppercorn Nut Mix, Serrano Chilli Honey Almonds & Peanuts and Heather Honey Peanuts & Cashews; all of which are gluten free. The second range, Forest Feast Signature Chocolate Nuts, has created a point of difference in the confectionery category, boosting sales by 150-250% across Forest Feast’s chocolate ranges. Handcrafted in-house, each nut is oven-roasted with its skin-on for depth of flavour, combined with a unique

flavour twist, and the Sea Salted Dark Chocolate Almonds line stocked by Sainsbury’s is vegan friendly. “Over the last year, the nation has spent more time at home, consumers are looking for snacks that elevate their evenings in and are leaning towards more premium, artisanal products,” said Bronagh Clarke, marketing director at Forest Feast. “We’re proud that Forest Feast’s new nut ranges harness innovation and flavour discovery to meet this demand, while showcasing our in-house roasting and seasoning capabilities.” A spokesperson at Sainsbury’s said: “We’ve seen significant growth in customers looking for great tasting snacks, and there is a clear trend of consumers looking for more special and crafted products too - which makes Forest Feast’s proposition really strong.”

MOY PARK SECURES ITS FIRST BUSINESS WITH ASDA

oy Park has secured a contract to supply 12 of its branded products to Asda stores across Northern Ireland for the first time. The new lines will be listed across three categories - BBQ, Ready to Cook and Added Value - and will include Mango Lime & Coconut Chicken Mini Fillets, Yakitori Chicken Kebabs, Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Bake, Peri Peri Lollipop Wings and an Extra Tasty Roast in the Bag whole chicken. The new products are available across all 16 NI Asda stores now.

TS FOODS LANDS £150,000 DEAL FOR TONY’S CHIPPY RANGE

ocal chilled and frozen food producer TS Foods has secured three new listings for its Tony’s Chippy brand in a deal valued at £150,000 with Tesco NI. Each Meal Box includes chips and is oven-ready, with the range including a Crispy Battered Chicken Munchie Box, Battered Sausage & Battered Burger Munchie Box and a classic Battered Sausage Supper. The new range is available at 16 Tesco locations across Northern Ireland, merchandised alongside the existing Tony’s Chippy frozen SKUs.

ADVERTORIAL

BELFAST SCOOPS TOP AWARD AT MUSGRAVE MARKETPLACE REGION OF THE YEAR AWARDS M usgrave MarketPlace Belfast was named Region of the Year at the annual Musgrave MarketPlace Region of the Year Awards with the Derry-Londonderry branch achieving second place. The Belfast branch received the top award due to its continued remarkable sales performance, quality assurance audits, mystery shopper scores and employee engagement results over the course of 2020. In 2017, Musgrave MarketPlace Belfast completed a £1.1m upgrade to its Belfast branch at Dargan Crescent off Dargan Road. Then in 2019, the Belfast branch was the first and only Musgrave MarketPlace cash and carry to open to the public across the island of Ireland. Commenting on this highly commended industry accolade, Garry Williams, general manager of the Belfast branch, said: “This is a tremendous achievement for all of us here at Musgrave MarketPlace Belfast and we are honoured to be recognised as Region of the Year. Our team is committed, hardworking and focused on the common goal of driving sales, and wholesale excellence. I wish to thank each and every one of our team for their

The Musgrave MarketPlace team: from left, Tiegen McGuicken, customer service manager; Garry Williams, general manager; Colleen Lamond, customer service manager; and Richard Mayne, wholesale director.

dedication and passion in providing a first-class customer experience.” The annual awards acknowledge the excellent team effort that goes into the running of Musgrave MarketPlace branches across the island of Ireland as well as awarding individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the business. Musgrave MarketPlace branches are located at Belfast, Derry-Londonderry and Lurgan as well as in Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.

SUPERVALU COOKSTOWN REBRANDS TO CENTRA

ommenting on the new look, Caroline Rowan, head of retail operations at Musgrave NI, said: “We are delighted with the rebrand and are already receiving lots of positive feedback from our customers. Our team in Cookstown are dedicated to serving the local community and I have no doubt that both new and existing customers will be impressed with the new look store.”

Pictured outside the revamped store on Burn Road are, from left, Chris Williams, store manager; Caroline Rowan, head of retail operations, Musgrave NI; Kathy Danton, store manager; and Ian Hanna, operations manager, Musgrave NI.

Also speaking about the Region of the Year Awards, Richard Mayne, wholesale director at Musgrave Northern Ireland, said: “These annual awards acknowledge the team effort which goes into operating a successful branch, so for NI branches to take the top two accolades is testament to the strong teams we have in place. I would like to congratulate Garry and his team in our Belfast branch as well as Emir, Denis and the team in DerryLondonderry.”

CASH FOR COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE LAUNCHED

uperValu Fintona has launched a Cash for Communities initiative which allows customers to earn points when they shop which the store will match with a cash donation to local schools St Lawrence’s Primary and Denamona Primary.

Pictured launching the initiative are Anne-Marie Gorman, St Lawrence’s Primary; Scott Jacques, store manager, SuperValu Fintona; and Tracey McKenna, Denamore Primary School.

FOOD & DRINK NEWS

SMALLER FOOD PRODUCERS OFFER GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUPERMARKETS BY MICHELE SHIRLOW, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, FOOD NI

’ve drawn great encouragement from many innovative and important developments within the local food and drink industry during the awful coronavirus pandemic and associated lockdowns. Food processing and retailing have certainly responded to the challenges and continue to ensure people here have ready access to the very best products especially from local farms and other suppliers. While I appreciate, of course, that Brexit and the onerous bureaucracy surrounding the bewildering Irish Sea Border have created some perplexing supply difficulties especially in terms of fruit, vegetables and other items including English, French and Italian cheeses and other gourmet foods, there’s been no real shortage of core products. Major supermarket Sainsbury’s has tied up with Henderson’s, for instance, to ensure that some popular items continue to be available. This far-sighted approach has had the added advantage in terms of opportunities for smaller suppliers here to appear on the radar of this supermarket’s buyers. I hope that many will become regular suppliers to Sainsbury’s. And I hope too that Marks and Spencer, which has to set £30m aside to cover the additional postBrexit costs of doing business in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, may lead to the chain buying more food from Northern Ireland’s smaller producers. Food NI certainly stands ready to support initiatives by our colleagues in Invest NI, for instance, to identify more local suppliers. I know M&S buyers already list foods from a number of Northern Ireland companies such as Finnebrogue, as well as Jawbox and Boatyard gins and, most recently, Mash Direct. It would certainly make good business sense to source more food and drink from our companies. Finnebrogue, as many readers will know, has developed a number of original foods in association with M&S. These include its hugely successful Naked range as well as its leading-edge Flexitarian foods. We believe there’s a great deal more our companies can do for M&S in areas 16

such as original product development. The store is surely well aware of the quality and outstanding taste of our food and drink… and also of the capability of our companies to deliver on time and at prices that provide great value for money. After all, they’ve been doing it successfully for many other supermarkets over a great many decades. I’ve also been immensely encouraged by other recent developments involving supermarkets such as the link-up between SuperValu in Northern Ireland, part of Musgrave’s, and McAtamney’s in Ballymena, a leading butchery business here. Musgrave’s, of course, has been a buyer of local food and drink for its stores over many years. SuoerValu has just launched SimpliDish, a range of high-quality ready meals created from the best locally sourced ingredients. The comprehensive range stretches to around 50 mains and sides which are appearing in SuperValu stores across Northern Ireland in what is an important and highly commendable initiative for local food producers. SimpliDish offers quick and convenient dishes which are delicious, homemade and don’t compromise on flavour. All are

prepared locally in McAtamney’s gourmet kitchen in Co Antrim. It’s restaurant quality food for quick and nutritious meals… and all attractively priced for families here. Also significant is the further development by Henderson’s of its established The Chef range produced by the retailer’s team of expert chefs in the superb facilities in Newtownabbey. The range – available from many of its EUROSPAR and SPAR network – also depends on quality and locally sourced ingredients. Henderson’s, of course, has a longstanding and inspirational commitment to local suppliers through its range of successful prepared meals. The Chef range is a substantial extension of this through the creation by their chefs of many more and highly original restaurant quality dishes. They are bringing gourmet dishes to retail for shoppers to enjoy, an initiative that will be great for shoppers and the food industry here. It’s fantastic to see the range’s success in the Great Taste awards. In addition, Henderson’s is continuing to develop opportunities for smaller food producers through its artisan focus. And I believe other smaller producers will figure in the near future. I’ve also appreciated Henderson’s willingness to give the artisans sufficient time to develop their business. Most of those already featured on its shelves and chillers over the past few years, I know, are now doing good business and learning from their experience of dealing with a major retail chain and from the reactions of supermarket shoppers. And Lidl has also identified local suppliers in its big summer BBQ promotion that features gourmet pizzas from Crust and Crumb in Fermanagh and salads from Killinchy’s Willowbrook Foods. There’s no question, we continue to be an outstanding and innovative food and drink producing region with quality produce at the forefront, and I hope that our political leaders can overcome the challenges of the NI Protocol speedily so that local producers can continue to grow their businesses in GB as well as Ireland.

FOOD & DRINK NEWS

CONSUMER INSIGHT AND MARKET UPDATE BY JASON WINSTANLEY, HEAD OF RESEARCH AND INSIGHT, MOY PARK CRAZY GROWTH As we move back into a more normal environment, with consumers beginning to re-engage with food service and multi-household gatherings, the prospects for the remainder of the year look encouragingly bright, and certainly far brighter than was expected to be the case at this point during 2021. The economy seems set for strong growth as disposable cash, which has been built up by many consumers over the last 12 months, finally makes its way into the economy. The strong growth that we expect to see over the next few months will be real growth, but it will also be compounded by annualising against a very weak economic performance in 2020. These twin effects will drive some of the biggest economic growth numbers that we have seen for many decades. But it’s not just the economy that will see its performance impacted by the comparison with what went on last year. Grocery growth numbers are swinging around crazily at the moment as each new data release makes an annual comparison against particular elements of last year’s sudden shifts in shopping behaviour. For example, at the end of March last year, the first lockdown was about to be announced and shoppers were suddenly gripped by Covid anxiety and a need to stock up when shopping. As we have discussed before, the phenomenon wasn’t so much about panic buying as about many consumers buying a little bit extra across lots of different categories. The cumulative effect of all those little additional purchases was that sales across the weekend of 21st and 22nd of March 2020 exceeded what would normally be seen at Christmas. Fast forward to the same weekend of March in 2021 and, all of a sudden, annual growth absolutely collapses – and this is despite the fact that we are still seeing an elevated level of grocery sales because of the foodservice closures. However, last year’s trajectory in terms of grocery sales was by no means linear. Once households had stocked up, a combination of bulging fridges, freezers and cupboards, and a disinclination to venture out because of Covid meant that there was a large ‘understeer’ in terms of grocery sales the following week. And then… the week after that, there was another spike in sales as people returned to the shops once more. The pattern for several weeks really did emulate the over and under steering of a car, which took a few corrections until it settled down onto a more predictable pathway. This does mean, though, that the annual comparisons that we see at the moment are also following a fairly crazy path. In four-week data to the end of March, almost all retailers were in decline because of annualising against that huge spike; in the four-week data to midApril, that decline had swung into modest growth for most. Only convenience stores bucked the trend and remained in decline, and that was because, during Q2 of 2020, shoppers prioritised convenience stores as they looked to minimise their visits to larger stores. Meanwhile, grocery internet won’t see an annualisation challenge for some time yet, as new delivery slots continued to be made available during the course of the year, effectively continuing to increase online’s capacity constantly during 2020. The growth numbers at the moment are so bizarre that many data providers are choosing to reference current performance against 2019, in order to get a more meaningful view. It’s certainly a fascinating landscape at the moment, and a good reminder 17

that one year of turmoil doesn’t just have implications for that particular year – the turmoil continues to echo for some time in the comparatives.

FOOD WASTE APP HITS 100K DOWNLOAD MILESTONE

ander, an innovative app launched in Northern Ireland in 2019 to address the issue of food waste, has surpassed a milestone of 100,000 downloads. Automatically connecting shoppers to reduced foods in their local shops, the technology is now used in more than 380 stores across the UK and Channel Islands. In the first quarter of 2021, Gander welcomed onboard SPAR International, Heart of England Co-op, Dee Bee Wholesale, Hockenhull Garages and MPK Garages, which operate under the Today’s and Morrisons facias. Further new national and international partners are said to be lined up for the forthcoming months. Gander said it is experiencing strong customer retention rates, with a core base of active weekly users alongside a surge in app downloads. The app integrates directly with food stores’ POS systems, without requiring any changes or staff training in-store, enabling retailers to automatically display all reduced-toclear food on their shelves to shoppers in real-time.

ADVERTORIAL

FERRERO REINVIGORATES BISCUIT CATEGORY WITH NEW DUPLO

errero UK is reinvigorating the chocolate biscuit category with the launch of a new hazelnut chocolate biscuit bar, Duplo, available now. Capitalising on the success of Ferrero’s previous biscuit brands – Nutella B-Ready and Kinder Cards – Duplo contains 100 calories and is available in a variety of pack formats, making it the perfect treat for shoppers to enjoy at home or on the go. Ferrero Duplo is set to disrupt the category with a more premium option when compared to current products available, thanks to Ferrero’s heritage and expertise in creating high-quality

chocolate. This is evidenced by the chocolate bar being a best seller in Germany since its launch in 19641, with early consumer testing in the UK and Ireland showing a wide appeal across age groups, particularly amongst adults aged 24-452, due to its distinctive nutty taste and flavour, and its creamy texture. Levi Boorer, customer development director at Ferrero, comments: “The initial positive consumer testing on taste, flavour and texture, already shows a strong opportunity for retailers to shake up their chocolate biscuit fixture with this new launch. The varied product formats and pack sizes give Duplo appeal across a number of different shopper missions, both enabling retailers to offer something new as on-the-go purchases return, as well as larger multipacks that allow people to manage their treating ahead of time and around the working week. Duplo is the go-to snack for when shoppers have that five-minute break and want to enjoy the perfect at home or on-the-go treat.” PACK SIZES AND LISTINGS Duplo will be available in single and multipacks – 1, 2, 5 and 10-packs – and will roll out across retailers nationwide from 1st June.

RETAILER TOP TIPS • Drive excitement among shoppers by stocking regular NPD launches from leading suppliers such as Ferrero; this will support in increasing footfall and sales instore. Sock them in prominent locations in stores or within POS units such as FSDU or dumpbins to draw attention to the product. • As restrictions ease and shoppers begin to buy into impulse and on-the-go purchases again, retailers should ensure they have a wide range of appropriate products available. Our single formats of Duplo are ideal for this. • Online shopping is expected to remain popular, if you don’t already, consider offering a delivery service direct or through a third party. It’s a great way to attract younger shoppers looking for convenience and to secure more sales. • Despite the UK Government’s plan to ease restrictions in the Summer, the big night in occasion will still be popular so retailers should ensure their offering caters for this. Dedicate a section in store where customers can stock up on their favourite drinks and snacks via a bundle deal, our Duplo packs of x5 and x10 are perfect for those sharing occasions with family and friends 1 https://www.duplo.de/sortiment/classic/ 2 CPT Research

MY LIFE IN THE GROCERY TRADE DAVY UPRICHARD, CHIEF CIDER MAKER FOR TEMPTED CIDER BRIEFLY OUTLINE YOUR EMPLOYMENT HISTORY TO DATE I have been self-employed for most of my working life since leaving Queen’s University in 1982. I owned a plant nursery with a business partner from 1992, which I left in 2013 to work full time as a cider-maker. WHAT DOES YOUR ROLE INVOLVE? My role is primarily concerned with producing the best quality cider I can. Having teamed up with a quality distributor, Drinksology, a few years ago, I can leave distribution in their capable hands, thus leaving me to concentrate my energies fully on production. WHAT ARE THE BEST/WORST PARTS OF YOUR JOB? My favourite job is blending ciders from different styles of apples with the aim of making a top-quality product. Cleaning fermenting tanks in the middle of winter has many downsides but hygiene is so important. BRIEFLY OUTLINE A TYPICAL DAY Typical days vary with the seasons. Autumn/winter involves lots of pressing apples followed by a bit of technical know-how to produce the base ciders. Spring/summer tends to be blending

these ciders into our finished products prior to bottling. WHAT HAS BEEN THE PROUDEST MOMENT OF YOUR CAREER TO DATE? Winning our first Blas na hÉireann gold award while still working in the cider industry part time. WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT BEING INVOLVED WITH THE LOCAL RETAIL INDUSTRY? Building and maintaining strong ties with the local retail industry is incredibly important for a developing local business. In Northern Ireland we are extremely fortunate to have a network of retail outlets that recognise and reward the hard work and attention to detail that is

required to bring a product to market. I am grateful for their support over the years. WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO TO UNWIND AWAY FROM WORK? Making cider is an extension of a hobby I shared with my father in the 1970s and 1980s. Consequently, I really enjoy my day job. However, I also like to grow a few vegetables and spend a fair bit of time in the kitchen. TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF THAT NOT MANY PEOPLE MAY KNOW I am a real sucker for a hard luck story and supporting the underdog; just ask my three-legged dog and one-eyed cat.

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TOP 75

NAVIGATING THE PANDEMIC TO COME BACK STRONGER & MORE RESILIENT THAN EVER JOHN HOOD, INVEST NORTHERN IRELAND’S DIRECTOR OF FOOD & DRINK, EXPLAINS HOW INVEST NI SUPPORT IS HELPING NORTHERN IRELAND’S FOOD & DRINK SECTOR TO FACE CHALLENGES & REMAIN COMPETITIVE

John Hood

ast year, food and drink companies generated over £5bn for the Northern Ireland economy, with the sector remaining resilient throughout Covid-19. Invest NI is working with hundreds of companies across the sector, including 22

many that feature in Ulster Grocer’s Top 75 to help them remain competitive by growing sales, increasing exports, engaging in innovation and investing in the skills of their staff. We have worked with companies to help them grow and supported them to make significant investments like Clandeboye Yoghurt’s £2m investment in a new factory, which will see its production capacity quadruple and its workforce double in the Ards & North Down Borough Council area. Our business development support, which included an introduction to the buying team in Aldi Ireland, enabled Antrim-based Golden Popcorn to secure a contract estimated to be worth £500,000 to supply healthy crisps for Aldi Ireland’s Snackrite brand. We have worked with Tandrageebased White’s Speedicook over many years to develop new routes to market, particularly in the UAE. It was great to see this support last year culminating in contracts in the Middle East estimated to be worth over £1m. Our support has seen the local drinks sector flourish and we have assisted companies such as Kircubbin-based Echlinville Distillery to continue to sell overseas and grow in Northern Ireland with its recent £9m expansion and the creation of 36 new jobs in Kircubbin. The launch of the £15m, 30,000-squarefoot Hinch Distillery and visitor centre adds to Northern Ireland’s growing drinks tourism industry with its distinct product offering and guest experience. If Northern Ireland food & drinks firms want to grow, they need to innovate, and we continue to help the sector to do that through a multitude of support. Innovation within the sector has led to many new contracts including our support for Castlewellan-based Whitewater Brewery to purchase new equipment and access consultancy services, which assisted it to develop and launch a new line of ready-to-drink hard seltzers and secure a new listing with

Sainsbury’s. Without doubt, exporting will fuel the recovery and longer-term sustainability of our economy and for Northern Ireland companies, exporting and growing sales can be transformative. During Covid-19, and in the absence of our annual programme of national exhibitions and trade shows, we quickly introduced a virtual approach across all our international markets to support Northern Ireland companies to continue exporting and grow sales where possible. For the food and drink sector, we have delivered seven virtual food and drink showcases to keep GB and RoI-based retailers and food service operators up-to-date with new product launches. To date, over 70 local food and drink suppliers have engaged virtually with almost 200 targeted buyers as well as over 40 GB and RoI based food writers and influencers. Not only have these events provided a solution to companies not being able to travel to promote and market their products; they have also resulted in sales in both markets. The retail/grocery buying landscape changed swiftly and dramatically, as did the ever-increasing need for our companies to have an in-depth understanding of the consumer. A sustained focus for our Food and Drink Consumer Insights Team included one-to-one client engagement to help companies to source and use data and market research, the launch of a new data purchase grant, the delivery of a number of workshops, monthly market intelligence clinics and a Health & Wellness seminar featuring 18 guest speakers which was attended by 80 companies. We remain both focused and determined to continue to offer the support and advice needed to assist Northern Ireland’s food and drink sector to navigate through Covid-19 and come back stronger and more resilient than ever.

TOP 75

TOP NORTHERN IRELAND GROCERY COMPANIES INCREASE SALES BY 5.8% BY JONATHAN CUSHLEY, INDEPENDENT ANALYST

t the heart of the Northern Ireland economy sit the companies large and small which supply each of us on a daily basis. The Top 75 NI Food & Drink Companies listing shows a sector growing turnover, surviving on tight profit margins and employing slightly over 37,000 people. The listing is compiled using details taken from audited accounts filed at Companies House and reflect financial years ending 2019 and 2020. In some instances, companies’ performance will have been affected by the Covid19 pandemic; however, it would be anticipated that the full effect of Covid won’t be fully apparent until 2020 and 2021 accounts are filed in their entirety. TURNOVER Turnover/sales has been used as the key identifier and benchmark of performance within the Top 75 listing; in the past Ulster Grocer has shared Top 25 and Top 30 company listings using turnover as the main criteria. Sales within the Top 75 have increased from the prior year by 5.8% from £8.2bn to £8.6bn. This figure was slightly distorted by the inclusion of Lidl Northern Ireland, which has posted sales of £278.2m. While figures for prior years 24

have not been disclosed, on March 31, 2019, Lidl Northern Ireland undertook a group reorganisation transferring assets and liabilities from Lidl NI GmbH. This distortion, however, can be somewhat mitigated by the exiting from the list of companies such as Dunbia (previously ranked third) and Lynas Foodservice (previously ranked 15th). Lynas Foodservice is registered as a private unlimited company and is not obliged to file company accounts. Moy Park continues to be the main stalwart of the listing; the company which remains the largest in Northern

Ireland, had sales of £1.6bn at its yearend in December 2019. John Henderson (Holdings) remains in second spot with impressive individual sales growth of 5.7% and surely in 2021 will become the second company to break the £1bn barrier. SHS Group replace Dunbia as third on the listing, posting sales of £570m. Encouragingly, in the 2019 edition of the Ulster Grocer Top 75 list, the final place in the list was taken by Around Noon with a turnover of £16.6m. This year, Moran’s Retail comes in at number 75 with a turnover of £19.2m, an increase of 15.7%.

TOP 10 MOST PROFITABLE COMPANIES Company

Pre-tax profit £m

Profit margin %

Moy Park Ltd

70.0

4.4

Lynn’s Country Foods Ltd

42.3

29.8

John Henderson (Holdings) Ltd

28.5

2.9

Hilton Foods Ltd

20.6

70.5

SHS Group Ltd

19.6

3.4

Cranswick Country Foods (Ballymena)

9.9

8.6

Dale Farm Ltd

9.7

2.2

Voyager Fishing Company Ltd

9.0

36.0

The Old Bushmills Distillery Company Ltd

8.9

20.4

Coca-Cola HBC Northern Ireland Ltd

8.7

3.7

TOP 75 Twenty-seven of the companies posted a reduction in year-on-year sales. PROFITABILITY Historically, the food and drink sector has operated on challenging profit margins. Currently the Top 75 companies are operating on a pre-tax profit margin of 3.6%, posting combined profits of £312.5m. Moy Park, as might be expected, posted the highest profit figure of £70m, with Lynn’s Country Foods, John

Henderson (Holdings), Hilton Foods and SHS Group Ltd making up the top five most profitable companies. Seven companies within the Top 75 listing posted losses for their last recorded financial year. TANGIBLE NET WORTH (SHAREHOLDER VALUE) Following on from sales and profitability, a third measure of overall success can be identified by the value of the company to its shareholders. Tangible net worth

TOP 10 MOST VALUABLE COMPANIES Company

Tangible net worth £m

Sales to equity

Moy Park Ltd

302.3

5.23

John Henderson (Holdings) Ltd

244.0

The Old Bushmills Distillery Company Ltd

206.6

0.2

Coca-Cola HBC Northern Ireland Ltd

88.2

2.7

Hilton Foods Ltd

81.8

0.4

Lynn’s Country Foods Ltd

63.3

2.2

Dale Farm Ltd

61.3

7.3

Tayto Group Ltd

57.2

3.6

Voyager Fishing Company Ltd

54.9

0.5

James E McCabe Ltd

53.2

1.8

EMPLOYEES A total number of 37,378 people are employed by the Ulster Grocer Top 75 Companies; this represents 35% of the total employed by Northern Ireland’s largest 100 companies as compiled in the Ulster Grocer’s stablemate Ulster Business.

This figure helps reiterate the importance of the food and drink sector to the province’s economy. Each employee within the listing accounted for £231,272 turnover (sales/employee), and accounted for £8,360 profit (profit/employee).

TOP 10 HIGHEST EMPLOYING COMPANIES Company

Number of employees

Sales/employee (£)

Moy Park Ltd

10,126

156,073

John Henderson (Holdings) Ltd

4,171

232,558

The Mount Charles Group Ltd

2,169

20,240

Tayto Group Ltd

1,498

138,318

Foyle Food Group

1,284

288,707

SHS Group Ltd

1,148

496,515

Dunnes Stores (Bangor) Ltd

1,097

103,555

Linden Foods Ltd

1,070

187,570

Lidl Northern Ireland Ltd

936

297,222

Musgrave Retail Partners Ltd

902

307,206

in its simplest form is measured as shareholders’ funds (issued capital) plus retained profits minus intangibles. As with other measures, Moy Park leads the way with a tangible net worth of £302m, followed by John Henderson Holdings and The Old Bushmills Distillery Company. The value of the Ulster Grocer Top 75 Companies to their shareholders is £1,859.5m and represents a sales-toequity ratio of 4.6%. A high sales equity ratio indicates that the business is able to create sales without a high level of investment from stakeholders. More significantly, the shareholders return which looks at profitability/worth is 16.8%. Only four companies in the listing showed a negative net worth.

AVERAGE Based on the Top 75 listing, the average Northern Ireland food and drink company would have a turnover of £115.3m, generate profits of £4.2m, have a tangible value of £24.8m and employ 494 people. NOTES • The listing utilises results of Northern Ireland registered or headquarter domiciled. • Lakeland Dairies (NI) file their financial accounts in euros; for the purposes of the listing these values have been converted to sterling as at the currency rate at financial year end. • Lynn’s Country Foods’ results relate to an 18-month period. • Musgrave Retail Partners NI and Musgrave Distribution are both subsidiaries of Musgrave Investments. Musgrave Investments is an intermediate holding company registered in Northern Ireland but does not file consolidated accounts. • James E McCabe, Winemark the Winemerchants and Philip Russell are all subsidiaries of Golf Holdings, a holding company registered in Northern Ireland which does not file consolidated accounts. • A cut-off date for the filing of accounts enabling inclusion within the Top 75 listing was 09/06/21.

ADVERTORIAL

WHO ARE GREEN FIELD MARKETING?

reen Field Marketing are a Belfast based field marketing company, specialising in the FMCG industry. Previously trading as Contract People, and then PRL In-Market Solutions (NI), before being acquired by (pictured left to right) Russell Johnston (managing director), Martin Rice (operations director) and Lisa Curran (finance director) through a management buy-out, Green Field Marketing have a wealth of experience in field marketing, and are currently working with some of the UK’s biggest brands delivering ongoing success and continuous improvement. When speaking about the company’s unique model, Managing Director Russell Johnston said: “Green Field Marketing was founded with the concept of delivering best in class service to our clients, in an environmentally sustainable and cost-effective manner. Service delivery remains our number one priority, and our previous results speak for themselves. We’re starting from a strong position and it can only get bigger and better. We believe that striving forward and investing in people and technology will be our core drivers. “We want to be the ‘go-to’ company for any FMCG brand striving to succeed in the Northern Ireland market. We are the partner for our brands but our ambition is to increase sales for all parties involved. We want retailers to be delighted to see a Green Field Marketing rep come through their doors, and for wholesalers to trust us to work with their retailers to increase the cases being pulled from their warehouses. They need to know that our field sales teams are the best, that they can come to Green Field Marketing to fulfil their needs.” 26

WHAT DO GREEN FIELD MARKETING DO? While Green Field Marketing have worked extensively in the drinks trade as well as the multiples, their main strength lies within convenience and impulse. Green Field Marketing currently run fully outsourced sales and merchandising

WE ARE THE PARTNER FOR OUR BRANDS BUT OUR AMBITION IS TO INCREASE SALES FOR ALL PARTIES INVOLVED. WE WANT RETAILERS TO BE DELIGHTED TO SEE A GREEN FIELD MARKETING REP COME THROUGH THEIR DOORS, AND FOR WHOLESALERS TO TRUST US TO WORK WITH THEIR RETAILERS TO INCREASE THE CASES BEING PULLED FROM THEIR WAREHOUSES. teams for blue chip brands such as KP Snacks, Dale Farm, Royal Canin and GSK. These teams are tasked with driving core range distribution, visual presence and NPD into retail stores across the Henderson, Musgrave, Dunnes and Nisa estates. Ricky Watts, NI business account manager for KP Snacks, said: “We have partnered with Green Field Marketing to manage our outsourced sales team within convenience and impulse for the past 11 years. Through this time, they have shown a relentless drive to grow our brands, and have

consistently delivered what we see as a best-in-class service. The level of reporting we receive from Green Field Marketing allows us to make strategic commercial decisions at head office level, while having the peace of mind that our team of field development representatives have all the training and support needed to achieve continuous success. I couldn’t recommend the team highly enough, and truly believe that Green Field Marketing are industry leaders when it comes to the Northern Ireland FMCG market.” Green Field Marketing pride themselves on understanding brands, and work in a partnership approach to ensure core values are shared, and goals are aligned. While this is vital to the running of outsourced sales teams, Green Field Marketing also take the same approach when working with tactical clients. Tactical specialities include sales blitzes, merchandising, retail auditing, installations, promotions and sampling. With a tactical workforce of over 100 people covering a wide array of experience levels and demographics, Green Field Marketing are sure to have the right person to represent your brand. If you are an FMCG company and want to discuss how Green Field Marketing could potentially help to drive you business forward, contact Martin Rice on martin. rice@greenfieldmarketing.co.uk or on 02890770999. Let Green Field Marketing grow your brands.

Let us Grow Your Brands SERVICES INCLUDE: • Outsourced Sales Teams • Sales Blitzes • Merchandising • Auditing/Market Research • Promotions & Sampling • Retail Installations • FMCG Recruitment

and Facebook

info@greenfieldmarketing.co.uk • 02890770999 Green Field Marketing, Suite 309 River House, 48-60 High St, Belfast BT1 2BE

TOP 75

MEAT & POULTRY LEAD LOCAL GROCERY SECTOR BY TURNOVER

18 16

P22 P24-25 P26-27 P28 P29 P30-31 P32-33 P34-35 P36-37 P38-39 P40 P42-43 P44-45 P46

14 12

Top 75 foreword by Invest NI Analysis by Jonathan Cushley Top 75 sponsor profile Top 75 by category & contents Moy Park (1) Henderson Group (2) SHS Group (3) Top 75 listing by D&B Dale Farm (4) Cranswick (16) Linden (13), Frylite (37) & DELI LITES (63) Savage & Whitten (18) Hatch Brothers/Genesis (73) Creighton (66), Skea Eggs (24) & Andrews Flour (74)

0 TOP 75 COMPANIES BY GROCERY CATEGORY *OTHER INCLUDES CRISPS & SNACKS, CONFECTIONERY, FOOD INGREDIENTS & PROCESSING, & PETFOOD. 28

OTHER*

SOFT DRINKS

SEAFOOD

EGGS

BAKERY

DAIRY

FRESH PRODUCE

GROCERY RETAIL

GROCERY WHOLESALE

ALCOHOL

10 MEAT & POULTRY

NUMBER OF COMPANIES IN EACH CATEGORY

argins are often tight yet, by turnover, meat and poultry represent the biggest grocery category of the Top 75 NI Food & Drink Companies. Led by Moy Park, again in the number one spot, 14 companies operating within the category feature in this year’s listing compiled by D&B. Sector consolidation has seen Dunbia drop off since the last list and Linden Foods likely to by the time next year’s Top 75 rolls around, with both businesses acquired by Republic of Ireland owners. Other categories with strong representation in the listing include fresh produce, dairy, bakery, eggs and, to a lesser extent, seafood and soft drinks. Second to meat and poultry in representation, however, is the alcohol category with most of the featured businesses unlikely to have yet posted their annual results reflecting a hit from the loss of hospitality trade during the pandemic lockdown. Also posting a strong showing are our grocery wholesalers and retailers, led by the Henderson Group at number two, while also featuring in the top 10 are SHS Group, new entrant Lidl NI, and Musgrave. See ps24-25 for expert analysis of this year’s Top 75 NI Food & Drink Companies by Jonathan Cushley.

TOP 75

LEADING FROM THE TOP MOY PARK DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND INSIGHTS SUZIE EDWARDS TALKS TO ALYSON MAGEE

Ellen Wright, brand manager, and Hannah Clarke, culinary technologist, Moy Park.

HOW HAS THE PAST YEAR BEEN FOR MOY PARK? We’ve been seeing the poultry category grow for a number of years, and that continued throughout 2020. Obviously, there were spikes when people were stockpiling and we were impacted by foodservice outlets closing down, but overall it’s been a strong performance. WHAT HAVE BEEN THE KEY DEVELOPMENTS & FOCUS FOR THE GROUP? In the past year, we’ve invested heavily in our infrastructure; in new capabilities, improving quality and adjusting to consumer needs. Moy Park has made a number of environmental pledges, including becoming the first poultry processor to sign up to the Science Based Targets initiative aiming to reach net zero by 2040. We are also working with the Ulster Wildlife Trust on our Biodiversity Charter and a packaging reduction strategy including moving to recyclable formats and increasing our use of recycled content. We always recognise the importance of developing new products, continually innovating and working closely with our customers. For this summer, we’ve developed a new range of Moy Parkbranded products covering three categories, ready to cook, added value and barbecue; all developed to align closely with consumer needs and we’re quite excited about those hitting the market. In own-label, we work closely with our retail customers so have a number of added-value lines launching, particularly for the barbecue season. We’re also developing our speciality areas, such as

free-range and corn-fed products, in partnership with our key customers. ARE ANY POULTRY CATEGORIES IN GROWTH OR DECLINE? What we actually found within consumer habits was quite a sharp rise in scratch cooking over lockdown. All meat and poultry categories saw a lot of growth from people spending more time at home, and more likely to try cooking from scratch. We’ve also seen growth in big packs of chicken fillets, because people are batch cooking a lot more. And we saw growth in coated chicken; family favourite staples that people like to have in when the children are off school. Where things struggled a bit was hot chickens on rotisserie counters; a number of those closed during Covid and are just starting to pick back up again. Ready-toeat cooked chicken was a little bit slower because people often buy those on the way to work or for salads to take into the office. Forecasts we’ve seen estimate the trends won’t immediately go back to the way they were, as there’s an expectation people will continue to work from home more than they did and lots of businesses are accepting more flexible working patterns. HAS MOY PARK SEEN MUCH IMPACT FROM COVID-19 & BREXIT? In terms of Covid, we’ve invested over £10m in safety measures to protect our staff as well as enhanced reward packages for our team members because they are key workers and our business continued to run throughout the whole period to deliver food to the nation. We also established a £1m fund to

support community and voluntary groups local to our operations, which runs over a 24-month period. And we had an activity called Chicken Run close to our sites in Northern Ireland and the East Midlands, offering food boxes to deserving members of society, which we’re going to be doing again this year. Being headquartered in Northern Ireland, while other suppliers might have struggled with getting stock in due to Brexit, we’ve been able to supply from our sites and make sure the supermarkets are well stocked. WHAT ARE MOY PARK’S PLANS FOR THE COMING YEAR? We will continue to invest in the main pillars of the business including our people. We have loads of activities around career development including new academies, and graduate programmes and apprenticeships with schools and universities. Our heritage and expertise are something we pride ourselves on. We have a fully integrated farm-to-fork supply chain which builds trust and integrity with our customers. We also have an industry-leading marketing, innovation and culinary team working closely together to identify consumer trends and develop new products. For the Moy Park brand, our summer campaign is launching now with a focus on people starting to step outdoors and meet up again. We want to show how our brand is an integral part of getting people together, be it at a picnic or a barbecue, and one of our main straplines is everyday yay showing how it fits into people’s lives. 29

ADVERTORIAL

HENDERSON GROUP LEADS WITH RESILIENCE & GROWTH DURING CHALLENGING YEAR

holesaler, retailer, property and foodservice owners Henderson Group increased their turnover by 6% to £970m in 2020, placing them at number two in Ulster Grocer’s Top 75 NI Food & Drink Companies. While the challenge of Covid and Brexit placed pressure on the core retail, foodservice and wholesale businesses of the Group, it also provided an opportunity for growth and resilience. Paddy Doody, sales and marketing director at Henderson Group, which also owns the SPAR, EUROSPAR and ViVO brands in Northern Ireland, says their experience in the sectors helped their retailers, shoppers and partners through the challenge. “2020 began with ambitions for growth, bringing fresh new thinking to our store offerings, but also with the threat of a no-deal Brexit to contend with as we saw the year out,” he said. “When Covid hit, our stores were thrust under the spotlight and expected to provide a safe space overnight. Our retail team did a fantastic job securing materials needed to meet local regulations and guidelines, investing over £1m across the board.” Local stores in towns and villages became trusted, safe spaces for communities to get their essentials, and thanks to Henderson Wholesale committing to local farmers, growers and suppliers, the effect on their essential fresh supplies around stockpiling was minimal. As restrictions lifted in the summer of 2020, Henderson Group was able to forge on with their store growth, completing builds that were halted earlier in the year and being in a position to further invest to adapt floorplans to allow for long-term safety measurements. Paddy continued: “Our property business completed builds to allow Henderson Retail to open three new company-owned stores as we came out of the first lockdown. These stores had increased safety measures, as well as a huge variety of fresh and local produce at value prices. Our shopper surveys told us that value and safety were high in their 30

Paddy Doody, sales and marketing director, Henderson Group.

priorities when choosing where to shop so we continued to invest in these areas across our store network.” Another opportunity the Group provided during the pandemic was employment. Paddy added: “Our retailers were able to hire staff to cover those team members who were shielding, we provided further opportunities within our logistics teams to maintain delivery schedules for our retail outlets and our workforce grew to over 4,100 employees. “The stores we are opening are larger format EUROSPAR and SPAR stores, bringing that multiple experience to towns and villages, but run by local people with a large range of locally sourced produce. Last year also saw the first Henderson Retail VIVOXTRA supermarket open in Banbridge, the £4m build which stands as a blueprint for retail innovation by the Group from its store design to its safety measures, electronic shelf edge labels and self-checkouts.” Paddy told Ulster Grocer at the start of this year that he would encourage independent retailers to go and have a look at the new VIVOXTRA, especially

their competitors, as it incorporates a lot of their new thinking for the future of their entire retail network. “We will have two new EUROSPAR supermarkets opening soon that are based around SPAR’s new ‘fresh’ format, delivering for the shoppers’ mission to make a meal from scratch. This means that fresh, local produce and ranges will be front and centre as there is a strong, local demand for such products. A greater proportion of space and variety of ranges of fresh produce, meat, fish, poultry and savoury groceries will be available, so that a shopper can buy all the ingredients they need in one place, closer to home.” Food for now and to go is also high on the agenda, with Henderson’s fresh team developing even more ranges for the enjoy local and The CHEF ranges, amongst the own brands which brought in over £14m alone in 2020, while the dailyDeli brand has just undergone a £80,000 brand and range revamp to further tailor to consumer changes. Paddy concluded: “While grocery retailing has fared incredibly well amid the pandemic, we have experienced our challenges too. Our fuel sales dropped significantly in the height of lockdown when there were very few cars on the road, and worst hit has been our foodservice business. “Hospitality across Ireland has been hit hard and Henderson Foodservice has significant contracts with pubs, restaurants, hotels and schools across the island. Fuel sales have recovered as ‘normality’ returns, and we welcome the reopening of hotels and hospitality spots to help our foodservice business recover too.” 2021 is a year of celebration and rebuilding for the Group. The 300th SPAR has just opened in Coagh during the brand’s 60th year serving local communities, and EUROSPAR is celebrating its 21st year in Northern Ireland. While 2020 was one of extreme challenges, 2021 will see the opportunities borne from them develop, and help rebuild local towns and villages for the future.

ADVERTORIAL

THE SHS GROUP HAS BEEN RANKED AT NUMBER THREE IN THE TOP 75 COMPANIES ULSTER GROCER SPEAKS TO ELAINE BIRCHALL, CEO, SHS GROUP

ince its inception in 1975, SHS Group has evolved from being a traditional family-run sales and marketing company into a multinational operation with a turnover of over £570m. Operating in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, the Group’s success is driven by innovation, new business, brand investment and acquisitions. The Group’s commercial divisions are supported by Belfast-based Centres of Excellence including Information Systems, HR, Finance, Finance Shared Service, Logistics, Customer Services and Corporate Affairs. Employing over 1,100 people, the company owns brands such as WKD, Shloer, bottlegreen, Merrydown Cider, Meridian nut butters, Rocks squash drinks, Crucials Sauces, Sunny Jim & Zip firelighters and Maguire & Paterson matches. The Group also distributes a portfolio of well-known brands including Jordans, Ryvita, Pot Noodle, Finish, Dettol, Mars Drinks and Colgate. In addition to its extensive brand portfolio, SHS Group is a market leader in the supply of own label herbs and spices in Great Britain, manufacturing a range of branded and private label condiments and sauces. In 2020, despite the economic and societal challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Group had a solid performance. It attracted new brand owners to its traditional agency division and delivered organic growth 32

in its branded and private label divisions through excellent innovation and channel management. The Group benefitted from demand Elaine Birchall

uplifts in grocery and convenience channels, though a number of the Group’s core categories were adversely impacted by the closure of the out-ofhome and foodservice sectors. Product innovation played a key role in attracting new consumers and increasing market share. In 2020, SHS Group relaunched the Meridian nut butter brand and returned the iconic WKD brand to growth through excellent innovation. The Condiments & Sauces Division partnered with retailer brand teams to develop and launch spice blends and cooking pastes in response to the newly invigorated wave of home cooking. WKD confirmed a major partnership in 2021 as the Official Alcohol Partner of ITV2’s Love Island. The exclusive deal gives WKD extensive association with a program format which has transformed from hit TV show to cultural phenomenon. WKD and Love Island brand assets will appear on TV, online and bespoke promotional packs. As a Group anchored in family values, we recognise that our people are our greatest assets. Their safety and the safety of the wider community has been a priority throughout the pandemic. We have invested in technology, health and safety across the Group to allow people to work remotely and stay connected with other teams whilst keeping all of our production and distribution sites open to service our customers. Our people have been amazing. They are vested in the future of the business and truly make a difference every day, which is why we believe the future is promising for the SHS Group.

TOP 75 NI FOOD & DRINK COMPANIES

NO.

BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENT END DATE

TURNOVER (£M)

PREVIOUS TURNOVER (£M)

PROFIT/LOSS (PRE-TAX) (£M)

TANGIBLE NET WORTH (£M)

EMPLOYEES

MOY PARK LTD

31/12/2019

1,580.4

1,567.2

70.0

302.3

10,126

JOHN HENDERSON (HOLDINGS) LTD

31/12/2020

970.0

918.1

28.5

244.0

4,171

SHS GROUP LTD

03/01/2020

570.0

548.8

19.6

48.9

1,148

DALE FARM LTD

31/03/2020

446.0

446.3

9.7

61.3

854

FOYLE FOOD GROUP LTD

31/12/2019

370.7

361.4

5.2

27.8

1,284

LIDL NORTHERN IRELAND LTD

29/02/2020

278.2

2.1

28.4

936

MUSGRAVE RETAIL PARTNERS NI LTD

28/12/2019

277.1

274.7

1.1

17.5

902

LAKELAND DAIRIES (NI) LTD

28/12/2019

235.4

215.3

0.2

(7.8)

COCA-COLA HBC NORTHERN IRELAND LTD

31/12/2019

232.1

213.5

8.7

88.2

457

LACPATRICK DAIRIES (NI) LTD

28/12/2019

219.1

270.0

(5.3)

9.8

246

TAYTO GROUP LTD

27/06/2020

207.2

207.8

1.5

57.2

1,498

GREENFIELDS IRELAND LTD

31/12/2019

201.7

216.2

0.6

6.4

LINDEN FOODS LTD

30/09/2019

200.7

206.7

1.7

20.0

1,070

LAMEX FOODS EUROPE (NI) LTD

31/03/2020

178.2

183.4

1.7

12.6

LYNN’S COUNTRY FOODS LTD

28/02/2020

142.0

78.0

42.3

63.3

513

CRANSWICK COUNTRY FOODS (BALLYMENA)

28/03/2020

115.5

93.5

9.9

16.6

431

DUNNES STORES (BANGOR) LTD

28/12/2019

113.6

107.2

(0.7)

47.3

1,097

SAVAGE & WHITTEN WHOLESALE LTD

31/12/2019

103.1

95.1

3.5

7.6

239

MUSGRAVE DISTRIBUTION LTD

28/12/2019

100.7

94.7

0.3

0.5

201

JAMES E. MCCABE LTD

31/12/2019

96.7

98.4

2.8

53.2

567

PHILIP RUSSELL LTD

31/12/2019

81.9

82.3

2.1

19.9

251

STRATHROY DAIRY LTD

31/07/2020

81.0

83.6

0.6

7.8

145

D & W CARLISLE LTD

31/07/2020

76.1

83.9

1.1

5.1

149

SKEA EGG FARMS LTD

31/12/2019

72.0

68.4

2.8

17.3

149

NORTHWAY MUSHROOMS LTD

31/12/2019

66.8

59.6

(0.6)

0.1

READY EGG PRODUCTS LTD

31/12/2019

64.0

71.7

8.4

31.5

164

AVONDALE FOODS (CRAIGAVON) LTD

31/03/2020

63.1

7.0

27.4

499

DIAGEO GLOBAL SUPPLY IBC LTD

30/06/2019

62.3

61.4

3.1

19.5

125

TENNENT’S NI LTD

29/02/2020

58.7

55.7

6.6

15.1

STOCKMAN’S MANAGEMENT LTD (DRINKS INC)

31/03/2019

55.3

66.3

0.5

12.0

123

EVRON FOODS LTD

31/08/2019

49.0

48.9

1.1

7.9

410

UNITED WINE MERCHANTS LTD

31/12/2019

48.0

45.3

7.4

1.2

THE MOUNT CHARLES GROUP LTD

26/09/2019

43.9

40.0

0.8

8.7

2,169

THE OLD BUSHMILLS DISTILLERY COMPANY LTD

31/12/2019

43.7

33.6

8.9

206.6

110

JMW FARMS LTD

30/09/2019

43.1

40.6

3.6

28.3

114

K. HUGHES & CO. LTD

31/12/2019

40.8

39.9

1.5

9.3

200

FRYLITE LTD

29/03/2020

39.9

38.3

1.5

13.5

239

DILLON BASS LTD

30/06/2019

37.0

35.7

0.6

0.9

GROWING RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH DATA 34

TOP 75 NI FOOD & DRINK COMPANIES

NO.

BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENT END DATE

TURNOVER (£M)

PREVIOUS TURNOVER (£M)

PROFIT/LOSS (PRE-TAX) (£M)

TANGIBLE NET WORTH (£M)

EMPLOYEES

PRM GROUP LTD

31/12/2019

36.5

33.7

1.0

7.0

JOHN MACKLE (MOY) LTD

31/12/2019

34.8

33.6

0.9

7.6

209

DOHERTY & GRAY LTD

31/03/2020

34.0

34.7

0.1

3.3

C & J MEATS LTD

30/11/2019

33.7

38.9

0.2

1.0

WINEFLAIR (BELFAST) LTD

30/09/2019

33.4

33.0

1.4

5.9

364

WILLOWBROOK FOODS LTD

31/01/2020

33.1

31.9

0.4

2.1

145

BALLYGARVEY EGGS LTD

30/09/2020

33.0

31.1

3.9

18.6

O’REILLY’S WHOLESALE LTD

30/09/2020

32.4

30.8

0.2

(0.6)

KILKEEL SEAFOODS LTD

31/12/2019

31.8

25.6

0.5

5.4

219

BAWNBUA FOODS NI LTD

31/01/2020

31.4

44.4

1.3

6.1

166

W.D. IRWIN & SONS LTD

29/03/2020

30.2

30.6

(0.7)

0.6

323

HILTON FOODS LTD

29/12/2019

29.2

35.5

20.6

81.8

M. KEYS LTD

30/09/2019

29.1

24.6

1.2

10.8

110

CRUST & CRUMB BAKERY LTD

30/06/2019

27.4

17.1

1.9

4.7

273

TOTAL PRODUCE BELFAST LTD

31/12/2019

27.3

28.3

0.3

11.2

DSP SUPERMARKETS LTD

31/03/2020

26.8

25.4

0.6

1.3

350

R. THOMPSON & SON (ARMAGH) LTD

31/12/2019

25.4

24.8

0.8

6.4

FIVEWAYS SHOP & SERVICE STATION LTD

30/04/2020

25.0

23.5

2.1

17.4

214

VOYAGER FISHING COMPANY LTD

31/03/2020

25.0

19.5

9.0

54.9

NORTH DOWN (BELFAST) LTD

31/12/2019

24.8

25.3

0.3

2.9

113

SCOTTS BAKERY LTD

31/03/2020

24.8

23.8

0.6

6.9

217

JOHNSON BROTHERS (BELFAST) LTD

31/12/2020

23.9

25.4

0.8

12.7

NEWELL GROUP LTD

31/01/2020

23.7

23.8

0.3

6.4

338

E & O INVESTMENTS LTD (MCATAMNEY)

31/01/2020

23.7

21.1

1.6

4.2

117

DELI-LITES (IRELAND) LTD

28/03/2020

23.6

21.2

0.8

1.4

215

MCCOLGANS QUALITY FOODS LTD

31/03/2020

23.4

21.5

1.2

9.8

316

SYSCO FOODS NI LTD (BRAKES)

29/06/2019

23.4

28.4

(3.6)

(16.7)

170

CREIGHTON GROUP LTD

31/01/2020

22.4

21.5

0.4

1.8

192

MASH DIRECT LTD

29/02/2020

22.1

18.4

1.7

3.6

216

WESTERN BRAND POULTRY PRODUCTS (NI) LTD

31/12/2019

21.7

23.4

0.9

4.5

222

WINEMARK THE WINEMERCHANTS LTD

31/12/2019

21.6

21.4

1.3

20.8

253

LYNCH’S FOODSTORES (HOLDINGS) LTD

30/04/2020

21.0

14.6

1.2

2.8

282

LONG’S SUPERMARKETS LTD

31/01/2020

20.3

20.6

0.1

8.1

262

NORBEV LTD

31/12/2019

20.3

21.9

(1.7)

3.1

133

HATCH BROTHERS LTD (GENESIS BAKERY)

31/08/2020

20.2

21.4

(0.3)

1.9

311

ANDREWS FLOUR MILLS LTD

05/10/2019

19.9

17.5

0.2

3.2

MORAN’S RETAIL LTD

30/09/2020

19.2

15..2

0.6

(0.6)

108

GROWING RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH DATA 35

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orthern Ireland-headquartered dairy cooperative Dale Farm recently unveiled a new identity for its brand as part of a major growth strategy for the next three years. Cited as the “start of a new era for Dale Farm” by its Group Chief Executive Nick Whelan, the visual identity of the iconic Northern Ireland brand has been redesigned to reflect a more contemporary style and better communicate its farmer cooperative credentials. “Dale Farm’s rebrand is about looking to the future, the start of a new era,” said Whelan. “It’s a fresh, modern image for a much-loved local brand. It was a bold change but it was absolutely time – time to evolve, time to update and time to better represent visually what our business has become – a modern, progressive dairy cooperative. “Research showed that some consumers weren’t aware of our cooperative structure, which is something we’re hugely proud of and want to share. Dairy farming is at the core of our business and supporting families through the goodness of dairy is central to our brand purpose. “We’ve been supporting generations of farmers for decades and plan to do so for years to come. So, our new look is about capturing those messages and putting the spotlight on the Dale Farm ‘family’ – and how by working together we’re helping feed families every single day. “The last 15 months have of course been like no other. Like every player in the food industry, Covid-19 applied major pressure to Dale Farm and the initial impact was instant. I am proud of how our people adapted to the challenges with which we were presented – from our drivers and operational staff to our farmer members in the field – the resilience and flexibility shown throughout the business has been excellent. “From day one we focused on prioritising the safety of our people and the reliability of our promise to our customers to provide safe, locally sourced dairy for consumers to access. I’m extremely grateful for those strong relationships we have cultivated with our customers, which allowed us to work even more closely during the pandemic. “Covid-19 also obviously changed the way the consumer shopped massively. From our business’ perspective, we experienced a large drop in the foodservice side of the business as the hospitality sector was virtually ground to a standstill. However, we noticed a 12% 36

DALE FARM - SHARING GOODNESS EVERY DAY

Nick Whelan, Group chief executive, Dale Farm.

increase in our retail business, which is exceptional. “With more people continuing to work from home, people are buying more milk, butter, cheese, yogurt… all the items in the Dale Farm offering that have kept feeding the nation throughout this unusual time. Equally our ice cream sales reflected the need for simple pleasures and little affordable luxuries during such a challenging time. “This is a pivotal time for the Dale Farm business. Our brand portfolio continues to perform consistently well, thanks to our brilliant dairy farmer members, the innovation of our people and the strength of our partnerships with our customers. “We are committed to driving all our brands, demonstrated by the rebranding of our entire Dale Farm portfolio – Dale Farm, Dromona, Spelga and Mullins within the last two years. “The new Dromona brand logo

underlines the brand’s 63-year heritage and the design shares the untold stories that make Dromona the best local butter and cheese, of which we are immensely proud. The support we put into our brands highlight both our ambition and our belief in their potential to drive value for both retailers and Dale Farm. “Moreover, we constantly seek out and capitalise on new opportunities – from new markets such as RoI for our ice cream range to new product innovations, that reflect emerging consumer trends. “We have a clear vision for the next three years, with a plan in place that will see us grow our share within existing and new markets, as well as strengthen our presence in a variety of dairy categories. “Dale Farm is entering into a new era, one into which we are entering with pride in what we’ve achieved so far, and optimism about what’s next.”

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FIRST LOCAL AGRI-FOOD PROCESSOR ACHIEVES CARBON NEUTRAL STATUS A FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY IS PAYING DIVIDENDS FOR CRANSWICK, WHICH HAS BOOSTED ITS TURNOVER FROM £93.5M TO £115.5M & CLIMBED THREE PLACES TO NUMBER 16 IN THE TOP 75

Tony Demaine, site director at Cranswick’s Ballymena manufacturing site, is joined by members of the senior management team, John Brady, Neil Ross, Martin Walsh, and Johanna Donaghy.

ranswick has become the first agri-food manufacturer in Northern Ireland to achieve carbon neutral certification, following a three-year investment in efficiency and carbon-cutting projects. The key milestone is a critical step in the Ballymena meat processor’s journey to Net Zero; a goal it aims to reach by 2040. Cranswick has been certified to the PAS 2060 internationally recognised specification for carbon neutrality. The accreditation demonstrates it is on an approved decarbonisation pathway and has invested in high quality Verra and Gold Standard verified offsets, certified to remove existing carbon from the atmosphere to help businesses reach carbon neutrality. Since 2018, the senior management team and employee Changemakers have delivered a range of initiatives to cut emissions, including switching to the purchase of 100% renewable electricity, an LED lighting replacement scheme and installation of heat recovery systems to reuse excess and waste less heat. “We’re delighted to be the first agri-food manufacturer in Northern Ireland to receive carbon neutral status,” said Tony Demaine, site director. “This first step towards achieving net zero emissions has been a true team effort, with each department playing their part and committing to 38

WE WANT TO HELP IN THE GROWTH OF THE LOCAL GREEN ECONOMY AND WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH OUR FARMERS AND COMMUNITIES FOR A FAIR AND JUST TRANSITION FOR NORTHERN IRELAND, BECAUSE WE RECOGNISE WE CAN’T COMPETE ON CLIMATE – WE ALL HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY. identifying and implementing changes which have delivered clear and tangible results. “We want to help in the growth of the local green economy and we’re looking forward to working with our farmers and communities for a fair and just transition for Northern Ireland, because we recognise we can’t compete on climate – we all have a role to play.” Alongside its own capital investment, Cranswick received support from Invest NI which helped fund a change from diesel to gas furnaces within the site. Cranswick’s Second Nature sustainability strategy reflects its ambition to be the

world’s most sustainable meat business and is focused on key areas including food waste, plastics usage, greenhouse gases, renewable energy, animal welfare and support for local communities. As part of the journey to achieve net zero emissions by 2040, Cranswick has committed to setting Science-Based Targets and has made considerable progress in this area. Recent achievements include retention of the global Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare Tier One status, backed by Compassion in World Farming and World Animal Protection, and surpassing the Champions 12.3 target set in January 2018 by achieving a 61% reduction in edible food waste by removing over 4,200 tonnes of food waste against the 2017 baseline. During the past year, enough food has been donated to create 229,000 meals for vulnerable people through a partnership with Fareshare and several local community initiatives. In November, Cranswick’s Milton Keynes site became the first facility within the Group to be awarded carbon neutral certification. Since then, eight more Cranswick sites, including Ballymena have achieved the same status as the company continues to forge ahead with its climate change agenda. Cranswick is a leading and innovative British supplier of premium, fresh and added value food products with annual revenues approaching £1.9bn. Their core market is the United Kingdom where they produce a range of high quality, predominantly fresh products ranging from fresh pork, gourmet sausages and bacon to premium cooked meats continental foods and gourmet pastry. Most recently, they have started to produce fresh chicken and manage the whole supply chain from farm to fork. They operate from 16 well-invested, highly efficient production facilities in the UK, with a workforce of over 12,000 people. Today Cranswick is one of the largest food producers in Britain, but they’ve stayed true to their simple ethos - to create authentically made, sustainably produced British food, without compromise.

TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE – HOW CRANSWICK COUNTRY FOODS LED THE WAY IN NORTHERN IRELAND

e’re delighted to announce that the team at Cranswick Country Foods Ballymena are the first agri food manufacturer in Northern Ireland to be awarded Carbon Neutral specification PAS 2060. This key milestone in their journey to Net Zero means the site has reduced carbon emissions as much as possible, has an approved emission reduction plan and has invested in verified offsets to reach carbon neutrality. To help deliver this, the team has invested in CPD certified training to further their climate knowledge. REDUCING CARBON TO DATE From a baseline year of 2018, the team has undertaken a raft of projects to cut emissions despite production increasing by 12%: • electricity emissions reduced by 1200 tonnes to zero by purchasing 100% renewable electricity • LED lighting replacement has created efficiencies • heat recovery systems are now in place in the factory to reuse excess and waste less heat. REALISING CARBON NEUTRALITY The site now has an approved emission reduction plan to reduce further the 3,267 tonnes of carbon emissions still being produced. In the meantime, the team is investing in projects that will remove and reduce the equivalent amount of carbon from the atmosphere. These carbon offsets take the site’s carbon footprint to zero, and the projects were strategically chosen because they provide benefits such as increased biodiversity, improved local air quality, education, jobs, food security and heath & well-being in developing countries. Ballymena has invested in high quality offsets, all of which are registered and validated by the two largest carbon bodies: Verra and Gold Standard. These projects were chosen by the site teams to go above and beyond climate change by being aligned to specific UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The two chosen projects for both sites are: 1. Breathing Space Cookstoves in India: for improved food security of the local people and reduced deforestation (Gold Standard verified: SDG Goal 3 Good Health and Well-being, SDG Goal 6 Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG Goal 13 Climate Action). India’s domestic sector is one of its largest primary energy consumers with 75% of energy requirements met by fuelwood and agricultural waste. Cooking alone is responsible for 90% of household energy consumption. Approximately

400,000 women and children die every year in India due to exposure to smoke from household use of solid fuels. The Breathing Space Programme distributes cleaner and greener cooking stoves to households. By replacing traditional stoves it contributes towards solving the indoor air pollution problem as well as reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. It reduces pressure on local forests as higher efficiency means less fuel wood is required. Each cookstove will reduce approximately 5 tonnes of CO2e over its useful life. This project will offset 561 tonnes of carbon. 2. Amazon rainforest protection and community investment in cookstoves (Verra verified - SDG Goal 1 No Poverty, Goal 2 Zero Hunger, Goal 3 Good Health & Well-being, Goal 5 Gender Equality, Goal 13 Climate Action, Goal 15 Life on Land & Goal 17 Partnerships for the Goals). This project is working to prevent unplanned deforestation in native forests, which has occurred due to logging, squatting and attempts to implement pastures. The project is expected to avoid over 22 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas emissions over a 40 year period. This will be achieved by managing the land in the form of a “private conservation reserve”, through rigorous monitoring and enforcement. The project is in an area of extreme importance for biodiversity conservation. The Pará REDD project zone also holds in numerous species of animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish including those considered endangered and vulnerable. This project will offset 2706 tonnes of carbon. WHAT’S NEXT? With CPD Net Zero accredited colleagues, the team is ready to activate an approved emission reduction path, which is a fundamental part of the PAS 2060 specification and commitment to the Net Zero by 2040 goal. The plan includes: • Refrigerant gases are being replaced by more environmentally friendly alternatives such as ammonia and R477 • The oil generator on site is being phased out by improving the electricity grid connectivity to site. This will enable future renewable opportunities • Recovering heat from furnace to reuse will help the team to generally improve efficiency of energy • Using biogas as a fuel source for the on site generator • Installing solar panels on site • Investing in the local supply chain through reforestation and peatland restoration • Engaging local partnerships and farmers to work together to reduce carbon in Northern Ireland.

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FRYLITE RECOGNISED FOR COMMITMENT MEAT SECTOR TO EMPLOYEE WELLNESS CONSOLIDATION CONTINUES connectivity between the team. rylite (no 37 in the Top 75), AS ABP ACQUIRES LINDEN “We have a great team here the leading supplier of fresh

food oils to Ireland’s catering and hospitality industry, has been awarded Ibec’s workplace wellness accreditation, the KeepWell Mark. Established more than 30 years ago, Frylite currently employs over 200 people across its Strabane headquarters and bases in Dublin, Galway, Cork, Coleraine and Lisburn. The accreditation is focused on eight key areas of leadership, physical activity, healthy eating, mental health, absence, smoking and intoxicants, and mental health. Mental health has been a particular focus for Frylite during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the company promoting staff

at Frylite and we’ve always done whatever we can to invest in their health and wellbeing,” said Eamon McCay, managing director, Frylite. “The KeepWell Mark is valuable recognition of that but we’ll continue to keep raising our standards in terms of looking after our people, their health, wellbeing and safety.”

Rhiannon Hegarty, HR officer (engagement and wellbeing) at Frylite.

Cathal McDonnell, technical manager, and Ricky Hanbay, manufacturing manager, DELI LITES.

DELI LITES WINS MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR AT UK SAMMIES

ELI LITES (no 63 in the Top 75) has been named Millitec Manufacturer of the Year 2021 at the UK-wide Sammies Awards, organised by the British Sandwich and Food-to-Go Association (BSA). The Warrenpoint-based food-to-go business also lifted highly commended in the Reducing our Environmental Impact category and was a finalist in two categories of the Sandwich Designer Competition. The only Ireland-based winner in a line-up including high street names such as Co-op, Tesco, Starbucks and Pret A Manger, DELI LITES was recognised for its commitment to innovation in exporting, operations, product development and delivering new solutions for customers over the last year. “In what has been a testing year for everybody, we have invested heavily in new working methods, new machinery and new processes,” said Cathal McDonnell, technical manager, DELI LITES. “This is a real coup for the business and brand. The highly commended award in the environmental category is an added bonus and reflects our commitment to policies and community initiatives that reduce environmental impact.” 40

BP has reached agreement in principle to fully acquire Fane Valley Co-op’s red meat business, which includes Linden Foods in Northern Ireland (no 13 in the Top 75) and Slaney Foods and Irish Country Meats businesses in the Republic of Ireland, for an undisclosed sum. Trevor Lockhart, chief executive The transaction, of Fane Valley. which is subject to approval by regulatory and competition authorities, follows ABP entering a joint venture with Slaney Foods and Irish Country Meats back in 2016 and taking a 50% stake in Linden the following year. In its financial report for the year ending September 2019, Linden posted turnover of just over £200m. A trend of meat sector consolidation in recent years has included Irish firm Dawn Meats’ acquisition of Dungannon-based Dunbia last year following a joint venture, while another RoI group Kepak acquired the red meat operations of 2 Sisters in GB back in 2018. ABP said the businesses will continue to operate under their respective trading names for the foreseeable future, and the sites will continue to operate as normal. “This development is the direct result of our successful joint venture arrangement, which has enabled all parties to improve their offerings to customers and to compete more effectively nationally and internationally,” said Frank Stephenson, chief executive of ABP. “The time is now right to build on this success ensuring that we continue to be a dynamic and innovative organisation as we face into the challenges of operating in a very competitive global marketplace, whilst also addressing the ongoing challenges of changing agricultural policies, Brexit and Covid-19.” Trevor Lockhart, chief executive of Fane Valley, said: “The Linden, Slaney and ICM businesses have progressed positively during our joint venture relationship with ABP. The trading environment however does not stand still, and all businesses need to continue to evolve and develop to maintain their competitive position in the market. “Having reviewed the way forward with our JV partner and taking account of anticipated market developments we have jointly concluded that the future objectives for Linden, Slaney and ICM can be best achieved under a new business structure, hence the aforementioned announcement. Business will continue as normal pending regulatory approval.”

S&W WHOLESALE OFFERS “A WHOLE LOT MORE” OVER ONE HUNDRED YEARS’ EXPERIENCE IN WHOLESALE

Based conveniently in Newry, S&W has a unique access point to key markets in NI and ROI. Their history dates back to 1916 with Newry Cash & Carry, before merging with J&E Whitten in 2000 to become Savage and Whitten or S&W Wholesale as they are known today.

POSITIONED FOR GROWTH

Today, S&W is a top 100 NI business and one of the largest independent wholesalers on the island of Ireland, servicing over 2,000 customers. The growth of their business is down to the ability to service both independent and symbol retailers, as well as the growth of the symbol brands it owns and operates. With a management team headed by Managing Director, Michael Skelton, S&W has ambitious plans for further growth. The plans are supported by a team of 250 across sales, trading, customer services and marketing.

OFFERING ‘A WHOLE LOT MORE’

Going above and beyond for customers is the key factor in what has made S&W successful. Last year S&W rebranded their offering and introduced a new look and feel for the business by promising “A Whole Lot more” for Customers. Summing up the refreshed brand direction, Michael said:“For us, A Whole Lot More is what we promise our customers. It’s what we offer and the service that underpins that - we believe it’s important to offer the product but just as important is the service, so our customers can easily order what they need and know they’ll get it from us when they need it.”

A WHOLE LOT MORE

is underpinned by the offering which includes: • Next day delivery to many parts of the island of Ireland with a fleet of 60 vehicles. • 24/7 ordering facilitated through a full e-commerce website. • An extensive offering of more than 4,000 products, as well as 4,000 lines of full central billing. • A comprehensive Chilled, Fresh and Frozen offering serviced by a 100,000 sq. ft Warehouse. • 17 promotional campaigns per year in Sterling and Euro. • Flexible symbol brands with bespoke signage and branding packages without membership fees.

Another key element of future growth is the continued investment in its symbol brands, providing the support and the independence that many retailers desire from a retail partner.

S&W LAUNCH NEW NEARBY SYMBOL BRAND Recently S&W announced the launch of a new and exciting symbol brand known as Nearby. Completely exclusive to S&W, Nearby will play a vital part in a wider modernisation stategy to help independent retailers forge deeper connections with people in the community.

INVESTING IN RETAILERS AND THE COMMUNITY Looking to the future, S&W has invested significantly in its technology with a full stock management system, voice picking technology and in its retailer EPOS and Rescan Till Systems.

“The Nearby brand will help refresh the look and feel of convenience stores while keeping the core elements that customers know and love” says Michael Skelton.

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FOCUS ON BRINGING INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS TO THE LOCAL MARKET PAYS OFF Commenting on his new role, Mark said: “From the moment I joined Genesis I could see the amount of positive changes that have been made right across the business over the last couple of years. The level of expertise is also really impressive, and that is particularly reflected in the quality of the products. The incredibly high standards we have to meet to supply international markets for private label means that we can bring that same level of quality to our own products. “Having an NPD team on hand to work on continuous improvement of existing products as well as developing new ones is fantastic and I’m excited about what else we are going to roll out over the next couple of months.” Genesis bakery is based in Magherafelt and employs more than 200 people. Mark Southgate

t has been an exciting year for Genesis with the very successful launch of the new Afters range of luxury cakes, new contracts and new faces joining the business. These signs indicate that the turnaround that was hoped for when the company was rescued from closure by former Tayto CEO Paul Allen, two and half years ago, is very much underway. While the company works closely with several well-known multiples to produce private-label products, there has been a definite focus this year on growing the Genesis and Afters brands within the home market. Considerable investment has gone into researching new lines, which will be refreshed throughout the year, with innovative concepts being brought to the local market. Central to this has been the appointment of Mark Southgate as national sales manager for Genesis. His focus is on the van sales operation, which delivers six days a week to nearly 600 stores in Northern Ireland. Mark has worked both with brands and in food service, including several big brand names in GB and more recently in the food service sector in Ireland. Mark is backed by a team who supervise deliveries, merchandising and promotions, as well as an experienced and creative NPD team who have several new products ready for launch in the coming weeks. 44

FROM THE MOMENT I JOINED GENESIS I COULD SEE THE AMOUNT OF POSITIVE CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE RIGHT ACROSS THE BUSINESS OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. THE LEVEL OF EXPERTISE IS ALSO REALLY IMPRESSIVE, AND THAT IS PARTICULARLY REFLECTED IN THE QUALITY OF THE PRODUCTS. THE INCREDIBLY HIGH STANDARDS WE HAVE TO MEET TO SUPPLY INTERNATIONAL MARKETS FOR PRIVATE LABEL MEANS THAT WE CAN BRING THAT SAME LEVEL OF QUALITY TO OUR OWN PRODUCTS.

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CREIGHTONS GROUP GOES GREEN WITH NEW ENERGY CONTRACT A FOCUS ON INNOVATION & SUSTAINABILITY IS KEEPING THE SUCCESSFUL FORECOURT RETAILER AT THE TOP OF ITS GAME, REACHING NO 66 IN THE TOP 75

outh Belfast forecourt retailer Creightons Group is set to reduce its carbon emissions by around 600 tonnes a year, after switching to a new Green Energy contract sourcing electricity generated by local, 100% renewable sources. Power NI is supplying Creightons locations at Finaghy, Blacks Road and Balmoral with over two gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity, the equivalent of powering around 625 average households in Northern Ireland each year. The energy company supplies around 40,000 businesses across NI with over 55 GWh of electricity provided as Green Energy. Its parent company Energia Group has to date invested over €1bn in the energy market across NI and RoI, focusing on the core segments of renewables, flexible generation and customer solutions. “Sustainability values are hugely

important, to us and to Creighton Group, and we’re pleased to help further reduce carbon emissions with 100% Green Energy,” said Ian Fraser, key account manager at Power NI. “Power NI offers tailored contracts which can competitively meet the electricity needs of clients such as Creightons, who are a large energy user, across their three forecourt sites, garage, autostore and vehicle recovery service. “As part of our ongoing commitment to renewables and sustainability, we want to encourage and support business customers to take the first step towards reducing their impact on climate change by choosing to be powered by Green Energy and we’re glad to help them on that journey.” Andrew Porter, manager, Creightons Group, said: “We had already invested in a range of sustainable solutions including converting fully to LED lighting as well as using biodegradable packaging and compostable coffee cups. Therefore, the

ANDREWS FLOUR MAKES THE TOP 75 NI FOOD & DRINK COMPANIES LIST

ndrews Flour is delighted to be recognised as one of the top local food and drink companies in Northern Ireland. Established in 1722, Andrews Flour is fast approaching their 300-year anniversary, making Andrews the oldest independent flourmill on the island of Ireland, with a proud and vast history. Andrews Flour take great care in sourcing high-grade, quality wheat from all over the world to create the finest

Ian Fraser, key accounts manager with Power NI, and Andrew Porter, manager, Creightons Group.

move to Green Energy was a natural progression. “Like Power NI we’ve been part of the local community for almost nine decades and continue to support local groups by getting involved in a number of charity and community support programmes. “Having established an excellent working relationship with Power NI over many years, we’re thrilled to have had the opportunity to change to a Green Energy contract and look forward to working with the energy company going forward into the future.” Power NI is a Climate Champion with Business in the Community NI and is a 2020 Responsible Business, achieving a Silver Level in the BITCNI Environmental Benchmarking Survey. It has also signed the Climate Action Pledge for Northern Ireland, committing to significantly reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. flours. This exceptional quality flour is supplied to the bakery trade throughout the island of Ireland in both bulk tankers and in 25kg bags. In addition to supplying commercial bakeries, Andrews Flour also supply the home-baking market through their consumer-facing retail brand, Mortons Flour. Acquired by Andrews Flour in 1989, Mortons Flour was established in Ballymena in 1835 and became a household name throughout Northern Ireland. Andrews Flour hope to see another 300 years of championing both the commercial and home-baking markets across the island of Ireland.

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GROWING CONSUMER DEMAND FOR NATURAL BUTTER

WITH BUTTER IN DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH, NI MARKET LEADER GOLDEN COW IS DISRUPTING THE FIXTURE WITH 100% BUTTER IN A TUB, SPREADABLE FROM THE FRIDGE

he Northern Ireland butters and spreads category has seen double-digit value and volume growth over the last 12 months, with a current value of £43.7m*. Butter continues to see strong YoY value growth of +22.8% - dominating the category with 50% total share*. Following a successful year of continued growth ahead of the category, Northern Ireland’s #1 BSM brand* Golden Cow has announced the launch of

100% Butter in a tub – pure butter that’s spreadable from the fridge. The 100% Butter NPD meets the growing consumer demand for natural butter, that’s easier to spread from the fridge, with the added convenience of a recyclable tub format. 100% Butter delivers on both taste and functionality, offering butters and spreads shoppers ease of use without compromising on flavour – the main driver of repurchase within the category.

As butters and spreads is a category primarily shopped on autopilot, the new 100% Butter disrupts at the fixture with iconic gold packaging synonymous with the Golden Cow brand, featuring a striking navy lid to differentiate within the total portfolio. Both the product concept and packaging have undergone extensive research with the NI consumer, performing extremely well against all key testing metrics and against the competitive set. Speaking about the product launch, Senior Innovation Manager Marie Farrell said: “This product development was really exciting for us as we’ve done nothing like it before. Marrying together the convenience of a tub format that consumers are looking for while still achieving the same Golden Cow butter taste that consumers know and love, was a challenge we were up for. “Being Northern Ireland’s #1 BSM brand, we knew consumers would be expecting only the best innovation from Golden Cow which I feel we’ve achieved.” 100% Butter in a tub will be available across NI trade from early July. The launch will be supported through an impactful shopper campaign alongside awareness drivers across social and digital platforms. Source: *Nielsen 27th March 2021

AGRI-FOOD NEWS

CAFRE CAMPUSES TO BENEFIT FROM £75M INVESTMENT

Martin McKendry, CAFRE director, and Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots at Greenmount Campus, Co Antrim.

£75m investment in facilities and accommodation at CAFRE’s Loughry and Greenmount campuses is aimed at securing a sustainable future for Northern Ireland’s agri-food sector, said Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots.

The investment, which will see both campuses undergo a significant refurbishment programme, has been welcomed by the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association (NIFDA). “Northern Ireland food and drink is world leading in terms of innovation, quality, commercial success and sustainability, and our people have been key to earning and keeping that reputation,” said Michael Bell, executive director, NIFDA. “A strong food and drink sector will be crucial to securing Northern Ireland’s economic recovery from the pandemic, and further investment into research and development in particular will future proof the industry in Northern Ireland, driving growth and ensuring we remain ahead of the curve.” Announcing the programme, Minister

AGRI-FOOD UNDER SCRUTINY AS CLIMATE CHANGE BILL PASSES SECOND READING

majority of MLAs have voted in support of the Climate Change Bill during its second reading before the Northern Ireland Assembly in May, raising concern over the potential impact of its ambitious targets on the local agri-food sector. Introduced by Green Party MLA Clare Bailey, the private member’s bill sets an NI target of net zero emissions by 2045, overriding the Climate Change Committee (CCC) recommendation of an 80% reduction by 2050 as an equitable local contribution to the overall UK target. “We have constantly reiterated that the UFU supports climate change legislation and the need to tackle emissions from agriculture, but proposals must be fair and credible and backed by evidence – at the present time, this climate change private member’s bill does none of these things,” said Victor Chestnutt, president, UFU. “Many of our members reached out to their local MLAs asking them to listen to the advice provided by the experts on the CCC and to support

local farmers in their efforts to reduce emissions without diminishing our ability to produce food to world-leading standards. “Our goal now is to ensure amendments are made to create a fairer framework that is backed up with expert advice and allows our local farmers to reduce emissions on farm without drastic livestock reductions while continuing to feed the nation.” Agriculture minister, and recently appointed leader of the DUP, Edwin Poots has also voiced his opposition to the Bill in its current form. Poots said: “We don’t need just any climate change bill – we need the right climate change bill that sets out an achievable pathway for Northern Ireland to contribute to the wider UK and global efforts for greenhouse gas emissions reductions. “I have alternative, evidence-based and properly consulted upon policy proposals which I have tabled for discussion at the Executive. I want these to be heard as soon as possible so that I can move quickly to introduce an Executive Bill to the Assembly.”

Poots said: “CAFRE has a well renowned reputation within the agri-food industry for providing excellent tuition and training facilities for the next generation of farmers, growers and agri-food personnel. “This investment complements the recent launch of the BSc (Hons) Degrees in Sustainable Agriculture and Horticulture and the higher-level apprenticeships in food and will ensure that CAFRE remains at the forefront of agri-food education across these islands. “The plans for Loughry will also include a Science Centre which will be shared with food research staff in the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI). These top-class facilities will be the centre of knowledge and innovation for the industry leaders and decision-makers of the future.” Ulster Farmers’ Union welcomed the allocation of £10m for new beef facilities at AFBI and CAFRE, which it said would have substantial benefits for its members’ relationship with retailers and new export customers.

NEW REPORT FOCUSES ON IMPACT OF COVID-19 & BREXIT

gri-food businesses across the island of Ireland have embraced digitalisation to the extent that high speed broadband is as important to rural regions as a good electricity supply, according to a new report. Produced in association with KPMG, the ninth annual Irish Farmers Journal Agribusiness Report, Survive & Thrive, reports the sector has recovered from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic by quickly adopting e-commerce and responding agilely to fast-changing consumer trends. The report also explores how increasing focus on the sustainability agenda is impacting the sector on the island of Ireland and what companies are doing to stay ahead of the curve.

Survive & Thrive is the theme of a new agribusiness report.

MARKETING NEWS

DALE FARM LAUNCHES SIXWEEK KINDNESS CAMPAIGN

ale Farm has embarked on a new campaign rewarding acts of kindness with £500 worth of prizes to be given away every week for six weeks. The new campaign follows on from the business unveiling a rebrand, and refocus on its farmer co-operative ownership, earlier this year. It aims to achieve ‘a ripple effect of goodness’, and has been launched by influencer mum Caroline O’Neill, whose five-year-old son Darragh achieved fame on social media last year when a video of his busy farming chat went viral. Dale Farm is inviting people to share stories of generosity and goodness, with its £500 worth of prizes to be given away every week potentially including an iPad for a teacher, a food mixer for a baker with a heart or a new wardrobe for a nurse who needs a break from scrubs. “We know our communities are full

of good people, doing good things and as a brand whose mission is to share goodness, we are proud to launch this campaign to recognise them,” said Aisling Bremner, Dale Farm. “We can’t wait to uncover lots of special stories and moments that remind us of the importance of community and that things will be okay.” Follow the conversation online using #SharingGoodness, and nominate yourself or someone else via www. sharinggoodnesseveryday.com

LINWOODS HIGHLIGHTS INSTANT NUTRITIOUS HIT

Milled Organic Flaxseed, Flaxseed, Sunflower, Pumpkin & Chia Seeds & Goji Berries and Milled Flaxseed Almonds Brazil Nuts Walnuts & CoEnzyme Q10. The range can be added to any meal for an instant nutritious hit from overnight oats to soups and salads and will be highlighted in a heavyweight digital media and video on demand campaign.

ocal health food brand Linwoods has launched a new campaign, We Make Good Better, championing the health benefits of its product range and highlighting the benefit small changes can bring to consumers’ diets. The campaign is focused on products from Linwoods’ core range, including

Influencer and mum Caroline O’Neill with her sons Pearse and Darragh.

WKD FINDS MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN N

orthern Ireland’s leading ready-todrink beverage WKD* has been named as official alcohol partner of ITV2’s Love Island, an ideal match for the SHS Drinks brand’s target market. WKD will showcase the Love Island association with two unique pack initiatives at point of purchase aimed at driving rate of sale. It will also drive home its Love Island association with a comprehensive social media campaign including engaging competitions to win merchandise and money-can’t-buy prizes; interviews with Islanders’ friends and family; villa exclusives featuring clips and stills; and activities with key social media influencers. * Nielsen Scantrack NI Take Home RTD volume (L) & value (£) MAT to 27.03.21 WKD has been named as official alcohol partner of ITV2’s Love Island.

NUTTY KRUST ENJOYS 22% SALES LIFT AS IT MARKS 60 YEARS Brian Irwin, chairman, Irwin’s Bakery with Mr Nutty Krust.

ne of Northern Ireland’s most popular bread brands, Nutty Krust, is celebrating its 60th birthday this summer, following on from a strong year in which sales have risen by 22%*.

First sold by Portadown-based Irwin’s Bakery on August 30, 1961, the classic batched loaf’s distinctive flavour comes from an 18-hour fermentation and slow-baking process on the sole of the oven. Irwin’s Bakery attributes its popularity to versatility, with Nutty Krust ideal for a variety of usage occasions from classic buttered toast and hearty sandwiches to Christmas stuffing. To mark the milestone, Irwin’s is launching a new packaging design, using the strapline toasted by families since 1961, while a range of special commemorative merchandise will be available via the Irwin’s website.

Sixty days of competitions and recipes will be shared across Irwin’s social media channels throughout the summer and the brand will be partnering with retailers and other NI brands to give away exclusive Nutty Krust merchandise, hampers, staycation competition prizes and in-store promotional offers. “We couldn’t be more proud to celebrate 60 years of our much loved Nutty Krust bread, a core product in our offering that has somewhat of an iconic status here in Northern Ireland,” said Brian Irwin, chairman, Irwin’s Bakery. * IRI Northern Ireland 52 weeks to 21.3.21

EXPORT NEWS

CAPITAL SUPPORT SCHEME WOULD PROPEL FUTURE GROWTH

ith local food and drink generating £4.9bn in value added sales, and supporting 113,000 jobs in Northern Ireland, a capital support scheme is vital to support its future growth, according to the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association (NIFDA). NIFDA, along with the Northern Ireland Meat Exporters Association, Ulster Pork and Bacon Forum, Northern Ireland Grain Trade Association and Dairy Council NI, commissioned EY to compile a report on the sector’s contribution to the local economy.

Michael Bell, executive director, NIFDA.

EY found, with the vast majority of food and drink firms based outside of Belfast, the sector is key to maintaining a regionally balanced economy and plays a vital role at the heart of rural communities across Northern Ireland. Further, food and drink is Northern Ireland’s second largest goods exporter, with 77% of total food and drink produced in Northern Ireland being consumed outside the region, while the value of the sector’s exports is

NEWRY WHISKEY BRAND SECURES FIRST EXPORT ORDERS R evived Newry whiskey brand Matt D’Arcy has secured its first export order in over a century, with distribution deals secured for France and Germany and in the pipeline for the USA and Canada. The brand was first established in 1817 but closed in 1918, before its relaunch last year by local businessman and historian Michael McKeown. “This is a major milestone for us,” said McKeown. “We have got great support locally and across Ireland following the reintroduction of Matt D’Arcy. We are now in around 150 off-licence outlets here and expect to get orders from the pubs when they open again.

LOCAL CRAFT CIDER TEMPTED GAINS LISTING WITH OCADO

o-Armagh-based craft brand Tempted Cider has secured a listing with prestigious online supermarket Ocado for its Dry, Medium Dry, Sweet, Strawberry and Elderflower lines. “Craft cider-making is a promising, passionate local industry and to have the range made available to UK consumers 56

“We are starting to attract attention in many foreign markets. There is huge interest in Irish whiskey and the sector has enjoyed fantastic worldwide sales growth over the last decade. Customers have really bought into the story and history of the brand. We are also getting great reviews for the quality and taste of the whiskey.” Since its relaunch, the brand has picked up Best Irish Whiskey at the San Francisco World Spirits and Las Vegas International Whiskey competitions for its super premium 17-year-old single malt rum cask finish, while its 10-year-old blend port finished picked up gold and silver medals. Plans are in place to re-establish a

Co-Armagh-based craft cider brand Tempted.

substantially greater than imports. “We have a huge opportunity to grow, given the right support,” said Michael Bell, executive director, NIFDA. “Over the past 10 years, we have seen regional competitors like Scotland perform much better in terms of gross value added. “We are the only region on these islands without a processor capital grant. Wales, Scotland and England already have schemes in place with support rates of between 20-40%. The Republic of Ireland earlier this year announced a €100m capital investment scheme with a 30% support rate for RoI food manufacturing companies. “Coupled with the lack of a Northern Ireland food export marketing body, the industry here has effectively had to operate with both hands tied behind its back. The time is now for this stark competitive disadvantage to be addressed.”

The historic Matt D’Arcy whiskey brand was revived in 2020.

working distillery on the original Matt D’Arcy site at Monaghan Street in Newry city, including a visitor’s centre, Victorian bar and restaurant. with Ocado is hugely rewarding,” he said. “The listing marks a significant milestone for Tempted Cider, making it available in the UK grocery channel and increasing brand presence nationwide.” Gary Hyde, senior beer, cider and spirits buyer at Ocado, said: “Irish craft cider is gaining recognition and, with the category growing steadily in popularity, it is a great time to add Tempted to our range. “Tempted Cider has been highly commended over the years and each of the five styles has its own distinct blend and flavour which will really appeal to Ocado shoppers.”

DRINKS NEWS

ANZAC TO DISTRIBUTE WRITERS’ TEARS & THE IRISHMAN WHISKEY

alsh Whiskey has appointed Anzac Wines & Spirits as exclusive distributors of its Writers’ Tears and The Irishman whiskey portfolios in Northern Ireland. The portfolios include six core expressions in a range of 14 premium and super-premium Irish whiskeys, with The Writers’ Tears range focused on pot still and The Irishman on single malt whiskey. Walsh Whiskey was established in 1999 by husband-and-wife team, Bernard and Rosemary Walsh, and now exports to 50 countries while also producing The Hot Irishman Irish coffee and The Irishman Irish Cream liqueur. “We share a family-run style with Anzac Wine & Spirits and are confident that our whiskeys will benefit from their value-add approach,” said Bernard Walsh, co-founder and managing director. Garry Connolly, director of Anzac Wine

Writers’ Tears and The Irishman are now distributed in Northern Ireland by Anzac Wines & Spirits.

& Spirits, said: “We are not just about buying and selling products at Anzac, we build relationships, develop brands and engage with all elements of the supply chain to ultimately ensure that customers and consumers get the very best to enjoy.”

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND FORGES AHEAD WITH MINIMUM UNIT PRICING

oncerns have been expressed of a surge in cross-border alcohol sales after the Republic of Ireland committed to pressing ahead with minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol ahead of its introduction in Northern Ireland. The Irish government is to introduce the measure from January 1, 2022, pushing up the baseline cost of a 440ml can of lager to €1.32 while the cheapest bottle of wine available will rise from €5 to €7.75 and vodka from around €13 to €20.71. While last summer Health Minister Robin Swann announced a full public consultation would be held within a year on the potential introduction of MUP in Northern Ireland, progress here has stalled. “The drinks industry is in favour of tackling the sale of cheap alcohol to reduce alcohol misuse,” said Patricia Callan, director of Drinks Ireland. “While we acknowledge the delays in Northern Ireland in introducing this measure, our position is that MUP should be introduced in conjunction with the North. “Otherwise, it would drive many price sensitive households, who have already been hard-hit by the pandemic, to shop across the border. It would also place

JAWBOX GIN LAUNCHES IN POPULAR CANNED COCKTAIL FORMAT

massive pressures on border businesses, and lead to an increase in illicit alcohol smuggling at the border, all at a vulnerable time for our economy. “An Ibec economic report showed that a unilateral MUP move would increase the existing price differential on alcohol between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland from 27% to 38%. Additionally, it’s estimated that it would result in a €94m loss to the Irish Exchequer in increased sales across the border.” Drinks Ireland also called for a one-year transition period in RoI, while highlighting falling alcohol consumption in Ireland. Introduction of MUP in RoI has, however, been welcomed by The Federation of Independent Retailers (NFRN). Martin Mulligan, president of NFRN Ireland, said: “We broadly welcome the move to introduce minimum unit pricing because it levels up the playing field. The big multiples have taken our confectionery and Christmas trade, so it will give us all a fighting chance to compete. Scotland introduced minimum unit pricing in 2018 and has subsequently reported falling alcohol consumption.

awbox Gin is tapping into rising demand for pre-mixed cocktails with two new serves in a can, its signature Jawbox Small Batch and Ginger Ale as well as Jawbox Pineapple & Ginger Gin Liqueur and Ginger Ale. Roll-out of the additions to Jawbox’s portfolio has been timed to coincide with the arrival of summer and opportunities for picnics, barbecues and garden parties. The new conveniently packaged cocktails represent the latest evolution of the popular Irish gin brand, created by Gerry White and distilled at Echlinville on the Ards Peninsula. Jawbox uses a unique combination of premium botanicals including local Belfast Black Mountain Heather and orris root, before triple distilling in traditional copper pot stills. The result is a classic gin that becomes more complex on the palate, with citrus and juniper developing into pepper, green angelica and subtle rootiness. With an abv of 5%, the 250ml cans carry a RRP of £2 each and are available to purchase now from Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Winemark stores.

Jawbox Gin has launched two new serves in a can. 57

ADVERTORIAL

ENJOY A REFRESHING COCKTAIL AL FRESCO The Aperol Spritz is a great example of a cocktail that is light, refreshing and easy to make, making it the perfect beverage for summer BBQs. As the best-selling branded cocktail in the UK5 and a leader in the spritz category, the Aperol Spritz offers a taste of Italy this summer. A combination of Aperol, prosecco and a dash of Schweppes Soda Water, this simple serve can be made even more appealing to shoppers with multi-buy offers in-store, something retailers should consider as part of a summer sales strategy. The Aperol Spritz holds further in-store potential – such as helping retailers to increase basket spend through cross category merchandising with prosecco and Schweppes Soda. This can also inspire shoppers to purchase more items to add an Italian flair to their summer BBQs and make the buying journey much easier.

BQs saw a spurt in popularity last year –becoming the UK’s number one summer at-home leisure activity.1 We expect to see BBQs continue to be a real opportunity for retailers this summer across the Island of Ireland as people look to make the best of their time spent at home. Cocktails enjoyed alongside food is a growing trend – 48% of consumers now choose a cocktail to accompany a meal.2 The demand for spritz serves is also growing. A third of consumers are SIGNATURE SERVE:

APEROL SPRITZ Ingredients • Half prosecco (50ml) • Half Aperol (50ml) • Dash of Schweppes Soda Water (25ml) • Fresh orange slice Method • Fill a large wine glass with ice • Add prosecco followed by Aperol • Add a dash of soda and stir • Garnish with a fresh orange slice

opting for sparkling cocktails,3 while more refreshing cocktails such as the Aperol Spritz are now the preferred choice for 43% of cocktail drinkers.4 With this in mind, light and refreshing cocktails lend themselves perfectly to al fresco dining occasions. This presents a great opportunity for retailers to tap into the cocktail category, by creating engaging displays to inspire shoppers’ summer plans.

1 National BBQ Week 2020 2 CGA Mixed Drinks Report Q3 2020 – Channel Interaction and Occasions 03 3 CGA Mixed Drinks Q1 2020 4 CGA Mixed Drinks Q3 2020 5 CGA Mixed Drinks Q1 2020

SIGNATURE SERVE:

CAMPARI & TONIC Ingredients • 50ml Campari • 100ml Schweppes Tonic Water • Fresh lime wedge Method • Fill a balloon glass with ice • Pour Campari to add theatre • Top with Schweppes premium tonic water • Add a squeeze of fresh lime • Stir, garnish with a lime wedge, and enjoy

BUSINESS NEWS

HENDERSON FOODSERVICE SCOOPS GLOBAL E-COMMERCE AWARD

enderson Foodservice has been recognised with a leadership award from global product experience management (PXM) solutions provider Akeneo just seven months after launching its new website. The new site, www.hendersonfoodservice.com, was recognised as one of only five global winners at Akeneo’s Unlock 2021 summit. It harnesses detailed information on thousands of products in the Akeneo product information management system, and has generated over £14m in online sales since launch. The website tools were built by foodservice experts Foodservice Online and its technical partners iWeb, which successfully delivered a highly demanding

Elaine Williams, development manager with Creightons Group – a Henderson Foodservice customer, helps Chris Palmer, e-Commerce lead with Hendersons celebrate the company’s Akeneo leadership award.

project in a limited time frame. Akeneo’s awards programme celebrates top innovators and high-growth pioneers

BREXIT, COVID & CLIMATE PUSH UP ULSTER FRY INDEX

rexit, Covid-19 and climate change have pushed up the price of ingredients in the Ulster Bank Ulster Fry Index, the bank’s annual indicator of inflation in food and the wider local economy. For the past 13 years, Ulster Bank Chief Economist Richard Ramsey has published his annual gauge of the cost Richard Ramsey, chief economist, Ulster Bank. of the items that make up a traditional cooked breakfast to help highlight the continuing vital role of the local agri-food sector and to engage the public in food economics. While the overall Index is up by 1.7% year on year, the pandemic, Brexit and an unpredictable climate have had divergent impacts on the costs of individual items, says Ramsey. For example, the price of tomatoes has risen 15% in the last year, impacted by a poor harvest and long winter, while the cost of eggs has fallen over 7% linked to an oversupply due to restrictions on the operation of the hospitality sector. Meanwhile the price of sausages is up 5.1% and butter by 3.7%, partly attributable to Brexit. Once the NI Protocol is implemented in full, it is anticipated that the additional costs of more bureaucracy will result in higher food prices. This year’s rise in the Index follows two consecutive years of falls, but the long-term trend is upwards with the Index 6.5% higher than it was five years ago and 23% higher than it was during the last recession in 2008. “In 2021, the likelihood is that the prices consumers pay for a range of food items will continue to rise,” said Ramsay. “But with improved farm prices particularly in milk and beef so far in 2021, it’s likely this year will show an improvement in both farm income and farm profit.” 60

excelling in leveraging PXM to develop growth opportunities and deliver outstanding product experiences.

GM MARKETING MOVES INTO DAIRY DISTRIBUTION WITH ALL-IRELAND DEAL

M Marketing has secured an allIreland distribution deal with FrieslandCampina, the fifth biggest dairy company in the world with a portfolio including the popular flavoured milk drink brand YAZOO. GM Marketing has an all-Ireland The Belfast-based distribution deal with FrieslandCampina business gained the brands including YAZOO. exclusive partnership following a competitive pitch process and will distribute FrieslandCampina’s brands, which also include indulgent chocolate milk brand Chocomel and chilled coffee brand Barista, driving growth and customer penetration across key channels. It marks GM Marketing’s first move into the dairy category and follows a high-growth period for the Belfast based business, which has recently increased its headcount by +20%. “YAZOO is an integral part of the FrieslandCampina business, and so the process to appoint a new brand-partner for Ireland was a business-critical decision,” said Will Jones, UK managing director, FrieslandCampina. “We had shortlisted three distributors who each had their own unique strengths. We chose GM Marketing for the quality and passion of their work, the innovative ideas they came forward with in the pitch process, and the knowledge and enthusiasm of their people.” Gerard McAdorey, managing director of GM Marketing, said: “We’ve over 21 years’ experience of building brands in Ireland and are delighted to now welcome FrieslandCampina into our brand portfolio.”

People on the move... in association with

APPOINTMENTS

JOHNSON BROTHERS RESTRUCTURE INCLUDES SENIOR APPOINTMENTS Michelle Maginnis.

Neil Patton.

NEW COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR NAMED AT SHS GROUP

ohnson Brothers (Belfast) has made two new appointments, as part of an internal restructure. Neil Patton has been appointed to the main board of Johnson Brothers. He continues as sales director of the Grocery & Pharmacy Division, where he has responsibility for the sales function into the grocery, pharmacy and wholesale sectors. Michelle Maginnis, who is Group financial controller, has been appointed as a director of Johnson Brothers Distributing. Established in 1893, Johnson Brothers supplies grocery multiples, symbols, wholesale, convenience, forecourts, pharmacy and foodservice channels across Ireland.

Alan Neill, SHS Group.

lan Neill has been appointed commercial director of SHS Sales & Marketing Ireland, responsible for planning and implementing commercial strategies for some of Ireland and the UK’s biggest brand owners and SHS Group-owned brands. Deploying specialist skills from sales and logistics to customer services, finance and customer marketing, he will ensure the Division continues to drive growth and maximise business efficiencies as one of Ireland’s leading outsourced sales and marketing providers. Neill joined SHS Group in 2003 and has over 18 years of experience in

different aspects of the business and its management. He has held a variety of finance business partnering roles in SHS Sales & Marketing GB and SHS Drinks. Most recently, he led the design, implementation and delivery of the SHS Group’s Business Transformation Project - Gazelle. Neill is a Queen’s University Belfast graduate and completed his Accountancy qualifications with Fitch Campbell.

WHITE’S OATS APPOINTS AGRI SUPPLY CHAIN ASSISTANT

Steven McAllister, White’s Oats.

hite’s Oats has appointed Steven McAllister to the role of agri supply chain assistant. Originally from Bushmills, he will support the agri supply chain coordinator in developing White’s local supply chain and ensuring it continues to deliver the best quality oats for customers. White’s is committed to increasing its oat production in partnership with local growers in Northern Ireland. It has invested heavily in its oat agronomy programme over the past three years with a focus on improving oat quality and the long-term sustainability of oat production within the business. “I grew up on my family farm growing potatoes, so I have a keen interest in agriculture and locally grown produce,” he said. “The increased awareness among consumers on the benefits of a healthy and sustainable diet has fuelled demand for oats and I am looking forward to carrying out farm visits and learning more about the development of oats from farm to mill, all while helping to improve oat quality and sustainability.” McAllister has a BSc degree in Agriculture Technology and a national diploma in Agriculture.

Suite 309, River House, 48-60 High St, Belfast BT1 2BE • info@greenfieldmarketing.co.uk Belfast Office: 02890 770 999400

SHELFLIFE

To see your product featured in Shelf Life, contact Chris Keenan at c.keenan@independentmagazinesni.co.uk or Tel: 028 9026 4267

Conor Hogan, Belfast Food Blogger.

ICED COFFEE RANGE GETS A CARAMEL LATTE BOOST

oost Drinks, the number one best-selling soft drink brand within independent convenience in Northern Ireland*, has added a Caramel Latte flavour variant to its Iced Coffee range.

Boost Iced Coffee was launched in Northern Ireland in 2020 after research highlighted an increasing demand for RTD coffee and iced drinks in the independent and convenience channel. Boost Iced Coffee is now NI’s second

FENTIMANS LAUNCHES NEW 200ML MIXER RANGE

remium drinks brand Fentimans has launched a new range of 200ml mixers and tonics, aiming to tap into increasing demand for bigger serves and greater versatility in mixer ranges. Available from May, the innovation marks a move away from the Fentimans 125ml classic serve, which has been the anchor Fentimans’ new mixer range. of its mixer range over the last decade. The new 200ml mixer range, which includes Tonic Water alongside its iconic Ginger Beer and Rose Lemonade, will still be produced using Fentimans’ unique 100-year-old artisanal technique of botanical brewing. A multi-stage process of infusion, fermentation, resting and blending of finely sourced botanicals takes place over seven days, to create a mixer with a depth of flavour which holds up when paired with spirits. “As more and more consumers continue to enjoy longer serves, and experiment with a range of mixers to pair with their personal spirit repertoires, it’s important that Fentimans creates a serve size that meets the needs of our consumers, whilst providing the best drinking experience,” said Andrew Jackson, marketing director, Fentimans. 62

best-selling iced coffee brand within the local independent convenience channel*. The success of Boost Iced Coffee, including Caffe Latte and Double Espresso variants, inspired Boost to create and introduce Caramel Latte, a flavour variant that is currently the fastest-growing within iced drinks seeing 107% YOY growth**. “Boost Iced Coffee Caramel Latte is only going to complement the already strong and growing range and give retailers a product that’s exclusive to the independent channel whist offering consumers another great tasting product at an attractive £1 price point,” said Jack Taylor, trade marketing manager at Boost. Boost is continuing wide-ranging marketing support for Boost Iced Coffee including trade and consumer PR, print and digital advertising, POS, a notable distribution drive and sampling activity. Source: * IRI Marketplace Data, Symbols & Independents, Unit Sales w/e 27.12.20 ** IRI Marketplace Data, Symbols & Independents, Unit Sales, 52 w/e 07.09.20

FRIDGE RAIDERS ANNOUNCES THREE NEW SNACKING LINES

erry Foods brand Fridge Raiders has expanded its popular Chicken Bites range to include three new SKUs, Chicken & Dip, Grazing Tub and an Adult Multi Pack. Available now, the additions respond to changing snacking habits, with the brand branching out into new formats to help retailers capitalise on interest in meat snacks and offer consumers flavour-filled solutions to their hunger cravings both at-home and on the go. Fridge Raiders “Our Chicken & Dip is an exciting Chicken Bites. twist on our popular Southern Fried and Roast Chicken Bites, providing shoppers with a tasty BBQ and Sweet Chilli dip,” said Julia May, brand manager at Fridge Raiders. “The new launch packs a punch with flavour whilst providing a healthy and fulfilling snack for shoppers.” “We’re also excited to offer even more snacking options with the development of our Grazing Tub and Adult Multi packs, which allow retailers to diversify their snacking ranges both in food to go and in backof-store which we know is increasingly important.”

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WANT YOUR COMPANY TO GET NOTICED? ADVERTISE HERE... CONTACT CHRIS KEENAN ON 028 9264 4267 OR EMAIL:

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GROCER ULSTER

Over 45 years at the heart of the Northern Ireland food industry

CLASSIFIEDS

Sales Teams • •

Merchandising

Fully Outsourced Contract & Tactical • C&I • Grocery • Licensed

• • •

Retail Installations

Warehousing & Logistics • •

•

Support Service Stand Alone Capability

• •

Promotions / Sampling • •

C&I, Grocery, Licensed Agency Links

Fully Outsourced Contract & Tactical All Channels

Installation & maintenance 3rd Party relationships IOI Supplier

Auditing / Market Research •

Recruitment •

•

Auditing Mystery Shopping

FMCG Field Staff only

Suite 309, River House, 48-60 High St, Belfast BT1 2BE • info@greenfieldmarketing.co.uk Belfast Office: 02890 770 999 • www.greenfieldmarketing.co.uk

Q&A TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF I’m operations director at Green Field Marketing and have worked in the industry for over 10 years. We previously traded as Contract People and more recently PRL In-Market Solutions (NI), until Russell Johnston (managing director), Lisa Curran (finance director) and myself recently acquired the business through an MBO. I’m passionate about growing brands, and a firm supporter of local companies. I am married with two young children, so home life is a refreshing departure from the workplace, replacing PowerPoints with Peppa Pig and staff development with potty training. WHAT DOES A TYPICAL DAY INVOLVE? Typical days have changed hugely over the past year with lockdown enforcing changed ways of working. As a company, we’ve now moved away from the traditional office based 9-5 setup, into a more flexible working solution, giving people the freedom to work either from home or from our offices in Belfast City Centre. Regardless of location, every day starts with a strong coffee and reviewing actions for the days ahead. From there on, it can vary, but will involve some mix of client meetings, staff development and data analytics. Whereas we’ve been glued to Microsoft Teams over the past year, I’m excited to be able to meet clients and staff members face to face again soon. WHAT HAS BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR CAREER TO DATE? Without doubt it has been the formation of Green Field Marketing. After the long process of finalising, it’s been a real joy for us all to be able to openly discuss this with clients and field staff. Feedback has been incredible, and we’ve now got the freedom to drive real changes in terms of our technology offering, as well as our overall company ethos. I’m especially proud that we can now also call ourselves a carbon positive business. As well as making changes under our control such as putting field staff in electric cars and going paperfree, we’ve also teamed up with Ecologi, who plant the required number of trees each month to totally offset our carbon footprint. The 4,440 trees we will plant this year reduces our carbon footprint by 400 tonnes. To put this into context, this is the equivalent of 788,664 miles driven in a car and will save an estimated 948 square metres of sea ice. 66

IN THE HOT SEAT MARTIN RICE, OPERATIONS DIRECTOR, GREEN FIELD MARKETING

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT YOUR JOB? I’m results driven by nature, so what I most enjoy is seeing progress. This is especially apparent with our outsourced sales teams, where we’re lucky enough to work with some of FMCG’s biggest brands including KP Snacks, Dale Farm, Royal Canin and GSK. Looking at the results we’ve driven in terms of core range distribution, merchandising and NPD success always justifies every bit of hard work put in. WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED? Work smarter, not harder. I certainly don’t mean this in terms of slacking off, but more in terms of maximising the use of your time. We’ve worked hard on automating technology solutions for both office and field staff to take away menial tasks. This allows all staff members to be more productive in their working time, and means every action is adding direct value. WHAT TALENT WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE? I’d love to speak more languages. I did French at school and forget almost everything. I’ve started to learn Italian on

at least five occasions and haven’t got past the ordering food and drink stage. One day… WHERE IS YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE? We have family in North Italy, and every time I go, it feels like a home away from home. Having said that, I’ve always been a real believer in Belfast. The emergence of some superb restaurants and pubs over the past 10 years has further emphasised the quality we have at our own doorstep. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FOOD PRODUCT? Can’t beat some local steaks and cheese. I’ve become obsessed with places like Two Sisters and Fodder over the past year, as well as Belfast staples Arcadia and Sawyers. Outside of food, lockdown lifting has hammered home the joy of a good pint of Guinness with friends. HOW DO YOU RELAX? Family first and foremost. Nothing helps you unwind like coming home to hugs and kisses from the kids. Being able to show them places and things for the first time is always a privilege. I’m also unapologetically obsessed with golf, though you’d never tell from watching me hack a ball around.