ShelfLife Magazine - September Issue 2022

LARGEST INDEPENDENTLY AUDITED GROCERY TRADE CIRCULATION IN IRELAND

September 2022

electrical storm

Unsustainable energy prices threatening the future of essential local food businesses

+

Amazonian strength Dan White rexplores how the likely launch of a dedicated Irish Amazon website could impact the market

Total recall Fionnuala Carolan explores the impact of product recalls on retailers’ businesses

CONVENIENCE RETAILING • OFF-TRADE • SUPERMARKETS • NEWSAGENCY • FORECOURT

Celebrating

stores We’re thrilled to announce the opening of our 100th Nearby store!

This milestone comes after launching Nearby just one year ago and we’d like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone involved. The future for the Nearby brand is very exciting and we can’t wait to expand even further across the island of Ireland. If you are a passionate retailer looking for a positive change, get in touch today to see how we can help.

To find out more about the benefits of becoming a Nearby retailer contact:

Jason McSteen Nearby ROI Sales Manager info@always-nearby.com (+353) 0 86 604 0474

always-nearby.com

OPINION 3

ShelfLife September 2022 Vol. 29 No.9 Editor GILLIAN HAMILL (01) 294 7776 gillian.hamill@mediateam.ie Staff journalist JULIA O’REILLY (01) 294 7709 julia.oreilly@mediateam.ie

A quick note from the editor

Never has a budget been more anxio usly anticipated than Budget 2023. By the time you hold this magazine in your hands, more detail (or perhaps more accurately, speculation) is sure to have emerged about the gove rnment’s intended plans to relieve the burden of onerous energy bills for both households and businesses. As we outli ne on page 24, it has never been more important to get it right .

Undoubtedly it will prove an uneviable task for government ministers to achieve the right balance between relieving the pressure of higher costs and not exacerbating inflationary pressures, but it is neverthel ess absolutely crucial that they do to prevent job losses and shop closures this winter.

Gillian Hamill, editor, ShelfLife mag azine

Contents September 30

20

Contributors CAROLINE REIDY FIONNUALA CAROLAN BARRY WHELAN COLIN GORDON Head of business IAN MULVANEY (01) 294 7766 ian.mulvaney@mediateam.ie Account manager MARK MORGAN (01) 294 7767 mark.morgan@mediateam.ie Circulation subs@mediateam.ie Publisher JOHN McDONALD (01) 294 7744 john.mcdonald@mediateam.ie Printing W & G Baird Ltd ShelfLife is a controlled circulation magazine, available to selected individuals with interests in the retail and wholesale grocery trade, who fall within the publisher’s terms of control.

For those outside these terms, annual subscription is €98.00 including postage & packing.

COVER STORY 24

Energy crisis: Gillian Hamill looks at how retailers will navigate the challenging rise in electricity prices this winter

NEWS&ANALYSIS 4 News grid 6 Seen and heard 12 CSNA news 52 NOffLA news 51 & 68 Food Focus

FEATURES&REPORTS 14 Dan White: While the retail landscape may not welcome the launch of a dedicated Irish Amazon website, it may result in a significant VAT boost to the exchequer

16 Nearby store profile: Annette Laffery of Nearby Creeslough finds herself at the centre of the

celebrations for the 100th Nearby opening in Ireland

that the recent trend among young people of ‘quiet quitting’ could prompt real change in the jobs market

20 Total recall: With the spate of

recent food recalls, Fionnuala Carolan speaks to retailers about the lasting effects on brands from these unforeseen events

62 HR: Caroline Reidy

explains how best to support a transgender employee before, during, and after their transition process

56 Tito’s interview: John

McDonnell, MD of Tito’s Handmade Vodka, speaks about the growth of the premium vodka market

ADVISOR 28 Marketing: Colin Gordon explains the new ‘reset’ phenomenon in business

60 Recruitment: Barry Whelan of Excel Recruitment believes

MARKETING& CATEGORY FOCUS 30 39 42 46 64

Confectionery Mixers Tea and Coffee Newspapers Market movers

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT New Gain Elite Cat food range tailored for all life stages

Managing Director JOHN McDONALD; Sales Director PAUL BYRNE Operations Director BILLY HUGGARD Published monthly by Mediateam Ltd., 55 Spruce Avenue, Sandyford, Dublin 18.

A94 RP22 Telephone (01) 294 7776 Fax (01) 294 7799 ISSN: 1393 0753

Circulation audited by Audit Bureau of Circulations.

ShelfLife is a member of Magazines Ireland

Gain Pet Nutrition have launched its new Gain Elite Cat food range, enriched with premium, natural ingredients targeting the health and nutritional needs based on an individual cat’s life stage.

The new range comes in 100% recyclable, resealable packaging. It includes Omega 3 to give a glossy coat, prebiotics and probiotics to aid digestion and other natural ingredients, including cranberries and plant extracts, to assist with weight control, oral and urinary health, brain function and more.

What’s more, last year alone, Gain Pet Nutrition donated €15,000 worth of Gain pet food to charity, and is looking forward to linking up with worthy appeals and making an even greater impact this year.

The new premium cat food range is the latest offering from Tirlán, formerly known as Glanbia Ireland, and the trusted cooperative which is also home to Gain Elite Dog food and the well-known consumer brands, Avonmore and Kilmeaden.

The Gain Elite Cat food range encompasses five key products, beginning with Gain Elite ‘Kitten’ which is suitable for kittens, pregnant and nursing cats and is high in protein. The Adult range includes either fresh chicken or fresh salmon and a scientific

balance of high-quality ingredients.

The Indoor Hairball complete food features added cellulose fibre, which helps with digestive discomfort by reducing hairball formation. The Senior 7+ range promotes vitality and natural immunity with carefully selected probiotics, combined with plant extracts and all the essential vitamins and minerals required by senior cats.

Gain Pet Nutrition sales manager Robert O’Sullivan, pictured with Kate O’Sullivan and Pip

4

NEWS

NEWSGRID The top news stories in FMCG

and retail from across Ireland

Aldi announces €63m west of Ireland expansion programme

Maxol expands dealer network with Kilkenny service station

Tesco Ireland to invest €50m in new stores and store upgrades over 2022

Aldi is set to embark on a dedicated west of Ireland expansion programme which will see the company invest over €63 million and create 140 new full-time jobs and 350 construction jobs across Connacht over the next two years. This €63 million investment will see new Aldi stores in Ballina, Tuam, Mountbellew, Athenry, Ballyhaunis, and Monivea Road Galway, along with store upgrades in Portumna, Clifden, Galway Retail Park and Ballinasloe, some of which are already complete.

Maxol is expanding its dealer network with the latest addition of Spar Irishtown in Kilkenny city, bringing the total number of new dealers this year to seven. Since partnering with Maxol earlier this year, the John Eivers Irishtown site has undergone a major overhaul with the installation of a new Maxol canopy and comprehensive forecourt upgrade.

Tesco Ireland has announced it is to spend circa €50 million this year in store upgrades, maintenance, and new openings. Tesco has earmarked property capital expenditure of €50m in 2022 to include new stores, store upkeep and upgrade projects. There is also a separate rebrand and redesign programme getting underway with Tesco’s recently acquired portfolio of nine stores across Galway city and county owned by the Joyce family, which was completed in June.

Banks predict another 0.75% rate hike by ECB in October Banks including Deutsche Bank and Bank of America have said they expect another 75 basis point rate hike from the European Central Bank in October, a day after the central bank delivered a supersized interestrate rise of that size to tame inflation. The ECB raised its key rates by an unprecedented 75 basis points (bps) in early September and promised further hikes, prioritizing the fight against inflation even as Europe is likely heading towards a winter recession and gas rationing.

Blas na hÉireann 2022 finalists announced The finalists for Blas na hÉireann, The Irish Food Awards 2022 have been announced and the countdown is now on for the big return of the awards weekend in Dingle from Thursday, 29 September to Saturday, 1 October. Now in its 15th year, Blas na hÉireann saw a huge increase in entries with many new producers entering the awards this year. During the judging in June and July, almost 3,000 entries were judged, the highest on record.

Ukrainian beverage producer Obolon partners with Barry & Fitzwilliam Barry & Fitzwilliam has announced a partnership with Obolon, the largest domestic Ukrainian beverage producer.

Obolon was the first privatized brewery in a post-soviet Ukraine, and went on to become the nation’s household beer.

The ongoing war has forced the company to pivot and find an opportunity to continue its activities. Despite the extremely difficult work conditions in wartime, Obolon strives to support its employees by providing them with jobs and salaries, as well as supporting the military who defend Ukraine.

CSNA welcomes ‘auto activation’ of Lottery scratch cards Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) has announced that ‘auto activation’ on scratch cards has been implemented since 5 September 2022. The CSNA described the development as “a welcome relief to the network in general” and in particular to the agents who have received penalties imposed by PLI for numerous breaches of the non-activation rule. In some cases, this involved a penalty of five days’ trading with no Lottery product.

Revenue seizes cigarettes and tobacco worth €5.5 million at Dublin Port Revenue officers recently seized 4.5 million cigarettes and over 3 tonnes of ‘roll your own’ tobacco at Dublin Port on Tuesday, 30 August, with the assistance of its mobile x-ray scanner. The illegal cigarettes, branded ‘Kingdom’, and tobacco, branded ‘The Turner‘, had an estimated retail value of €5.5 million. They were discovered concealed in over 30 pallets manifested as ‘groupage’ from the Netherlands and destined for an address in Co. Meath. Investigations are ongoing.

Retailers repeat calls for minimum unit alcohol pricing in Northern Ireland Independent retailers on both sides of the Irish border have confirmed their support for the introduction of minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol in Northern Ireland. Leaders of the Fed (Federation of Independent Retailers) say MUP in the province would create a “level playing field” and allay fears of cross-border trading and the practice of independents being undercut by large supermarkets. ■

For more details on all the above and the latest grocery-related news as it happens, visit www.shelflife.ie.

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

Born in 1977. * Still No.1 in Ireland .

Caldesene prevents and treats nappy rash.

TENDER CARE AT

Every Change

*as voted by the readers of mums & tots.

For topical use only. Cleanse and dry the affected area before applying. Always read the label. The active ingredient in Caldesene Medicated Powder is Calcium Undecylenate 10% w/w, 20g, 55g, 100g pack size. PA 126/152/1 PA Holder: Clonmel Healthcare Ltd., Waterford Road, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. Date Prepared: November 21. 2021/ADV/CAL/102C

6

SEEN AND HEARD

New L’OR Barista Sublime Coffee Machine launched to deliver barista quality drinks at Home Offering a coffee shop experience at home, L’OR has launched L’OR Barista Sublime, a double-spouted espresso coffee machine, available now from €89.99 in Dunnes Stores and Tesco nationwide, and online at lorespresso.com.

Coffee lovers can now enjoy single or double ristrettos, espressos, lungos, as well as all other favourite coffee recipes without having to step foot in a coffee shop. What really makes this system stand apart is the ability to take the new and exclusive L’OR Barista XXL capsules, which contain twice the amount of coffee.

Created in collaboration with designer Khodi Feiz, the compact L’OR Barista Sublime coffee machine is available in three standout colours. Not only that, it is compatible with L’OR Espresso single shot capsules and L’OR Barista XXL capsules, but also allows coffee lovers to use the wide range of alternative branded coffee capsules on the market*, providing maximum flexibility and choice. *(The L’OR Barista Sublime coffee machine has been designed to also work with Nespresso capsules)

Tirlán revealed as new brand identity for Glanbia Ireland Glanbia Co-op and Glanbia Ireland has revealed they will in future be known as Tirlán, a new identity crafted to reflect the unique characteristics that define this dynamic organisation. Combining the Irish words ‘Tír’ for land and ‘Lán’ for full, Tirlán stands for ‘Land of Abundance’ and represents the deep connection and relationship between the Co-op, its people and the land they nurture together to farm and sustain.

Tirlán was unveiled simultaneously to employees and farmer shareholders during a webinar hosted in the co-op’s new collaboration centre at Abbey Quarter in Kilkenny city.

Glanbia plc will retain and continue to operate under the Glanbia name as an entirely separate entity. Tirlán will remain the largest shareholder in Glanbia plc, with a 31.9% shareholding*.

Tirlán’s portfolio includes many of Ireland’s best known and most loved Irish dairy brands, such as Avonmore, Kilmeaden, Premier, Wexford and international brands such as GAIN Animal Nutrition, Truly Grass Fed, Millac and Solmiko nutritional milk proteins.

As a co-operative, Tirlán is 100% farmer-owned, with 11 high-tech processing facilities, 52 agri-branches and over 2,100 employees.

Sales revenue this year is forecast to exceed €3 billion.

Speaking at the launch of Tirlán in Kilkenny, CEO Jim Bergin, said: “It is with a sense of history and optimism that we unveil Tirlán as an ambitious, innovative, and modern co-op that combines the best of our heritage, all our people, and our expertise. Our organisation has evolved over our 100 year history. Entering this new phase of our co-op’s journey, Tirlán has ambitions for an ever-increasing role in the wider economy, the international food and nutrition sectors, and especially in rural communities across the country.” *(As of the close of business, Monday, 29 August, 2022)

Brand ambassador, Irish rugby international Tadhg Furlong with L-R John Murphy, chairman, Tirlán, Nicola O’Connell, head of consumer development, Tirlán, and Jim Bergin, CEO, Tirlán

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

Stay protected and connected with Rocsolid Retail Rocsolid Retail offers high availability internet connectivity with backup across all locations, to allow for a seamless retail experience for any environment at any location. With both physical and cyber security at its core, it will protect, you, your people, places and your customers. It will also drive efficiencies, reduce risk and cost. With Rocsolid Retail your business can stay agile with cloud security, automated threat management and advanced network analytics.

Many retailers are exposed to the 25% of cyber-attacks that are targeting their industry specifically, notwithstanding the exposure to managing multisite technologies and vendors with limited visibility and increased risk to the business. If you are a retailer big or small, connectivity and data are your business. To empower you, Roctel has built a service, that it can deliver anywhere from as little as €149 per month including all internet and other services which can be seamlessly added, a la carte.

For more details, see www.roctel.net/retail.

Daybreak and the Irish Heart Foundation team up to ‘Get a Move On!’ towards tackling heart disease Daybreak and long-term charity partner, the Irish Heart Foundation are back with another active challenge. The ‘Get a Move On!’ campaign challenges Daybreak retailers and staff to walk 10,000 steps daily for the month of September. The aim for this year’s active challenge is to showcase that making small lifestyle changes can make a big difference to heart health, all while raising funds for a worthy cause.

Over 200 Daybreak stores are taking part in the challenge over the month of September. Participants will commit to hitting 10,000 steps a day and will ask customers, family and friends to sponsor them to achieve the fundraising target.

Nordic Spirit contains nicotine.

Nicotine is an addictive substance.

LIMITED EDITION WATERMELON FLAVOUR

A TASTE OF

SUMMER NICOTINE POUCHES REGULAR STRENGTH

For more information go to:

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8

SEEN AND HEARD

Musgrave partners with UCC to support allergen education and research Musgrave has collaborated with University College Cork (UCC) to advance allergy education and research. This partnership will advance critical research from UCC’s Infant Centre into anaphylaxis management, which is the management of severe, potentially lifethreatening allergic reactions in care settings. It will also support the launch of a new online postgraduate programme in Allergy and Clinical Immunology within the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, UCC. Ray Bowe, head of Food Safety and Quality at Musgrave, said: “At Musgrave, we feed one in

three people across Ireland every day. We ensure that the food we supply is of the highest quality and safe for those who enjoy it, and this means the continuous management of allergens is a key cornerstone across our supply chains to the end consumer. As a result, we were happy to have the opportunity to support this allergy education and research at UCC and CUH.” The support of Musgrave will see a number of grants made available for students on this programme and the course is the only one of its kind that can be undertaken fully online.

Made with Mash Direct’s signature farm fresh potatoes, the Peri Peri Fries are prepared immediately after harvesting to ensure freshness

Mash Direct adds some spice to its potato-based range Mash Direct has added some spice to its range in the shape of Peri Peri Fries. Ensuring a sensory sensation like no other, this new product is sure to give consumers’ taste buds a boost.

Tapping into the market trend for spicy foods, the new product combines flavours of the Levant region of Western Asia with spices like piri piri, zaatar and sumac to provide an explosion of flavour to spice up any mealtime.

Made with Mash Direct’s signature farm fresh potatoes, the Peri Peri Fries are prepared immediately after harvesting to ensure freshness, flavour and to retain the natural texture and nutritional benefits of the produce.

Lance Hamilton, chief commercial officer at Mash Direct said: “We are always innovating to meet consumer demand and offering our consumers quick and convenient solutions to satisfy their family at mealtimes or to entertain with friends.”

Like the rest of Mash Direct’s innovative vegetable accompaniments range, the Peri Peri Fries are 100% gluten-free and free from artificial colourings and flavourings.

Ray Bowe, head of Food Safety and Quality at Musgrave, alongside Professor Geraldine Boylan and Dr Juan Trujillo

Summer of fun at Gala Retail Gala Retail customers have had a summer of fun this year, with the group giving away €80,000 worth of prizes to loyal customers and entering its second year of partnership with Starcamp Ireland, as sponsor of its summer camps taking place in more than 250 locations across Ireland.

The summer of fun kicked off back in May with the ‘Summer Days’ promotion which saw Gala customers given the chance to win passes to some of Ireland’s most popular family attractions. Gala customers who spent over €10 in participating stores were entered into a draw for the chance to win a family day out to Tayto Park, Fota Wildlife Park or Dublin Zoo this summer.

In June, Gala Retail customers had the opportunity to ‘Getaway with Gala’. Teaming up with IrelandHotels.com, the Gala Getaways giveaway gave Gala shoppers spending over €10 entry into a draw to win a €250 ‘Go Anywhere’ gift card.

This summer also saw Gala enter its second year as headline sponsor of Starcamp Ireland, Ireland’s number one children’s activity camp, providing over €10,000 worth of prizes for participating children and their schools.

For the second year, Gala was the headline sponsor of Starcamp Ireland

Musgrave announces partnership with eCommerce platform in Singapore Musgrave has announced a new supply partnership with RedMart Singapore, the online supermarket arm of leading eCommerce platform, Lazada Singapore, and part of the well-known Lazada Group.

The agreement was facilitated by Bord Bia and Enterprise Ireland and follows a trade mission to South East Asia with Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue showcasing Ireland’s vision for a food systems approach to the sustainable development of the sector, Food Vision 2030.

The partnership will eventually see Musgrave supply over 400 products from its SuperValu

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

own brand range and other Irish brands to Singapore’s leading online grocery platform.

The RedMart deal follows a major investment

by Musgrave in its new Irish food export fulfilment centre in Ballymun, Co. Dublin, which has recently received approval from the Department of Agriculture.

“Musgrave is delighted to announce this new partnership with RedMart Singapore,” said Liam Hyland, director of Export and International Trade at Musgrave. “The deal will see over 400 SuperValu own brand products, many of which recently won the renowned Great Taste awards, and other well-known Irish brands made

The new agreement between Musgrave and RedMart Singapore was facilitated by Bord Bia and Enterprise Ireland

available to customers across Singapore while opening one of the world’s fastest growing markets to Irish producers and suppliers.” ■

Real Dairy Ice Cream & Cadbury Flake Pieces with Chocolate or Strawberry Sauce

10

APPOINTMENTS

SiSú, the award-winning wellness drinks company, expands team SiSú is a growing family-owned Irish wellness drinks company driven by a passion for using the power of plant-based ingredients to fuel, and even heal, our bodies through its range of organic kombuchas, cold-pressed wellness shots and juices.

SiSú grew in popularity over the pandemic, offering chilled delivery direct to consumers’ doors. The company also listed its products in over 1,000 stores such as Dunnes Stores, Tesco, Musgrave, BWG, Spar, Applegreen and coffee shops nationwide.

To continue this growth, SiSú has expanded its team with the appointment of a new sales director, brand & marketing manager and business development specialist.

Leo Jones joins the team as sales director, coming from the largest food business in Ireland, Sysco Foods. His extensive knowledge of the food and retail sector will be pivotal to the next phase of SiSú’s growth.

Louise Kirwan joins as brand & marketing manager, SiSú’s first in-house marketing role for the business. Kirwan worked previously with the Irish Independent, The RDS and the Irish Farmers Journal.

News Ireland appoints internal candidates to three senior commercial roles News Ireland, one of Ireland’s leading media groups, has appointed internal candidates to three senior commercial roles.

Sorcha Cunningham has been appointed Karl Kavanagh, Sorcha head of publishing Cunningham and Dave Doyle and digital for The Sunday Times Ireland while Karl Kavanagh will become the head of publishing and digital for The Irish Sun. Both have been with News Ireland for 15 years and bring a wealth of trading and management experience to their new roles. They will work to grow revenue across both print and digital and will also become members of the senior leadership team in Ireland.

Dave Doyle, who has been with News Ireland for eight years, has taken on an expanded remit in his role as head of trading in Ireland. The position now includes a range of wider responsibilities such as leading News Ireland’s overall digital growth strategy, while also further developing trading agreements with both key agency groups and key direct clients in the Irish market.

Two new hires join Powerscourt Distillery team Karen Noble

Paul Corbett

Powerscourt Distillery is delighted to announce two new members to its team.

Karen Noble has joined the Powerscourt Distillery team as visitor centre manager. She brings a plethora of experience, having worked in prestigious establishments such as Ballymaloe House, La Stampa, Chapter One, and Luna, among many others, in both Ireland and

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

Molly Croft

Louise Kirwan

Leo Jones

Molly Croft joins the team as business development specialist, focusing on growing the corporate and independent customer base for the brand.

“Over the past two years we have taken strategic steps to strengthen each area of the business, we have trebled our business and on target to do 1.5 million units this year, we feel it is the right time for these appointments,” said Jennifer Mulvey, managing director at SiSú.

Founded by Limerick couple Brian and Fiona McGann, SiSú now plans to extend its wellness shots range in late autumn and garner further industry success following its ninth Great Taste Award.

MediaCom Ireland announces four new hires Media planning and buying agency, MediaCom Ireland has announced four new appointments, taking place with immediate effect. Andrea Capucho and Zarah O’Brien have joined the agency as account executives, Jonny Allen has come on board as a senior account manager and Melisa Trejo as a senior digital account manager.

Jonny Allen is a graduate of Ulster University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication, Advertising and Marketing. He joins MediaCom from Mammoth, where he has over four years’ experience in a variety of roles, including media executive, media planner, and media manager.

Melisa Trejo, a graduate of Tecnológicode Monterray, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and Communication. She has over seven years’ experience in digital marketing, having previously worked as a digital manager in MediaCom Mexico.

Zarah O’Brien joins the team from the Dalkey Duck, where she held the position of social media assistant. She graduated from Technological University Dublin (TUD) in 2022 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising and Marketing Communications.

Andrea Capucho joins MediaCom from the Public House and has over five years’ experience working as a communications and marketing analyst. She graduated from the University of São Paolo (Brazil) with a Bachelor of Advertising and Marketing and completed a Diploma in Digital Marketing from Digital Zarah O’Brien, Melisa Trejo, Marketing Institute in 2021.

Andrea Capucho and Jonny Allen

France. This will allow Powerscourt to continue to develop its fivestar visitor centre experience. Noble holds a degree in Hospitality Management and a Masters in Gastronomy and Food Studies.

Award-winning distiller and blender Paul Corbett will head up the distillery team and all aspects of production as distillery manager. He will continue to build on the reputation for exceptional spirits from Powerscourt Distillery. He is passionate about whiskey, having worked as a lead distiller at the Teeling Whiskey Company and gaining further valuable experience as head distiller of the Clonakilty Distillery, where he oversaw the construction of its distillery and won Best Irish New Make Spirit at the World Whiskies Awards in its first year of production. Corbett was highly commended in the Master Distiller/Master Blender category at the Icons of Whisky awards in both 2020 and 2001. The Powerscourt Distillery team are looking forward to exciting new releases with Corbett in the coming years. ■

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CSNA NEWS

CSNA NEWS CSNA ADVICE

Sick leave: Ensure your contracts and payroll provider are ready for change The Irish government recently brought in significant changes to leave entitlements for employees with the introduction of a statutory sick pay scheme.

The Sick Leave Act, 2022 (‘2022 Act’) was signed into law on 20 July 2022 and is awaiting a Ministerial Order for commencement which is expected very shortly.

JOHN PAUL LONERGAN National President, CSNA

PRESIDENT’S OPINION

Energy crisis has ability to afflict horrendous damage These are without doubt the most troubling of times for our retail sector. The difficulties we have in Brexitrelated and post-Covid problems have been entirely overshadowed by the unprecedented increases in our gas and electricity bills, coupled with the unsustainable additional costs of fuel for both our businesses and our customers’ purses.

The September Budget must provide immediate and meaningful reliefs if our sector is to survive; these are not scaremongering words, it is obvious from all the members who have contacted us about this issue that the energy crisis has the ability to inflict horrendous damage to our businesses.

Retailers have been hit by unprecedented increases in gas and electricity bills

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

What has changed with the introduction of a statutory sick pay scheme?

The 2022 Act introduces a statutory sick pay scheme into Ireland for the first time. This brings Ireland in line with other EU countries and the UK where such schemes are the norm. The scheme introduces paid sick leave on a phased basis with the entitlements increasing over a four-year period.

The 2022 Act introduces a statutory entitlement to paid sick leave for up to three days a year with the entitlement increasing a year later to five days’ paid leave, after another year to seven days’ paid leave and, finally, after a further year, 10 days’ paid leave most likely in 2026.

The employer will be responsible for paying up to 70% of the

obligations and requires employers to keep records of all employees availing of statutory sick pay for four years. If an employer fails to keep such records, they will be guilty of an offence and liable to a class C fine.

What should employers do?

The CSNA will provide a suggested template for inclusion into employment contracts once the new sick leave regulations are published

employee’s normal wages throughout their leave, up to a daily maximum of €110.

Are all employees eligible?

In order to be eligible for statutory sick leave, an employee must have completed thirteen weeks of continuous service and have provided a medical certificate signed by a registered medical practitioner.

What other obligations are on employers?

The 2022 Act includes reporting

The 2022 Act applies to all employers in both the public and private sector and regardless of the size of the organisation. Where an employer fails to introduce the statutory sick pay scheme, a complaint can be brought to the Workplace Relations Commission. It is important that employers update their employment policies to set out an employee’s right to statutory sick pay and ensure management and HR personnel are adequately trained on these changes.

Employers should ensure that their policies clearly state the statutory sick leave entitlements of employees and the rate of pay available to them. Employers should also ensure they have a record keeping system in place to record employees on paid sick leave.

The association will be providing a suggested template for inclusion into employment contracts once the regulations are published.

CSNA TIP

Has your retail premises been served with a personal injury claim by a customer?

If a customer trips or falls in your shop, they are entitled to request a copy of the CCTV of the incident.

Think before you provide copies of CCTV footage to a customer.

As the shop owner, it is your responsibility to remove the personal data of every other person who appears in the footage by blurring or redacting their identity.

There are specialist companies who can assist you in this matter. Under GDPR you only have 30 days to comply.

Many firms of solicitors are happy to add breaches of GDPR to their letters outlining the “hurt, pain, humiliation and suffering” their client incurred whilst in your store.

Do not rush into forwarding copies

without protecting yourself from additional claims. We have secured favorable terms with Datascan for this and several other data security products.

It is quite possible that you may receive a request from either an existing or past employee, or a customer seeking access to written data regarding interactions that you have had with them. Sensitive data that does not belong to the “requestor” should be removed from any documentation before you comply with an access request.

If you need video footage enhancement for criminal investigations, Datascan can and will give assistance.

Further details are available from

Ensure you never forward copies of CCTV footage without protecting yourself from additional claims

info@datascan.ie and 01 806 8531; ask for Orla Cafferty and remember to tell them that you are a CSNA member.

CSNA NEWS

13

IF YOU WISH TO JOIN THE CSNA, PLEASE CONTACT THE ASSOCIATION ON 045 535050

CSNA NEWS

Association meets Postpoint to discuss Leap cards Following the disclosure earlier this month that An Post had successfully tendered for a five year exclusive retail distribution contract for the Leap transport offering, the association was keen to ensure that the interests of those CSNA members currently selling Leap products would be represented.

In truth, there are several aspects of the new arrangement that have yet to be finalised and as such, our meeting did not conclude with any specific takeaway other than a solid commitment from PostPoint to further engage in advance of any firm decisions.

At the moment, a basic series of telephone contacts are being made to existing Payzone agents that are listed as Leap retailers to ascertain whether they would continue to sell

PostPoint has given the CSNA a solid commitment to engage with the association in advance of any firm decisions regarding Leap cards

the product after the changeover.

Given that the tele salesperson cannot provide any contractual information regarding deposits, terminals/printers/rolls, exclusivity, margins, or operational dates, it cannot be considered a particularly useful method of customer

CSNA NEWS

upon PostPoint/An Post to ensure that any existing Payzone agent that wishes to continue to sell Leap cards will not have unfair, uncompetitive or discriminatory barriers put up to discourage or dissuade the retailer from doing business with the new distributors.

As an association, we will continue to advocate for all our members, but it must be pointed out that if the existing 1,000 Payzone Leap sellers, the 920 post offices and the 1,600 PostPoint agents all elected to sell the products, the cost would be astronomical, the return for all parties would be derisory and a publicly funded infrastructure would once more be mired in waste and overspend.

CSNA ADVICE

Irish Water: CSNA seeks meeting to raise queries on billing methodology and leak fixing protocols

A Lotto satisfaction CSNA is delighted to welcome the announcement from Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) that auto activation on scratch cards is being implemented from early September 2022.

This news will come as a welcome relief to the network in general and particularly to the many agents who have fallen foul of the penalties imposed by PLI for numerous breaches of the nonactivation rule. In many cases our members suffered the embarrassment and penalty of five days trading with no Lottery products.

CSNA have always seen this rule as unfair and sought a solution to it from its inception. Through many high-level discussions and through our representation on The Lotto Users Council, we have consistently strived to help reach a solution which is reaching fruition now.

This change will eliminate almost 95% of previous reasons for breaches of PLI rules and will be seen as righting a wrong. The current number of “strikes” against an agent will still stand but we should see these disappear over a period of time. One point to bear in mind though is that your inactivated stock, previously

engagement, in our opinion.

When we met PostPoint, a number of details were disclosed including an acceptance that the commercial needs of retailers as PostPoint customers were every bit as important as those of the end user of the products.

Leap cards have a finite retail sales value; the physical offering will no doubt be rapidly subsumed into a model that will avoid any retailer interaction, as is the case of most modern rapid transport systems. The credit/debit card contactless payment at the point of transit departure will be rolled out by the NTA and they won’t care one bit for the retailer or the distributor - that’s the reality.

In the meantime, whether it is for five years or more, it’s incumbent

The CSNA has welcomed PLI’s decision to introduce the ‘auto activation’ of scratch cards

holding no value, must now be treated as valuable and expensive product, similar to tobacco and alcohol and should be kept in a secure and locked area until required for sale.

Also, while an inactivated ticket that is presented in another store may no longer incur penalties, it would be desirable that you continue to activate in-store for best practice and record keeping.

PLI will not automatically inform you of any books activated elsewhere but you can seek that information on request if you suspect you may have an issue.

In the past few weeks, several members have contacted us regarding what they consider to be anomalies in recent bills.

The default pricing is to charge for the same volume of water leaving the premises as wastewater as that which is metered going into it, with a variable charge applied depending on volume.

As all retailers with delis and coffee docks are aware, much of the water purchased and used in their business does not remain on-site and could not, therefore, be returned as wastewater. Many forecourts have motorists taking water for their vehicles and other purposes.

Some retailers may be aware that IW has a scheme in place to have a variable applied once it can be demonstrated that the volume out is at minimum 15% less than volume in; we provide some additional detail but will also be in further contact with all members subsequent to our meeting.

We will also seek clarification on what we would consider to be a very loose and ultimately selfincriminating requirement from IW on the process necessary to have credit applied for losses due to leaks.

If there are any other aspects of your business interactions with IW that you would like your association to raise, please contact us. ■

Please contact the CSNA if there are other aspects of your dealings with Irish Water that you would like the association to raise

www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife September 2022

14

OPINION

Dan’s Digest

With Dan White VieWs on the latest eConomiC & politiCal neWs

Amazon’s monster Irish warehouse opens A dedicated Irish Amazon website must now surely be only a matter of time, writes Dan White The opening of Amazon’s giant warehouse at Baldonnell, coming on top of several months of poor retail sales figures, further increases the pressure on Ireland’s main streets and shopping centres.

Amazon, the world’s most valuable retailer, quietly opened its first Irish warehouse at the beginning of August. The new warehouse is an absolute monster with 630,000 square feet of floorspace. That’s the equivalent of almost 15 acres.

The company says that the new warehouse will “create” up to 500 jobs. That of course is a gross rather than a net figure as it takes no account of the jobs that stand to be lost in established bricks and mortar retailers.

online spending With the latest Central Bank credit and debit card data indicating that up to 38% of all consumer spending is now going online (this includes spending on travel and on the websites of existing Irish retailers), it was always a question of when rather than if Amazon would open for business in this country instead of continuing to rely on its Irish customers to find their way to Amazon UK or to one of Amazon’s other European websites.

With Brexit having both complicated the process and driven up the cost of ordering goods online from Amazon’s UK website, a dedicated Irish Amazon website must now surely be only a matter of time.

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

The Amazon fulfilment centre at Baldonnell Business Park, Dublin, opened on 4 August (Photograph: Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie)

Retail sales decline

heading overseas

The news that Amazon has parked its tanks very firmly on its lawn comes at the same time as the latest CSO retail sales index confirms a very negative trend for established retailers. According to the CSO, the volume of retail sales fell by 1.6% in July compared to the previous month and by a massive 8.1% on July 2021.

And this was no one-off. The dreadful July retail sales figures came on top of the June figures which showed a 1.3% monthly fall and a 6.6% annual drop. Apart from bars, where sales rose a massive 57% following the end of Covid-19 restrictions, and department stores, and clothing and footwear, whose sales each rose by just over 4% following the end of lockdown, all other retail sales categories saw the volume of their July 2022 sales fall sharply compared to the same month of 2021.

The volume of motor sales was down by 16%, supermarket sales fell by 7.4%, food and beverages by almost 11%, motor fuel by 7.5% and hardware by 5.6%.

What this is clearly demonstrating is that, even before the most recent increases in gas and electricity bills, customers were cutting back on their spending. With the combined August and October increases set to add a cumulative 41% to electricity prices and an enormous 77% to gas prices, the squeeze on consumer spending is likely to get far worse before it gets better.

The latest CSO retail sales figures, somewhat unwittingly it must be said, demonstrate once again the huge proportion of Irish online spending that is leaving the country and going to overseas-based online retailers. While the credit and debit card data shows 38% of all spending going online, the CSO retail sales figures indicate just 4.4% of spending with Irish-based retailers went online.

While the CSO’s problems with gathering accurate data on online sales have been welldocumented, it seems reasonable to assume that a large proportion of this gap, perhaps a majority, is accounted for by sales from overseas-based online retailers to Irish customers.

Vat boost Still, it’s an ill wind that blows no good. Even after the changes in the VAT and customs rules on goods purchased from UK-based websites, following Brexit 19 months ago, very little Irish VAT was being paid on these purchases. The launch of a dedicated Irish Amazon website, by repatriating a large proportion of the online purchases made by Irish consumers, will deliver a significant VAT boost to the exchequer.

With the latest figures from the Department of Finance showing revenue from several taxes, particularly corporation tax, at what seem like suspiciously high, perhaps even unsustainable, levels, that extra revenue might come in very handy in the not-too-distant future.

OPINION

15

Donohoe should wait for eU As he gets up to deliver the budget on 27 September, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe is facing a mounting clamour to “do something” about soaring gas and electricity bills. On current trends, Irish households are facing the prospect of combined annual gas and electricity bills of up to €6,000 by early in the New Year.

Energy bills of this order of magnitude are clearly unaffordable for most households. The ESRI estimates that up 45% of all households are now in fuel poverty – which it defines as having to spend more than 10% of their disposable income on gas and electricity.

€2bn set of measures As the political pressure to soften the blow of higher energy prices on household budgets has intensified, the government has dangled the prospect of a €2bn set of measures, the centrepiece of which will be a €600 energy credit that would go to offset some of the higher gas and electricity prices.

This is both bad and good news for the Irish government. The bad news is that the €2bn package likely to be announced on 27 September is likely to prove insufficient, in fact it isn’t likely to come even close.

eU getting act together

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe is facing mounting pressure as Budget Day looms

Such a measure will do no more than buy the government some time, probably very little time. With Russia’s Ukrainian fiasco having now entered its seventh month, some sort of an end-game can’t be far off. This will almost certainly involve a complete shut-down of Russian gas supplies to Europe as Russia tries to bring the west to its knees economically while we attempt to choke off Putin’s principal source of export revenue.

The good news is that the EU finally seems to be getting its act together with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announcing a set of measures on 7 September. If agreed by the member countries, this will see a cap on the price paid by Europe for Russian gas, a windfall tax on fossil fuel producers and financial assistance to energy providers.

If the sharp fall in natural gas prices that followed von der Leyen’s statement is any guide, the markets half-expect this to work. Maybe Donohoe should keep his money in his pocket on 27 September and follow the EU’s lead instead. ■

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16

STORE PROFILE

In April 2022, Nearby celebrated its first birthday so it’s quite remarkable that so soon after this milestone, the brand celebrated its 100th store opening. The store in question is Nearby Creeslough, Co. Donegal and Fionnuala Carolan spoke to owner Annette Lafferty about running a grocery store in a small rural setting

Pictured here celebrating with their team, siblings Annette and Danny Lafferty have been working with S&W Wholesale for over seven years. They recently rebranded to Nearby making them the 100th Nearby store across the country

Keeping value Nearby A

nnette Lafferty and her brother Danny Lafferty jointly run Nearby Creeslough in the north east of Donegal. In this small rural village, a business like this is vital for the sustenance of the community and Annette says they have a very loyal customer base, which was further strengthened during Covid when they mutually relied on each other.

The siblings have been working with S&W Wholesale for over seven years and have only recently rebranded to Nearby making them the 100th Nearby store across the country and finding themselves at the centre of the milestone celebrations for the brand.

The Laffertys say there was no shortage of help from the wholesaler to get them over the line.

“Jason McSteen and Stephen Vincent from S&W Wholesale’s Nearby team both came down for a full week and got stuck in during

Retailing family

the changeover. The guys were really hands on and provided the shop with the support needed to make the change as seamless as possible. We changed signage, put in a new floor and extended the off-licence and really just refreshed the whole store,” explains Annette. The store operated as normal throughout and customers are now delighted with the fresh new look and feel of their local shop.

Nearby Creeslough offers a full grocery offering, an extensive deli, a bakery, a full off-licence, an ATM and an Applegreen forecourt

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

The duo worked in the shop, which was run by their father Danny Senior from an early age. “I started working in the shop after school from the age of 10 so shops are all I know,” explains Annette. “I know all the customers and the craic would be good. It was always the plan for me that I would take over from my dad. This shop has been trading under the management of my dad from the early 70s, and now the baton has been handed over to myself and Danny.”

Enquiring as to how they run the store between them, Annette says that it has just naturally evolved over the years. “I see us jointly managing it but Danny says I’m the boss,” she laughs. “It’s good to have someone to blame!”

Annette and Danny’s aunt ran the post office next door to the shop until she retired in May

Nearby’s Cuppa concept offers a perfect coffee, easy, quick and on the go

STORE PROFILE

17

so they took this over and it has added another dimension to the business. “I work there two days a week and employ someone for the other three days while I’m in the shop. It’s something different. I really enjoy it and we know most of the customers by their first names as soon as they come in. Its seen as a hub of the local community,” says Annette.

Shop offering The store has a full grocery offering, an extensive deli, a bakery, a full off-licence, an ATM and an Applegreen forecourt, everything that a small community would need.

“We were really busy during Covid, and we started doing deliveries and we are still doing them for older customers today. Everyone wanted to go to the smaller, local shops and I think the fact that we were open from 7.30am to 11pm, meant that people who were more cautious could come in earlier or later. I was always conscious of Covid and how it could impact the local community if our staff were to get it. Our staff and customers are of paramount importance to us, and we ensured that we had the correct safety measures in place to reduce the risk. Because we are in a rural setting and people would walk here, it would have been an awful loss for them if they didn’t have the local shop,” she explains.

“I always wanted us to be a one-stop-shop so if you didn’t want to go into Letterkenny to do a big shop then you didn’t have to go and we would have everything you need. We have people who would do the majority of their shopping with us and we have a couple of customers we see four or five times a day. One customer in particular, if he’s not in a few times a day, I start to worry about him!” she says.

S&W Wholesale Nearby is certainly making an impact nationally. Reaching the 100th store in just over a year is an impressive achievement given the fact the convenience market is already quite saturated in Ireland. According to Annette, S&W is “very easy to deal with and

The deli offers a tempting selection of hot savouries

The store uses several local suppliers mainly for meat and bread products including Stephen Kerr’s Lamb, Noone’s Chicken, the Highland Bakery and McGettigan’s Bakery from Letterkenny

have really packed a punch in the convenience sector”.

The biggest challenge in retailing in general is pricing and availability but the Laffertys have been shielded from this due to S&W being particularly strong on both of these.

Annette says that they would be known for their value and service in-store which is made possible from the competitive prices they receive from S&W. We hear time and again from Nearby retailers that not having a franchise fee is a very attractive element of being with the brand. But Annette says that the flexibility is just as important and something you would not get from “the bigger boys”. “We buy most of our stock from S&W anyway as the pricing is really good. Supply is also very good and a lot of suppliers and wholesalers are struggling,” she states.

Keeping it local The Laffertys use a few local suppliers mainly for meat and bread products including Stephen Kerr’s Lamb, Noone’s Chicken, the Highland Bakery and McGettigan’s Bakery from Letterkenny.

There are “northern lines” like soda bread and potato farls that sell well in the summertime with the influx of Northern holiday makers. The next village down the road from Creeslough is Dunfanaghy which would be a real tourist spot and the area is full of holiday homes and this benefits the business in the summer months. The Irish Legends Golf is held in nearby Downings each year and Annette says they always “get a bounce out of that and it helps everybody,” she explains.

Due to the extra population during the summer months, the orders for the shop increase accordingly for the few months but one area of the shop where they’ve seen a decline in recent years is newspapers. “Every summer I used to increase the paper order to keep up with demand during the tourist

season. However, I haven’t increased this order during the last two years. A certain age group will still get the paper however, many young people don’t buy papers.” In contrast, greeting cards have seen a sharp increase since Covid and especially since they took on the post office.

Marketing Nearby has a very strong marketing team and that’s one of the main elements that encouraged the Laffertys to move to the brand. “The social media side is brilliant and something we probably couldn’t have done ourselves,” Annette says. “We would need somebody in full time, just to see to that side of it. They have a great handle on that. They can personalise something for you and know how to reach the best audience for your store.

We have a campsite across the road that has been increasing in capacity over the last number of years. The Nearby digital team have the ability to geo target specific areas and attract new and existing customers to our store, and we have noticed an impact from this. You can see a direct impact from a Facebook ad as people are always on their phones,” she says.

With winter approaching, Annette says, “It’s probably sensible to expect it to be a tough one with so many unknowns around the price of oil and rising household bills. I think it’s sensible to have some concerns as it’s going into the unknown and we don’t know where it will stop. The price of oil is immoral, and I think some people will suffer this winter.”

Experiencing a natural lift with their revamped store and new brand, the Laffertys look forward to being there for their local customers this winter and beyond. With the strong partnership they have with S&W and the Nearby retail team, they will continue to offer great service and value to this small Donegal community. ■ www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife September 2022

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20 FEATURE

Total recall

After a recent spate of product recalls, Fionnuala Carolan talks to retailers about the impact of these unpredictable events on business and what the lasting effect of a recall can be for a brand’s customers

Product recalls impact thousands of companies every year putting consumers and brands at risk. A recall can happen for a myriad of reasons from incorrect labelling to the detection of a dangerous ingredient. If managed poorly, a recall could have devastating consequences on a company’s reputation, market share and bottom line.

It is often the case that Irish supermarkets have to ask customers not to consume certain food products after issuing recalls on items.

There are procedures in place in order to minimise the disruption but every recall comes with a level of risk to your customers and to the brand’s reputation.

Most recent recalls In recent months alone, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland has recalled numerous well-known brands from the major Irish supermarkets for various reasons. Batches of Haagen-Dazs ice cream products were recalled due to the detection of 2-Chloroethanol, a recognised reaction product of ethylene oxide which is banned for use in foods in Europe. A batch of Mars Bounty Ice Cream Bars was recalled for the same reason.

Tesco was forced to recall a batch of Free From Digestive Biscuits amid fears it could contain small metal pieces. Additionally a

batch of Fray Bentos Just Chicken Pie was pulled from shelves in Tesco, SuperValu, and Dunnes Stores due to the possible presence of plastic. Meadow Park Eggs were recalled due to the possible presence of Salmonella and Roma’s Formaggio Da Pasta cheese powder was pulled due to the potential presence of mould.

With all of these incidents, point-of-sale recall notices have to be displayed in stores supplied with the implicated batches and the retailer is required to give shoppers refunds when returning any of the affected batches.

None of this is ideal in a busy retail environment.

FSAI answers

Customers might think product recalls are “more prevalent because there’s more talk about them on social media than there ever was before,” says Jonathon Mooney, manager of Eurospar Dungarvan, Co. Waterford

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

We wondered if product recalls were becoming more common or if this is just a perception based on increased media reporting and information garnered through social media. A representative from the Food Safety of Ireland told ShelfLife that in fact recalls are down this year compared with last.

“To date this year, FSAI has issued 93 food alerts and food allergen alerts for product recalls. During the same period last year (Jan 2021-Aug 2021), 104 food alerts and food allergen alerts were published,” the representative said.

“There have been less food alerts and food allergen alerts published by the FSAI in 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. It is noted that from January - August 2022, FSAI published seven alerts notifying consumers of the recall of certain food items due to the presence of ethylene oxide, this is compared to 23 food alerts published for the same period in 2021. A certain amount of fluctuation year on year is to be expected,” it said.

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22

FEATURE

The FSAI believes that not all recalls negatively affect a business but that businesses need to ensure their products are fit for purpose or face the consequences.

“The impact on businesses varies depending on the nature of the issue and risk to public health, distribution channels, quantity of implicated stock etc. The onus is on food business operators to ensure products placed on the market are compliant with EU legislation and safe,” explains the FSAI.

Retailers’ rapid responses Retailers and wholesalers all have individual processes in place to deal with recalls thus diminishing the effects of them as much as possible. Musgrave operates a Rapid Response Process ensuring all stores are notified within a matter of hours so that affected products are removed from the shelves to ensure the safety of its customers.

According to Musgrave’s website: “Some recalls or withdrawals can include in-store notices, notification to online customers by email and media press releases. All recalls are managed by the Food Safety & Quality team who also liaise closely with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland in addition to other agencies.”

Chris O’Driscoll, manager of SuperValu, Casletroy, Co. Limerick thinks there is a good system in place for dealing with recalls but he says he would worry about his customers when recalls happen. “Your fear is that someone has consumed something and you just want to protect your customers,” he says.

However, O’Driscoll has never experienced any adverse reactions yet and explains what he does when a recall happens: “The email would come through and it has a link on it and you would print out the notice and stick that up in front of the product on-shelf. If a customer has bought any of the affected products, they’ll bring them back for a refund. The company will look after us then. Customers will see it on social media and news sites online so people are often aware of it from there already,” he explains.

The biggest incident that sticks in his mind is the Kinder recall earlier this year, whereby the manufacturer, Ferrero, implemented a recall “due to some implicated products being linked

“The impact on businesses varies depending on the nature of the issue and risk to public health, distribution channels, quantity of implicated stock etc. The onus is on food business operators to ensure products placed on the market are compliant with EU legislation and safe.”

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) to a current outbreak of Salmonella infection,” the FSAI stated at the time. “We explained the situation to the customers,” says O’Driscoll.

“We were telling people not to be too worried but not to consume the affected products if they hadn’t already.”

With regard to reputational damage of a product, O’Driscoll says it depends on what the product is. “I find baby food would be the big one. I think the confidence could be gone with it then. It didn’t affect the sales of Kinder because people accept that it’s a one off and they have confidence in the product recall system. But baby food is a worry as it could be a very good seller but after a recall, it would be very much reduced for a while anyway.”

Fintan Battles, manager of Eurospar Ennis, Co. Clare, says that BWG has an excellent system in place to deal with product recalls.

“BWG has an online platform to deal with recalls so we do it all through that,” he explains. “On our internal system, the extranet, you have to print the information out. It won’t let you go on until you print off the notice for the customer to put up on the shelf. It means you are definitely following it through.”

Do customers come back for refunds if they have already bought the product? “Very rarely,” he says. “Maybe we had two in the last year. We have to leave the sign up for a certain amount of time. The Environmental Health Officer (EHO) came into me on a number of occasions to make sure we had the signs up and at the point of sale, so I now send on a copy of the product recall sign to our EHO to keep her in the loop as well,” he explains.

The Food Safety of Ireland (FSAI) told ShelfLife that in fact recalls are down this year compared with last

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

Asked whether it affects sales of the product going forward, Battles says: “I don’t really know if it affects a product too much but I do remember from the Sacla Pesto recall a couple of years ago, we don’t sell as much of that now but it might not be directly related to that,” he muses.

While he doesn’t see a recall as a logistical nightmare, there are some instances where they can be required to destroy the product at store level, adding significantly to the waste bill for that week or month.

“We have an account with S&W Wholesale and they had a recall on Haagen-Dazs ice cream in the last couple of months and their system means that I take a photo of the quarantined stock and throw it out and they reimburse for the quantity. I’d say I had 150/160 tubs of ice-cream that had to go out.

There was a preservative in it that is not authorised to be used in the EU. We get a full refund but no money to dispose of it. There was a lot of weight in it. That was an unusual one as I’d only be buying that once a month.

Normally it wouldn’t be that amount of stock,” he clarifies.

Jonathon Mooney, manager of Eurospar Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, also credits BWG with having a great recall system in place. “It won’t leave the portal until you have it actioned,” he explains.

Mooney says that no one has ever come back looking for a refund from his store and that not every product recall affects them as they are a relatively small store so they don’t stock all products.

“Most of the time the recall is due to a different language being on the ingredients list or something like that so it wouldn’t necessarily always be recalled because it’s dangerous to consume,” he explains.

However he believes that social media has changed things for brands. “If someone decides to have a rant on social media, the reach is far and wide so it’s better for the company to be safe than sorry. I’d say customers might think it’s more prevalent because there’s more talk about it on social media than there ever was before. I don’t think the general public appreciate that companies are going that extra mile to ensure people’s safety,” says Mooney.

“I would say companies are more careful than they’ve ever been. They’re taking no chances and just uplifting everything,” he believes. Better safe than sorry seems to be the mantra for brands and retailers across the board and it seems like retailers are quite accepting of that, preferring a bit of extra logistics to the possibility of endangering a customer and the fallout from that. ■

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24 FEATURE

Crunch time for energy costs

A

s we head towards the announcement of Budget 2023 on 27 September, the question of how the government will help SME retailers deal with crippling energy bills is paramount.

Retailers’ concerns are only too real, and the figures involved are alarming. Calling on Taoiseach Michael Martin to act now to address the astronomical increases, Retail Grocery Dairy & Allied Trades Association (RGDATA) director general Tara Buckley said: “I have just been contacted by a retailer who said they burst into tears when they opened the energy bill for August. It has jumped from €6,000 in January to €15,000 in July and now €21,000 for August. This is just not sustainable and is threatening the very future of these essential local food businesses.” In a bid to make a significant intervention to stop job losses and shop closures, RGDATA has also asked members to complete a short survey outlining their experiences at www.surveymonkey.com/r/VYCWJ3J.

Pressure across the board Back in June, ShelfLife spoke to a Co. Kerry retailer, who at that stage, said his monthly electricity costs had already more than doubled to €12,000 in his latest bill. “The single biggest challenge is energy costs,” he said. “Margins will also probably get affected slightly going forward because value will have to be offered and I would expect, a bit like post-recession the last time back in 2012 and 2013, the multiples will kick in and it’s going to put pressure on margins and pricing will be very competitive.”

Another Dublin-based off-licence retailer told ShelfLife: “It’s a challenging time, there’s pressure on every cost. There’s not any range of products that haven’t been affected. We’re getting a letter through the door every week

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

from suppliers citing their pressures from packaging, glass costs, metal costs, transport costs and then obviously inflation which obviously leads to pressures on people’s wages. There are pressures on all costs across the business at present.”

Unsustainable levels This chimes with the experience of the owner of a small coffee shop in the centre of Athlone, reported on recently in The Irish Times, who was shocked to discover she had been charged almost €10,000 for just over two months of energy usage. Owner Geraldine Dolan realised the cost of electricity to her Poppyfields cafe for 73 days from early June until the end of August came in at €9,024.70.

This was an increase of 250% in just 12 months, and didn’t include the €812.22 increase in VAT, which brought her total bill to €9,836.92.

“We have gone from paying a daily rate of €34 last year to paying €123 per day now,” Dolan said. “When those figures are spread across the cost of a year it means an annual electricity bill which would have been around €12,000 is now going to be around €45,000.

There is no way we will be able to cope with that. We will pay this bill because we have used the electricity, but we would not be able to pay at that level every two months.”

Neil McDonnell of small and medium businesses umbrella group Isme said the experience was being replicated in businesses across the country, with some seeing energy price increase of well in excess of 300%.

year. Based on current outlook, the average Centra store will see energy bills rise from circa €50,000 in 2021 to up to as much as €200,000 in September 2022.

“The current inflationary environment, coupled with soaring energy costs, has put our retail partners under pressure like never before,” Allen said. “Energy is the second highest bill, after labour, a store owner must meet and with sales volumes back on last year, the new crisis of rapidly surging energy costs is compounding the cost of doing business in a high volume and low margin sector.”

Musgrave has called for a temporary financial support package to be introduced for community retailers, which contains a comprehensive suite of measures including the introduction of an energy price cap.

Not scaremongering The Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association (CSNA) has likewise been outspoken in representing its members’ urgent

Pressure like never before Indeed, Ian Allen, managing director of SuperValu and Centra, recently highlighted that the average energy bill for a SuperValu and Centra is expected to treble, and in some cases quadruple from September since last

“CSNA and other employer representative bodies have a path worn to various ministers and relevant government departments alerting them to retailers’ perilous state,” says CSNA CEO Vincent Jennings

2023 ShelfLife Directory Diary & Sourcebook

is Ireland’s comprehensive reference guide for the top retailers and buyers covering Ireland’s independent, symbol, multiple, forecourt and cash & carry sectors. With a host of new features including g in The list Retailer Guides, Category Guides, comprehensive Supplier 295 € f fee o r d fo is wave Directory, Retailer A-Z, full Brand/Product Index as well tisers r all adve nsors as a 12 month Diary section making it the only one of its and spo kind on the market.

Retailer Guides

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First Choice Supplier Padraig Nolan, business development manager for Retail Solutions, outlines the company’s innovative Epos options and solutions, along with the key considerations any retailer should have when considering a change…

Over the past 20 years, Retail Solutions has been delivering innovative Epos products for retailers across a range of sectors including convenience, supermarket, forecourts, hospitality, hardware and pharmacy. As a result, it has consistently outperformed its competitors in the field of Epos technology to maintain its position as the first choice supplier for hundreds of businesses.

Having long been a market leader in Ireland, Retail Solutions has undergone rapid expansion in recent years in both the UK and Australia. The success of these projects is a testament to the strength of the company’s award-winning software products.

components are credit card or cashless payments, Billpay, Mobile Top-ups and Cigarette vending.

ePossibilities…

The best Epos systems support your business and help it to grow. They work to create efficient synergies between customers, retailer and supplier, while delivering the optimum margin. To that end, there are a range of options, and also a range of considerations a retailer should make before choosing the system that’s right for them…

First, Consult your Team The introduction of an EPoS system into a retail business can present a challenge to both staff and management. It is therefore

important that key personal are involved from the start and present for all system demonstrations to ascertain how easy they are to use and provide feedback.

A new Epos system marks a significant change for a business, so this collaborative approach will ensure staff are fully invested from the start.

Functionality Start the process by putting together a specification of what you need from your EPoS system. Think in terms of the additional services you want to deliver to your customers, productivity from the supply chain and enhanced management information systems. Your EPoS supplier must achieve this level of functionality at a minimum to be considered. Some more elaborate functions may only be employed periodically so its of the utmost importance that the basics work well and can be relied upon to delivery efficiency’s , optimum profit margins and a quick return on your investment.

Installation When it comes to pre-planning an Epos installation, no amount of preparation is too much! Conducting an installation during off-peak times is certainly beneficial, but not always practical. Retail Solutions recommend installing the new system’s back-office component in advance; this way, management can familiarise itself with the operation prior to going “live” on the shop floor. This process also affords you the opportunity to conduct a full review of all relevant information pertaining to your products and suppliers especially cost prices.

Training Any software product is only as good as your ability to use it.

Both managers and staff must be trained adequately so that they can enjoy the benefits and features of a modern EPoS

system. A good idea is to schedule a training session sometime after the installation so that you then have a clear focus on where attention is required.

Future Proofing Your new EPoS system must meet the current needs of your business; ideally it will exceed them. However, it is also important to consider whether it can cope with future technological or industry specific developments. Will its capabilities be stretched by new products, innovations or regulations? Can the system cope with further expansion, Head Office installation, loyalty schemes or integration with a commercial website? These are essential considerations pre-installation, even if they are not immediate requirements. Bear in mind that 3 years can represent a lifetime in the world of IT! Therefore your EPoS supplier must demonstrate a track record and commitment to ongoing software development. They must also have a proven ability of responding to industry developments with the delivery of innovative products.

The Retail Solutions Approach

Retail Solutions concur with a recent survey published on Linkedin that the two most important factors when deciding upon an EPoS system are ease of use and functionality. We excel in this regard and strive to meet both the immediate and future EPoS needs of your business. Taking a consultative approach with our customers builds strong relationships that deliver the very best in class, value for money EPoS systems.

For more information on Retail Solutions, you are invited to visit the website at www.retailsolutions.ie or contact Padraig Nolan, Business Development Manager, Retail Solutions: padraig.nolan@retailsolutions.ie or 087 917 0571. ■

Integration Ease of use will often be defined by an EPoS system’s ability to encompass integration. In this regard, the key consideration is that as many third-party services as is practical in the retail environment are integrated seamlessly onto the POS terminals. The most popular integration

?

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• Stationery

• Selling alcohol – a practical guide

• Chilled foods

• The importance of hygiene training

• Coffee to go

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• Insurance – strike the best deal

• Crisps and snacks

• Food and hygiene

• Dairy • Fresh fruit and veg • Frozen foods

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26 FEATURE

concerns to government. “The difficulties we have in Brexit-related and post-Covid problems have been entirely overshadowed by the unprecedented increases in our gas and electricity bills, coupled with the unsustainable additional costs of fuel for both our businesses and our customers’ purses,” said CSNA national president John Paul Lonergan. “These are not scaremongering words,” he added. “It is obvious from all of the contacts we are receiving from members that the energy crisis has the ability to inflict horrendous damage to our businesses.”

“The prospect of any viable business having to seriously contemplate the prospect of closing due to the cost of electricity should be sufficient to alert the ‘powers that be’ that a national crisis is in the making,” added CSNA CEO Vincent Jennings.

“CSNA and other employer representative bodies have a path worn to various ministers and relevant government departments alerting them to the perilous state that we are heading towards,” said Jennings,” expressing his hopes that their collective voices have been heard and that Budget 2023 will “provide sufficient comfort for our members, their staff, and their customers”.

Taoiseach’s response In response to a letter from RGDATA outlining the issues facing retailers, Taoiseach Michael Martin replied: “The government is acutely

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

aware of the impact on businesses, and on wider society, of the recent increase in prices, especially the increase in fuel and other energy costs arising from the invasion of Ukraine.

Already, the government has responded with a number of substantive measures including reductions in the VAT rate on gas and electricity and on excise duties on fuel.

“The upcoming budget, Budget 2023, will include further significant measures to address cost pressures, measures which people, and businesses, will feel in their pockets within weeks,” he continued. “While there are limits to what government can do, in particular so as to ensure we do not exacerbate or add to inflationary pressures, we are committed to taking the appropriate and necessary steps to address the current challenge.”

Options under consideration While the government certainly faces an unenviable task in this regard, it is crucial that Budget 2023 gets this balancing act right.

Shortly before ShelfLife headed to print, Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath said that domestic price caps are being “examined” by the government but electricity credits are set to be the main focus of supports.

Ministers will consider electricity bill price caps, which were put in place in the UK by newly appointed British prime minister Liz Truss, in an ambitious and costly plan where households will pay no more than £2,500 (€2,886) a year for the next two years.

Retailers’ rising energy bills are “just not sustainable” and are “threatening the very future of these essential local food businesses,” says RGDATA director general Tara Buckley

“We will examine in detail what the UK is proposing, we’ll have more details in relation to the European Commission’s proposal and the work of the EU energy ministers, but in the meantime, we are developing the suite of options around direct supports for households and for businesses,” Minister McGrath said.

“I think that is the most likely scenario, but we are not ruling out any option at this stage,” he added. With businesses already working to control and reduce their energy bills as tightly as they can, we can only trust that the right decisions will be implemented in order to avoid the worst possible option of all – small businesses being forced to shup up shop. ■

©2021 NielsenIQ data, value & unit sales, Male Face care, 52 w/e 02.01.2022 ROI Total Scantrack

AT SPAR, WE NEVER STAND STILL

TOSEEHOWWECANHELPYOU ANDYOURBUSINESSGROW... join us CONTACT: COLINDONNELLY,SPARSALESDIRECTOR: 0863803924 EMAIL:CDONNELLY@BWG.IE OR SARAHCONROY: 0867760815 EMAIL:SCONROY@BWG.IE

28 ADVISOR: Marketing

Embracing a reset

With so many fundamental challenges besetting us across all economic sectors, ‘reset’ has become the new catchword for confronting these issues head-on. Colin Gordon outlines how a coordinated approach led by marketing can reap dividends

COLIN GORDON

marketing expert

“A real understanding of marketing would use this opportunity to reset where the marketing function is in the business setting and to ensure it is made more central to how the business operates generally,” writes Colin Gordon

I

t’s remarkable that for every major social or economic issue a new word or phrase seems to be introduced into the common narrative, the lexicon of life.

Whenever something significant happens we’re quick to ‘brand’ it, to give it a personality. In this vein, we’ve had Watergate from the 1970s and more recently, and more locally to Ireland, Golfgate and any number of ‘gates’ in between.

Business lexicon In business, we are pretty good at inventing or taking over phrases for our own communication needs. So, we’ve got “blue sky thinking”, “pushing the envelope”, “bandwidth”, “silo thinking”, “pivoting” and let’s not forget “failure is not an option” (accepting that some of these phrases have gone outside of the boundaries of business!).

But a new word has entered our vocabulary: “reset”. With so many fundamental challenges facing us across all economic sectors, business is ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

trying to see how to cope and what ‘direction of travel’ to set out on.

These challenges include - but are not limited to - the return of inflation, supply chain difficulties, labour challenges, Brexit fallout, environmental issues and a sense of an increasingly regulatory oversight. And all (or certainly most) of these came in sharp focus no sooner were we reopening post-pandemic. Wow! No wonder there’s a lot of talk about readjusting our perspectives, reviewing our business plans and strategies.

‘Reset’ has become the catchword for all our endeavours in the face of these challenges.

Full review needed An analogy may be useful. Let’s imagine our business is a car. Let’s further imagine that the car started off on its journey in fine fettle but the

road conditions deteriorated and the car was found to be in some bother.

Something needs to be done or the car (i.e., our business in this analogy) will not be able to travel safely or even get to its destination. In the past the suspension may have needed some work, or maybe the brakes or the transmission (and we can imagine which parts of the business suspension and so forth could represent). So many potholes and bumps and road slides and skiddy surfaces have emerged that it’s clear that a full mechanical review is needed. Bad fuel, failing lights, broken windscreen wipers and so on.

Businesses right now are experiencing all these analogous difficulties and there are more and more calls for a full reset. Most of these calls and the intention behind them seem to focus on ‘value’ – can you readjust your prices to meet the

“Resetting needs to be more than individual functions having a ‘strategic review’ with no coordinating overall objective.”

ADVISOR: Marketing 29

inflationary challenge? But a real understanding of marketing would use this opportunity to reset where it is in the business setting and to ensure it, marketing, is made more central to how the business operates generally. Resetting in this regard would see the customer (or consumer) made much more central to the business. It would lead a “deep dive” into the whole of the business to better understand how to adjust the product, the service (distribution or place in the 4Ps of marketing), the customer engagement (promotion), and the overall value proposition (price). A full reassessment of all the things the business does and why the business does them in the first place will (not may, will!) throw up a whole plethora of efficiency improvements. This will allow for pricing options or margin improvements, as well as a better understanding of the customer journey and how to make it as good as possible.

marketing should lead I think marketing is best to lead this full reset. Marketing is best positioned in the organisation when it can look up the value chain (out to the distributor, the customer, the consumer and the competition) and

down the chain (to the product recipe, the packaging formats, the call centre, the sales team, the invoicing system etc). But some organisations may not have a formal marketing function. No matter! The best resetting will put the whole of the value chain on the table and look up and down.

The idea is to put the customer first and to reassess the business operations to rip out legacy activities and built-in inefficiencies.

This can be done by finance, the CEO or ‘HR’. But resetting needs to be more than individual functions having a ‘strategic review’ with no coordinating overall objective.

I said above that the current set of challenges offer marketing an opportunity.

But because marketing tends to largely be misunderstood by business, media and even government, resetting has distilled down to a call from some to stop advertising and put the money into price reductions (à la calls from senior ministers in London!), and/or calls for abandoning ESG strategies (especially environmental objectives) as some activist investors have called for Unilever to do. Marketing has a great opportunity to lead a business’s real reset, keep its eye on the bigger picture and build a better operating model for the future. ■

‘Marketing is in trouble: How we got here and 10 steps to get us out’ by Colin Gordon is now available to purchase, published by Orpen Press.

To get your hands on a copy, visit the following: www.orpenpress.com UK: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08M9XY6HF US: www.amazon.com/dp/B08M9XY6HF Ireland: Marketing is in trouble eBook by Colin Gordon - 9781786051127.

Rakuten Kobo Ireland - www.kobo.com/ie/en/ ebook/marketing-is-in-trouble.

INTERVIEW

20

QUICK QUESTIONS WITH

Jennifer Mulvey

1. Best place for coffee?

New Pret store - Organic Coffee.

2. Favourite movie?

‘It's Complicated’ starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keating.

3. Top book recommendation?

‘Conscious Language’ by Robert Tennyson Stevens.

JENNIFER MULVEY

managing director at award-winning wellness drinks company, SiSú 4. Which social media platform do you use most?

Instagram.

country effectively.

16. City or beach break?

10. If you had to live in another country, where would you choose?

City.

5. Best ad on telly?

Dunnes Stores Christmas ad.

Denmark.

6. Worst ad on telly?

Virgin TV ad.

Having my children.

7. Favourite grocery shop?

A mix of Dunnes Stores and SuperValu.

SiSú.

8. What would you cook if you were to compete in ‘Come Dine With Me’ and would you win?

An Italian dish, Spicy Chicken Abbriatta – Absolutely.

9. First thing you would do if you were Taoiseach?

Bring in the best business minds who specialise in their area to help run the

11. Greatest achievement to date?

12. Best website?

13. Most annoying public figure?

There are lots but everyone has their flaws.

14. Best piece of advice you ever received?

Focus on the now, you cannot change the past and you cannot live in the future yet.

17. Top restaurant recommendation?

Roly's Restaurant, Ballsbridge.

18. Pop or rock?

Pop. 19. Favourite time of the day?

8pm.

20. What’s the last compliment you received?

I received a lovely compliment from my daughter this week – “Thank you for the opportunities you have given me throughout my life!” ■

15. Biggest fear?

I have none.

www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife September 2022

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Whole chocco-lot of love!

A major impulse driver in-store, continuous innovation from the leading brands is ensuring that confectionery continues to be a star category performer, across both individual treats and sharing formats. With the ‘Big Night In’ occasion becoming even more prominent since the pandemic and both Halloween and Christmas on the horizon, now is the time to ensure you are maximising your offering to boost sales, writes Gillian Hamill

W

hen it comes to products that consumers impulse buy, retailers know that sugar confectionery is particularly tempting, especially to children.

As a nation, we Irish are becoming more health conscious, so natural confections, as well as sugar-free and reduced sugar products are gaining momentum in the category.

KitKat Chunky Caramel features runny caramel on top of the classic wafer, encased in smooth milk chocolate

Innovation drives success New products are a key driver of growth within the confectionery category, especially from well established brands.

Since launching in 1999, KitKat Chunky has delighted fans with its exciting limited edition flavours, including Salted Caramel Popcorn, Cookie Dough, Coconut, Chocolate Fudge and New York Cheesecake. The latest addition to the line-up features a flavour much-loved amongst Irish consumers. Available in both a single and multipack format, KitKat Chunky Caramel consists of a thick layer of runny

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

Manufacturers have also developed gelatinefree options suitable for vegan and vegetarian customers, as well as gluten-free options for coeliacs.

Even so, it remains that most consumers prioritise taste when it comes to confectionery, meaning there’s still plenty of demand for indulgent treats. In a constantly

evolving sector, it is critical for retailers to ensure they are stocking the biggest brands to drive a strong rate of sale and therefore profit. New products, tempting and different new flavours and formats which pique customers’ curiosity are crucial in continuing to drive category excitement and drive impulse sales.

caramel on top of the brand’s classic wafer, all covered by KitKat’s trademark smooth milk chocolate.

That’s not all in terms of new Chunky variants as KitKat has also launched KitKat Chunky Lotus Biscoff featuring the brand’s trademark crispy wafer topped with a delicious Lotus Biscoff filling, all covered with milk chocolate.

Earlier this year, KitKat also introduced a zesty treat with the launch of a KitKat 4 Finger Orange single and multipack and an indulgent new offering KitKat 2 Finger White, the classic two finger biscuit variant covered in smooth white chocolate.

Within chocolate sharing bags KitKat Bites are another exciting addition to the category.

KitKat Bites are KitKat, but not as you know it!

With a deliciously smooth and chocolatey centre, crunchy wafer pieces and a milk chocolate shell, KitKat Bites offer consumers a more indulgent way to enjoy a break.

Like the rest of the KitKat range, these variants use Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa that has been responsibly sourced as part of the Nestlé Cocoa Plan, and contain no artificial colours, flavours, or preservatives.

KitKat Bites offer a more indulgent way to enjoy a break

w o e l N a l b i a v A

CATEGORY FOCUS Confectionery

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Like the rest of the Smarties range, Smarties White use recyclable paper packaging

The science and technology behind the Aero brand, with its unique combination of chocolate and bubbles that melt effortlessly, have made it a unique offering from the start.

Since then, Nestlé has continually looked for new ways to allow consumers experience the brand’s famous bubbles and this year launched a new innovation, Aero Melts.

Launching within chocolate sharing bags, Aero Melts are delicious discs of light and bubbly chocolate that melt effortlessly in the mouth and are available in a milk chocolate and a caramel flavour.

Smarties have been synonymous with colourful, chocolatey fun for 85 years – and earlier this year the brand celebrated its landmark birthday with the launch of white chocolate Smarties. In recent years white chocolate has been becoming increasingly popular and a white chocolate variant of Smarties has long been the number one request from Smarties fans.

Smarties White initially launched in a single tube format followed by a sharing bag and white chocolate fans will welcome the news that there will also be a Smarties White giant tube launching this Christmas. Like the rest of the range, these new variants come in recyclable paper packaging following Smarties’ move in 2021 to become the first global confectionery brand to move all its products to paper.

base filled with hazelnuts. Each of these flavours have fantastic breadth of appeal so these variants will offer a significant growth opportunity within the sharing block category.

Meanwhile, After Eight celebrates its 60th birthday this year and what better way to ‘CelebrEight’ this chocolate mint than with a special edition pack design on its core 300g offering. Also new for Christmas 2022 is the launch of After Eight - The Collection, a boxed inlaid delectable selection of indulgent milk, white and dark chocolates that bring something new while remaining true to all that consumers love about After Eight.

Available in a slim stick 38g format, the Lindt Lindor Treat Bar is an ideal on-the go treat, available in a range of delectable flavours flavours

After Eight - The Collection is a boxed inlaid delectable selection of indulgent milk, white and dark chocolates

Rowntrees is a brand long synonymous with sugar confectionery and earlier in 2022, Rowntrees expanded its vegan friendly offering within sugar confectionery to ensure as many people as possible can now enjoy its fruity chews. Vegan friendly Rowntrees Fruit Gums and Rowntrees Pick & Mix joined the existing range alongside vegan friendly Rowntrees Fruit Pastilles and Rowntrees Jelly Tots. Suitable for those following vegetarian, vegan and religious diets, these new offerings are likely to attract incremental shoppers. The full Rowntrees range of singles, multipacks and sharing bags also contains no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.

A more premium option

Quality Street has created two new flavours which both boast a breadth of appeal Consumer tasting shows the Duplo biscuit bar has a wide appeal across age groups

Given the increased interest in gifting sharing blocks over the past few years, it is clear that consumers are seeking out new ways to enjoy seasonal confectionery. Just in time for Christmas, Nestlé will launch two new sharing blocks inspired by two of Quality Street’s most popular flavours. The Quality Street Favourites Orange Crunch bar features a milk chocolate shell with an orange flavour filling and crunchy orange flavour pieces, while the Quality Street Favourites The Purple One features a layer of caramel on a milk chocolate

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

The Duplo biscuit bar features two delicate layers of crispy wafer, sandwiched between a smooth hazelnut centre and coated in delicious milk chocolate.

At 100 kcals each and individually wrapped, Duplo is a tasty on-the-go treat for any time of the day. Consumer testing in the UK and Ireland shows a wide appeal across age groups, particularly amongst adults aged 24-45*, due to its distinctive nutty taste and flavour, and creamy texture. This research shows the strong opportunity for retailers to shake up their chocolate biscuit fixture with Duplo, a more premium option. *(Source: CPT research)

Melt into bliss Shoppers can now experience the bliss of Lindor in a delicious milk chocolate bar. Since 1845, Lindt has been dedicated to producing the finest chocolates using recipes expertly created by the Lindt master chocolatiers. They have weaved their magic and transformed the iconic Lindor Milk Chocolate Truffles into an equally irresistible chocolate bar.

Lindt & Sprüngli is a leader in the confectionery category offering a wide selection of premium quality chocolate. Lindt continues to grow from strength to strength in Ireland. As the number one premium chocolate countline, the Lindor Treat Bar is driving growth in convenience stores ahead of the market and is a proven must-stock range for retailers this year.

Available in a slim stick 38g format, it is an ideal on-the go treat and available in a range of delectable flavours. The number one product in the range is the classic Lindor Milk with a smooth milk chocolate hiding an irresistibly creamy filling. This is followed by the most recent edition, Salted Caramel which features smooth melting milk chocolate with salt crystals; “an irresistible combination” according to the brand. Each flavour promises to be a “blissful” experience for consumers’ taste buds. Available in retailers nationwide.

This year, make your sales blissful and give your shoppers the most luxurious choice with Lindor! *(Source: Nielsen - Total Scantrack – Lindor Milk 38g Bar – Value ROS Average - Latest 12 weeks to 22.05.22 vs. prior 12-week period)

Crafting Christmas since 1932 Celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, Butlers Chocolates is Ireland’s premier familyowned firm dedicated to the craft of exceptional chocolate-making. According to 2022 ‘Opinions Research’, it’s also Ireland’s favourite brand of luxury Irish chocolates.

For a luxury chocolate gift sure to impress this festive season, look no further than

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The Chocolate Collection by Butlers features a stylish and contemporary selection of chocolate truffles, pralines and caramels in 185g and 300g sizes

Butlers Ballotins, which continue to be a muststock premium Irish-made chocolate gift.

Available in three sizes (160g, 320g and 480g featuring, 12, 24 and 36 chocolates respectively), these beautifully gift-wrapped boxes showcase a delicious selection of classic Butlers favourites. The selection inside includes Orange Crunch, Salt Caramel, Almond Praline and Dark Truffle.

Also available is The Chocolate Collection

by Butlers – the definitive chocolate assortment featuring a stylish and contemporary selection of chocolate truffles, pralines and caramels in 185g and 300g sizes.

Butlers also produces an extensive range of 100g solid chocolate bars, which will soon feature new on-pack iconography highlighting the company’s sustainability initiatives. Butlers’

Butlers produces an extensive range of 100g solid chocolate bars

chocolatiers use sustainably sourced cocoa to craft its exceptional chocolate products and the company is a fully verified Gold member of Origin Green. The Butlers factory in north Dublin is also home to one of the largest solar installations on an industrial premises in Ireland.

Butlers is confident it has chocolate gifting all wrapped up this Christmas, so for more information, email sales@butlers.ie.

Sumptuous selection Lily O’Brien’s is known and loved for its premium box chocolate collections and share bag range, perfect for gifting and sharing with

family and friends. The iconic Desserts Collection and the Ultimate Chocolate Collection are firm family favourites and ranked in the top five premium chocolate collections and growing well ahead of the market*. All Lily O’Brien’s collections are made with the unique delicious Lily O’Brien’s recipes, offering the perfect selection of products to meet all your shoppers’ gifting needs.

To coincide with celebrating 30 years in business, Lily O’Brien’s is now launching a new range of delicious truffle recipes. The team have spent the last 12 months developing a

Lily O’Brien’s offers the perfect selection of products to meet all your shoppers’ gifting needs

Lily O’Brien’s Desserts Collection and the Ultimate Chocolate Collection are ranked in the top five premium chocolate collections

The team at Lily O’Brien’s have spent the last 12 months developing a range of sumptuous chocolate truffles in three flavours: Milk Chocolate Truffle, Salted Caramel Truffle and Vanilla Truffle

Eight in ten eat chocolate weekly – but almost a third store it incorrectly New UK research by vegan and free-from chocolate brand Nomo has shown that chocolate is the nation’s favourite snack, with almost half of respondents picking it as their top choice (46%) – with crisps (13%), cake (9%) and cheese (5%) following by some distance. In total, of those who have ever tried chocolate, eight in ten have it at least once a week, with a third eating it at least once a day.

Yet, the research commissioned by NOMO found that despite chocolate’s popularity there remains great confusion about how it should be stored.

The UK’s number one vegan and free from chocolate brand found that a third (34%) store it in the fridge, around one in three (30%) store it out of it and almost a third (29%) sit on the fence, flittering between storing it in and out of the fridge.

“The temperature of chocolate has a huge impact on the texture and the flavour delivery – more than you might expect,” said Angela Beckett who manages the development of new products at Nomo.

“The aromatic cocoa notes are more apparent at higher temperatures, so if you want to appreciate the depth of flavours it should be stored outside of the fridge in a cool, dark place. Around 18 to 21 degrees

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

Celsius is the goldilocks zone for chocolate – it’s not too hot that it’s melting but not too cold that it loses its flavour!”

It comes as the research found that one in five people have eaten vegan chocolate in the past 12 months – although 43% have never given it a go.

Of those to have ever tried vegan chocolate, a third did so to reduce their dairy consumption (32%), almost a third (29%) did it for the environment and a quarter said they followed a plant-based diet (24%).

Nomo’s top tips when eating chocolate: 1. Measure the milk: For milk chocolate the type and amount of dairy or dairy alternative really affects the flavour of the chocolate. Typically, the more milk or plant-based milk, the smoother, creamier and sweeter the chocolate is. So, depending on your own tastes you may prefer milkier or less milky choc.

2. Cleanse your pallet: What you have already eaten affects how you perceive flavours. To really appreciate the flavour of what you are tasting make sure you have not had anything to eat or drink for at least 30 minutes before. Also avoid smoking for 30 mins before tasting.

3. Shape matters: The shape of chocolate alters the flavour because it affects the way it melts in your mouth and therefore the time release of the chocolate notes. Find a shape that works for you!

To appreciate the depth of flavours, chocolate should be stored outside of the fridge in a cool, dark place, says Nomo’s Angela Beckett

4. Goldilocks temperature: Aromatic cocoa notes are more apparent at higher temperatures and so 18 to 21 degrees Celsius is not so hot that your chocolate melts, but not so cold that the flavour doesn’t come through.

for the ones you really know.

h...

that’s

new!

Decadent Milk Chocolate with a soft, velvety centre. ooh! So delicious.

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36 CATEGORY FOCUS Confectionery

range of sumptuous chocolate truffles in the world’s best loved flavours - Milk Chocolate Truffle, Salted Caramel Truffle and Vanilla Truffle. Using Lily O’Brien’s signature chocolate recipe, the thick milk chocolate shell melts away to reveal a silky-smooth indulgent centre delivering a satisfying chocolate hit and an intense flavour experience like no other. An Oooh-so-luxurious delight for the taste buds!

Presented in eye-catching 200g cartons and individually wrapped, Lily O‘Brien’s truffles are the perfect addition for any occasion whether for gifting to loved ones or sharing with family and friends. The range is displayed in space efficient shelf ready packaging for instant in-store display and shelf standout.

This exciting new launch from Lily O’Brien’s is supported with an above-the-line (ATL) digital and print campaign and impactful POS displays for Quarter 4 to drive awareness and trial with consumers. For a successful Christmas season and to continue to grow your sales this year, the brand advises to make sure to stock Lily O’Brien’s this Christmas Season. Available to order through Tennant & Ruttle, contact your sales representative for more information (www.lilyobriens.ie). *(Source: Nielsen Mat Dec 2021).

Trick or treat delights!

Halloween is the biggest calendar event for sugar confectionery, and it is set to be huge for 2022 as consumers resume their pre-Covid lifestyles. “Therefore, it’s essential to stock a range of best-selling, well known brands to entice customers that are looking to make the most of the festivities,” says Jeremy Dee, managing director at Swizzels.

Three of the top five Halloween products are from Swizzels* so store owners can expect consumers will be seeking the most popular products in anticipation for the season.

Perfect for all sharing occasions, Swizzels’ Variety bags have recently been rebranded to

The return of pre-Covid life means we expect a lot of trick or treaters this year, and Swizzles is on hand to help retailers fulfil this demand

Swizzels’ Luscious Lollies, Scrumptious Sweets and Curious Chews are now all suitable for vegans From classic ranges to newer creations, Swizzels is always looking for new ways to excite taste buds

include everyone’s favourites in three different packs, such as Luscious Lollies (132g), Scrumptious Sweets (134g), and Curious Chews (135g). Available in a £1 PMP, the bags are free from artificial colours and are now all suitable for vegans.

Swizzels is the number one variety pack seller at Halloween*; meaning retailers can confidently stock up in anticipation for high demand.

Another product from Swizzels that is perfect for selling over the Halloween period and beyond is the Sweet Treats tub. One of Swizzels’ most popular products for sharing, the product contains a variety of individually wrapped favourites including Love Hearts, Drumstick Lollies and Refreshers, meaning there’s something for everyone, making it a guaranteed seller and a must-stock. The return of pre-Covid life means we expect a lot of trick or treaters this year, so this tub is the ideal people-pleaser!

Swizzels’ top three tips to maximise profits for retailers: 1) Prioritise stocking the right range of sugar confectionery Halloween is one specific time of year where sugar confectionery plays the biggest role with consumers. Customers will be looking for a variety of products, from single confectionery to variety bags, PMPs and vegan sweets. Stocking the biggest and best brands will drive a strong rate of sale and therefore profit.

Value-for-money confectionery continues to be a hugely popular choice for shoppers, particularly as financial circumstances have changed post-pandemic.

The Swizzels Sweet Treats tub contains a variety of individually wrapped favourites including Love Hearts, Drumstick Lollies and Refreshers

According to recent research, one in five shoppers are more likely to shop in a particular convenience store if they know it stocks PMPs**, and price-marked packs sell five times more than non-price marked equivalents**, so it’s also important for retailers to stock a range of value products from popular brands to boost sales.

lookout for any opportunities to stock up on these to fit in with themed parties and trick or treats, so they are sure to be in high demand.

To make it easier to find, store owners should also create a section in-depot or online that highlights this range – in a location that customers will definitely walk by, e.g., at the front of the depot.

3) Don’t underestimate the importance of displays Seasonal events are the perfect time to create and produce displays that promote your Halloween offering in a useful way. *(Source: IRI, Sugar Confectionery category, Value Sales 52wks to 17/04/2022, Total Market data UK) **(Source: HIM, 2021)

A rich history Established in 1882, Cleeve’s Irish Confectionery is Ireland’s oldest surviving confectionery brand and has a history as rich as its toffee and chocolate.

The Cleeve’s Irish Confectionery range includes delicious milk chocolate bars and confectionery, toffee and caramels products which continue the Cleeve’s tradition of using the finest Irish dairy ingredients, a tradition dating back to when the Cleeve brothers first established the business in Limerick. Experts in toffee making since 1882, Cleeve’s Slab Toffee was a much-loved Irish treat exported all over the world and is back on the Irish market by popular demand.

Hanging bags The Cleeve’s hanging bag range comprises of Irish classic treats and all-time favourites which are made using Cleeve’s traditional recipes and quality Irish dairy products sourced locally. The Cleeve’s hanging bag selection includes Chocolate Caramels, Original Toffee, Macaroon Bites and Irish Golden Days and the classic favourite, Original Iced Caramels.

2) Stock and highlight seasonal ranges With Halloween comes seasonal ranges of popular sweets. Customers will be on the

Euromonitor: ‘Consumers still looking for new and more sophisticated products’ In July of this year, Euromonitor published a new report entitled ‘Chocolate Confectionery in Ireland’. According to the analyst, “major companies, such as Mondelez Ireland Production Ltd, Nestlé Ireland and Mars Foods Ireland will continue their dominance within chocolate confectionery in Ireland. An extensive portfolio of well-known brands, the capability to offer a diverse range of flavours, packaging types and acquire successful brands gives them an unassailable lead in chocolate confectionery.”

However, consumers are still looking for new and more sophisticated products that deliver a novel taste or format and that are more ethical”. This bodes well for premium confectioners that offer a more luxurious product that is ideal for gifting or when shoppers want some ‘me-time’ indulgence.

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

Cleeve’s Original Iced Caramels use the same original recipe and method that has been enjoyed by consumers for over 90 years

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Cleeve’s Original Iced Caramels are made to the same original recipe and method that has been enjoyed by consumers for over 90 years and is still as delightful as ever. Uniquely delicious, the chewy caramels are covered in a crisp coating of pink and white icing sugar. A retro sweet treat that can be enjoyed by all.

Produced exclusively in Ireland by Cleeve’s Irish Confectionery, these iconic treats are one of a kind. Original Iced Caramels are available in a hanging bag format and a Treat Pack format developed for luxury snacking on-thego. Each pack contains six Original Iced Caramels of the much-loved Irish confectionery classic and would also make a sweet little gift for a loved one.

Chocolate bars The classic range of chocolate bars are made from the finest Irish dairy ingredients. A selection of seven tasty flavours combined with deliciously creamy chocolate. The chocolate bar range includes Macaroon, Sea Salt Caramel Crisp, Mint Crisp, Classic Milk Chocolate, Classic Dark Chocolate, Honey Crisp and Orange Crisp in a 50g format and Macaroon and Mint in a sharing-size 90g format.

More information about Cleeve’s can be found at cleevesirishconfectionery.ie and across the brand’s social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook. Cleeve’s social media activity serves as powerful communication tools for the brand and its consumers’ nationwide. Followers get a

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chance to keep up to date with all things Cleeve’s Irish Confectionery and deep dive into the brand’s history, learn more about Cleeve’s wide range of products, view some behind the scenes videos and enter the occasional competition.

Ampersand has also been working on some exciting plans for the Cleeve’s brand next year and is looking forward to sharing the details with retailers and consumers in 2023.

If you are interested in stocking Cleeve’s, call the Ampersand sales line on 01-4130100 or email info@ampersandsales.ie.

Spreading happiness Sonas Sweets has been bringing joy to adults and children alike for the last five years since Ampersand launched the confectionery brand onto the Irish market. Quite apt, as the word Sonas translates to “happiness” in Irish. The brand is packed in Ireland with premium jellies of the highest quality selected for consumer enjoyment and to the highest standards of food safety and compliance.

The Sonas Sweets range of jellies comprises of a range of hanging bags and a €2 mix-up.

The hanging bag range continues to be a popular choice with retailers offering a mix of 24 of the most popular jelly favourites.

Colourful stands and header boards are available from Ampersand to merchandise the range in-store. The €2 mix-up, the best seller from the range is made up of classic favourites and unusual jellies, all packaged in bright,

colourful and cheerful packaging. Dump bins and eye-catching posters are also available to drive awareness and sales in-store.

Sonas Sweets is currently available on promotion. Ampersand has some great-value volume deals on offer and some special introductory promotion deals available to retailers on their first order.

Ampersand has also been working on some exciting plans for the brand which retailers and consumers can expect to see in the coming months. Watch this space to find out more information.

If you are interested in stocking Sonas Sweets, get in touch with Ampersand on 01 4130150 or email info@ampersandsales.ie or you make contact via the website at www.ampersandsales.ie. ■

Colourful stands and header boards are available from Ampersand to merchandise the Sonas Sweets range in-store

Mixers CATEGORY FOCUS 39

Tea & Coffee Mixers

Once an overlooked space, the premium mixers category is now booming, with consumers keen to recreate the luxury bar experience at home, writes Gillian Hamill

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hat may have been a narrow category in the past has now become fully rounded, and today there is a mixer type for nearly every occasion.

For adventurous consumers, mixers provide an opportunity to experiment with flavours and enhance the drink experience. Premium soft drinks are in more demand than ever after consumers traded up into expensive beverages at home during lockdowns and continue to seek to elevate their drink experience.

This taste for quality mixers is only likely to grow further still as quality-conscious consumers are pairing premium mixers with their premium spirit purchase. What’s more, Britvic’s 2022 Soft Drinks Review revealed that consumers are more willing than ever to upgrade to premium soft drinks and today’s consumers are calling for mixed drinks, such as gin and tonics, and cocktails to be of the highest quality possible.

A recent UK study conducted by Perspectus Global* has also shown the popularity of premium cocktails, which reflects Irish trends.

According to the insights agency, the UK is now a nation of shakers and stirrers with over half of people (53%) saying they adore a wellmixed cocktail. A total of 42% admit they prefer a cocktail to a pint every single time with 59% insisting that it’s a much more sophisticated choice of drink. The research

also revealed that one in two (49%) now own a cocktail shaker, with 22% boasting a recipe for a drink which they claim to have made up themselves. However, a whopping 86% admit they’re no expert mixologist themselves, even though over half (51%) would like to be.

Quality mixers are therefore an ideal solution for cocktail fans who want to enjoy a premium and luxurious bar-like experience at home, but without the fuss. More exotic and interesting flavour combinations are therefore hitting the mark with an increasing number of consumers.

Another trend within the category is the greater prominence of lower calorie or ‘skinny’ cocktails and mixers. Showing the extent this has grown over the past decade, in 2009, US Mintel research found zero reports of the skinny claim on cocktail menus but by Q2 2012, Mintel Menu Insights had already tracked 110 items boasting this descriptor. “Women, who are more likely to be calorie conscious, are feeling they have more options for alcoholic beverages with the emergence of skinny cocktails and light mixers,” said Mintel’s Kathy Hayden. In the intervening years, the trend flourished and has also increasingly influenced the off-trade sector. *(Source: This research of 1,500 UK based Britons who regularly drink alcohol was commissioned by Fridays and conducted by Perspectus Global during August 2022)

Guilt-free option As Ireland’s number one mixer, Schweppes continues to bring the bubbles into consumers’ lives through its unique effervescence and sparkling campaigns.

For those who wish to try something new, the brand is delighted to announce the launch of Schweppes Pink Soda. It’s now available in a 12 x 150ml mini-can pack and also in a 1 litre PET bottle.

An aromatic blend of lemon, lime and orange flavours, Schweppes Pink Soda has just 20 calories per 100ml

www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife September 2022

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40 CATEGORY FOCUS Mixers

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New look for iconic Irish brand

Schweppes Pink Soda is available in a 12 x 150ml mini-can pack and a 1 litre PET bottle

An aromatic blend of lemon, lime and orange flavours, Schweppes Pink Soda is perfect for mixing with vodka, gin or rosé, as well as ideal for creating a Pink Spritz serve to enjoy at home.

Low in calories, with just 20 calories per 100ml, it’s a perfect guilt-free mixer option.

Changes continue to evolve for the better at the number one Irish mixer brand, Club, as the brand unveils its new bold and vibrant design.

The new design sees the brand move closer to the Club master brand, with the energy from the Club brand mark echoed and built on by illustrations from the company’s past that radiate out in a fun, playfulness and ownable style.

“We are very excited about our new Club Mixers’ design, as it is very important for us to keep such an iconic Irish brand contemporary and relevant to the modern consumer,” says Brian Greer, marketing manager, Britvic Ireland.

“Not only has our focus over the years been on delivering a unique and superior taste experience, we want everyone to know we share a purpose of savouring every moment and living life to the full along with Club. We know Irish consumers are eager to buy local brands especially ones that matter more to them,” he adds.

“Our new modern Irish design, built on by illustrations of our rich and iconic history, is intended to appeal to a broader, younger audience, focusing on the attributes of heritage, quality, and reliability. We have big growth ambitions over the next five years and this next evolvement of the brand has been designed to transform how we engage with consumers, while emphasising our Irish values through our unique history.”

Available as a 6 x 330ml can pack and 850ml PET for the grocery channel, Club Mixers ensures relevance across many drinking opportunities. Its portfolio offers a wide range of flavours, best enjoyed chilled over ice with a garnish of choice. Club Mixers are a perfect accompaniment to spirits, expertly designed to blend deliciously with gins, vodkas and whiskeys.

Mix with the best!

In 2013, Fever-Tree was introduced to the Irish market via Richmond Marketing and has since become Ireland’s number one premium mixer brand. Throughout the past 10 years, we’ve seen a market-wide shift towards premiumisation with Fever-Tree pioneering the premium mixer category, bringing choice, quality and excitement back into the previously overlooked space.

Since launching in Ireland, Fever-Tree has continued to diversify its portfolio to meet the ever-evolving needs of the Irish consumer. For the brand, it’s all about putting quality back into both the on-trade and at home occasion with one simple premise – If three-quarters of your drink is the mixer, mix with the best.

Within retail, the category’s can format has achieved strong notoriety amongst consumers, propelled even further due to Covid-19, growing 108% in 2021*.

While Fever-Tree is best known for its highquality Tonic Waters, the brand has continued to diversify its portfolio in response to increased consumer demand for alternative

Club’s new modern Irish design is intended to appeal to a broader, younger audience

mixers, now offering one of the market’s most expansive mixer ranges encompassing Ginger Ale, Ginger Beer and a wide range of Sodas.

Fever-Tree Mexican Lime Soda Water is the newest installation to the range, made with Tahiti lime from Mexico’s fertile groves and wonderfully floral Japanese yuzu to create a low-calorie soda that’s perfect for mixing with premium vodka or tequila. Raspberry and

Fever-Tree has pioneered the premium mixer category, bringing excitement back into this previously overlooked space

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Rhubarb Tonic Water is also a new addition to Fever-Tree’s renowned tonic range, created specifically with the younger drinker in mind hence a sweeter taste profile, aimed at tapping into the rise of lemonade mixers as well as the “pink drink” Instagram-able moment.

For more information, visit www.fever-tree.com. *(Source: Nielsen Mixer Report W52 2021) ■

Alongside its high quality Tonic Waters, Fever-Tree now offers one of the market’s most expansive mixer ranges encompassing Ginger Ale, Ginger Beer and a wide range of Sodas

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42 CATEGORY FOCUS Tea & Coffee

Cup of gold The first thing most of us go for in the mornings is our cup of tea or coffee and as retailers you rely on consumers’ appetite for high quality barista coffees and flavoured teas to keep them coming through the doors throughout the day.

Fionnuala Carolan looks at what’s new in the hot beverage market

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he work-from-home revolution has contributed to a sales boost for hot beverages. According to a Kantar report from April 2022, sales of hot beverages jumped 23% compared with pre-pandemic, when consumers spent a lot more time in the office. While Ireland has always traditionally been a nation of tea drinkers, there’s no denying that our coffee culture is growing rapidly, especially in the country’s larger towns and cities.

Younger consumers in particular are

Infinite creations, infinite pleasure Discover the new L’OR Barista coffee machine, that delivers barista-quality coffee to enjoy at home. Double your coffee pleasure by brewing

engaging more with fresh coffee and organic coffee products. Indeed in January 2022, Euromonitor reported that coffee is expected to record steady single-digit growth in retail volume and value terms over the forecast fiveyear period. Sales are projected to continue being driven by fresh coffee, fresh ground coffee pods and organic coffee with the country’s coffee culture expected to see further development.

Tea will always remain a staple drink in the Irish diet but according to Mintel, tea saw a

two single espressos at once, or a double espresso in one cup with the new L’OR XXL Pods exclusive to this new L’OR Barista double spouted machine.

This innovative machine made in partnership with coffee machine pioneers Philips, is also compatible with L’OR espresso single shot capsules, Nespresso Original and most Nespresso Original compatible capsules, providing maximum flexibility and choice.

Coffee lovers can now enjoy single or double ristrettos, espressos, lungos, as well as all other favourite coffee recipes. The L’OR Barista coffee machine includes a one litre water tank, dual capsule recognition technology, 19 bar pressure, and automatic capsule disposal.

The machine presents a compact design, comes in a variety of colours, and is the first Nespresso compatible capsule machine to be available in retail supermarkets.

With a RRP of €89.99, it’s available now in Tesco and Dunnes Stores nationwide, and online at lorespresso.com.

Time for a Cuppa

The L’OR Barista coffee machine brews two single espressos at once, or a double espresso in one cup

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S&W Wholesale’s exclusive coffee brand Cuppa is starting to cause quite a stir in the coffee-to-go market within the convenience sector. With its rich blend of Central American, Indonesian and African origin beans, the coffee offers a nutty, smooth taste finished off with a sweet profile on the palate. The coffee is high grown and has a fine balance of wet, dry and honey processes to really bring out the taste. It’s certainly proving popular

real resurgence during the pandemic. “With tea there is a continued focus on ethical, natural, functional and sugar-free claims,” the analyst stated. “Being a comforting and healthy drink, tea has become a go-to drink in the pandemic. With more people working from home, tea occasions have moved rapidly back towards the home.” In addition to this, tea brands are also focusing on biodegradable packaging to address environmental concerns.

We look at the newest innovations in the tea and coffee market below.

Cuppa is the exclusive coffee brand from Savage and Whitten Wholesalers

amongst the Irish consumer with over 40 Cuppa sites now opened around the country.

Situated within S&W’s convenience store brand, Nearby, there has been a number of new installs of the coffee machine recently in Nearby Tallaght, Kevin St, Clonee, Inchicore and Portobello with over 20 more earmarked for opening before year end.

The Cuppa brand is also going through an evolution phase with investment from S&W Wholesale in bringing to life its loyalty scheme, social media and how Cuppa can feature at local events. Brand marketing lead, Daniel Comiskey said: “We are moving Cuppa Coffee to a whole new level. The growth of the brand alongside our Nearby stores has been phenomenal with retailer feedback and customer taste sampling being very positive.

We want to evolve the brand and reach new customers who want the perfect Cuppa when on the go or meeting up with friends.”

SCAN ME

L’OR BARISTA MACHINE FITS ALL NESPRESSO ® COMPATIBLE CAPSULES L’OR XXL PODS FIT IN BARISTA MACHINE L’OR STANDARD PODS FIT IN ALL NESPRESSO ® COMPATIBLE MACHINES

NOW AVAILABLE IN TESCO AND DUNNES STORES NATIONWIDE The L’OR BARISTA coffee machine has been designed to work with L’OR Espresso single shot capsules and L’OR BARISTA double shot capsules, as well as Nespresso®* and most Nespresso® compatible capsules. *trademark of third party not connected to JACOBS DOUWE EGBERTS

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44 CATEGORY FOCUS Tea & Coffee

Never settle for ordinary!

Findlater & Co is one of Ireland’s leading hot beverage companies offering world class coffee solutions. With links back to the 19th century Dublin merchant trader Alex Findlater, the company is proud to continue the tradition of being a trustworthy and experienced provider of premium goods.

Findlater & Co is home to premium craft coffees; Warbler & Wren, Salana & Eshe, the global leading coffee brand Lavazza, and Robert Roberts, a brand steeped in a rich Irish heritage. Passionate about all things coffee, the company-owned brands are blended and locally roasted in Ireland at its roastery based on the Broomhill Road in Dublin. In addition, the company supports its customers with comprehensive training and support programmes, cutting edge equipment and service solutions, alongside exciting innovative marketing activations.

For more information, email info@findlaterandco.com, visit www.findlaterandco.com or telephone 01-4047300.

Smooth and cool iced drinks Seattle’s Best Coffee continues to build on its brand proposition of ‘uncommonly smooth’ coffee by launching its super smooth coffee beverages in a new self-serve iced beverage concept.

The new innovative concept allows self-serve consumers to pour their own refreshing iced latte, cappuccino and mocha in-store. The eyecatching marketing materials take a bold blue move from the well-known Seattle’s Best red to grab consumers’ attention in a busy store environment.

This product extension aims to bring a new demographic into the coffee-to-go category, while offering current customers a new and refreshing product. It’s not just for the summer though, with younger consumers enjoying iced coffee beverages all year round.

, d Cool n a h t Smoo d Drinks Ice

NEW

Iced beverages are to be available year round from Seattle’s Best

THE IRISH COFFEE SHOPPER

How Coffee segments are purchased differently ‘I look to the price of this category to tell me whether retailer is competitively priced’ 80%

60%

Rank: #40

#63

60%

56%

56%

#5

#2

70%

78%

Rank: #41

80% 60%

40%

40%

20%

20%

0%

Total Instant Frothy Roast/ Machine Instant Ground /Pods Store

‘Walk-Away’ if I can't find what I want

‘Encouraged to buy extra when on promotion’

0%

48%

37%

#17

#16

56%

56%

#2 68%

Rank: #26

#24

55%

55%

80% 60%

46%

#105

#19 57%

39%

40% 20%

Total Store

Instant

Frothy Roast/ Machine Instant Ground /Pods

0%

Total Store

Instant

Frothy Roast/ Machine Instant Ground /Pods

Price Savvy Shoppers

Promos drive spend

High ‘Walk-Away’ Away’ risk

All 4 Coffee segments are pre-planned and intentional, but Roast/Ground (#5) and Machine/Pod (#2) in particular are a very price conscious shoppers when planning.

Promos play an important role for all segments.

There is a big 'walk-away' risk in 3 of the Coffee segments. Roast/Ground Coffee is the only 1 of the 4 that over-indexes as a ‘Switch’ category.

These are categories to lead with when communicating value/price competitiveness.

i

In particular this is true for Machine/Pods which ranks #2 of 128 categories for 'buy extra' on promo. This is also the most expandable Coffee segment, so Promos plays a significant role here to drive category growth.

Data from survey of 28,523 Irish shoppers, Nov 2021-March 2022.

Shopper insights available for 128 FMCG categories in 2022

Availability is clearly a priority for Instant, Frothy and Pods while a good range/switching options is key for Roast/Ground.

Colm Rooney, Country Manager Ireland colm.rooney@shopperintelligence.com www.shopperintelligence.com

Tea-obsessed nation: Volume sales grew during pandemic for Barrys Tea Demand for black tea has remained steady throughout the lockdown and has since been boosted by the reopening of the foodservice industry. Barry’s Tea Gold Blend maintains its position as Ireland’s much-loved tea. Black tea sales saw a retail value growth of 1% in 2021 and current volume growth of 3%*.

This is especially evident with the rise in volume sales of Decaf tea in the Irish market. Last year, Barry’s Tea launched a larger Decaf box with 160 teabags in November 2021 based on the demand for decaffeinated tea over the past two years.

To date, the Decaf blend has had an increase of over 50% in volume sales compared to 2019 figures (pre-Covid)**.

Consumers want to enjoy a great tasting cup of tea but without the caffeine as they are making alternative consumption and

Barry’s Tea Gold Blend maintains its position as Ireland’s much-loved tea

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Launched in July, Focus from Barry’s Tea is an invigorating infusion

health-related lifestyles choices.

Premiumisation of the tea category is also apparent with the rise in sales of the Master Blend tea; a rich tasting blend, carefully selected and crafted by Barry’s Tea’s master blender for true tea connoisseurs.

In winter 2022, consumers will be able to enjoy their much-loved Decaf blend on the go.

The brand is launching a 200s Decaf string, tag and envelope offering for retail and foodservice outlets serving hot beverages on the go.

To correspond with the demand in healthier lifestyle choices by younger consumers and with people continuously working from home, Barry’s Tea also launched a new infusion called Focus in July 2022. The blend contains natural botanicals of apple, hibiscus, spearmint and ginseng with the added benefit of Vitamin B6 which contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, as well as being

caffeine-free.

Not only can consumers enjoy a great tasting range of teas, but they can also relax knowing that the brand is making huge progress in sustainability. Barry’s Tea sources the highest quality of Rainforest Alliance Certified black teas and its packaging is 100% recyclable with vegetable ink used on boxes. In the last year, the company has successfully moved to fully biodegradable teabags for industrial composting, to be disposed of in the brown food waste bin.

Barry’s Tea is continuously developing and evolving with consumer trends whilst remaining consistent to the true craft of tea sourcing, buying, and blending which dates to 1901. ■ *(Source: Euromonitor, Tea in Ireland Jan 2022) **(Source – Barry’s Tea, Sept 2022)

This winter, consumers will be able to enjoy their much-loved Decaf blend on the go

g n i v r e S w No l o o C & h t o o m S s k n i r D d Ice Deliciously made with 100% Arabica coffee

For further information please contact your local Business Developer or call 1800 777 100. www.aryztafoodsolutions.ie

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46 CATEGORY FOCUS Newspapers

Hot headlines Despite the plethora of online content available today, Ireland’s newspaper publishers are continuing to invest in their content to produce quality journalism that makes the nation sit up and pay attention, writes Gillian Hamill

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ewspaper readers are worth an estimated €1.9 billion a year to the retail sector. Indeed, a 2019 study from market research company Behaviour & Attitudes, found that shoppers spend an average of €14 on each trip to buy a newspaper. Digital media may have transformed the way we consume news, but the leading titles on the newsstands are still a major part of the fabric of daily life in Ireland and are still a driver of sales today.

While the market shows some decline, publishers are continuing to invest in their titles and quality journalism of the highest standards. The newspaper industry has

certainly demonstrated impressive resilience throughout the pandemic, with the Sunday market recording growth during the Covid period.

A great example of how the newspaper industry is continuing to thrive and attract new readership is the success demonstrated by the Irish Farmers Journal. The newspaper has seen significant growth amongst its younger print readership with 43% of readers now under 35 years of age (up from 35% in 2020). Editor and CEO Justin McCarthy describes the increase as “a strong endorsement” of the title’s determination to invest in unique content.

“We view this record readership alongside the rapid growth across our digital platforms as a strong endorsement of our ongoing strategy to produce ‘unique’ content that is both relevant and valuable to our growing audience,” he says. “We will continue to invest in our content and bring the pages to life by engaging with our readers at events such as the 5,000 farmers who attended our recent Tullamore Farm and Thrive Open days.”

As outlined over the next few pages, the country’s leading newspaper titles are likewise continuing to engage with retailers to work in partnership with them to bolster sales.

Posting results David Vaz, circulation manager, DMG Media, outlines the latest developments taking place at the Irish Daily Mail, The Irish Mail on Sunday, the i newspaper, Business Plus magazine and the group’s digital portfolio, which includes Extra.ie, Evoke, RollerCoaster.ie, OneFabDay.com, GeekIreland.com, MailOnline and BusinessPlus.ie €15,000 to be won DMG Media will continue to engage with retail partners and is delighted to announce the launch of its ‘Seize the Day. Everyday’ campaign, in which it has invited all retailers to participate. Retail packs have been distributed to all outlets supplied by EM News. To

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participate, display the point of sale collateral, which will consist of an A4 poster, shelf strip and wobbler and enter by emailing a photo of your POS display to circulation@dailymail.ie or contact DMG if you have not received a pack.

Cash prizes will be awarded to retailers and throughout the next 12 months, there will be a

total of €15,000 handed out to retailers.

Earlier in the year, DMG Media trialled the ‘Seize the Day’ campaign which included a regional and national radio and a POS campaign. The team targeted retailers in selected counties with retail packs and offered cash prizes for retailers who displayed the point of sale material. This was followed up

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48 CATEGORY FOCUS Newspapers

with personal visits and the response from the retail trade was very positive.

Performance of titles The newspaper market continues to show decline and DMG Media titles were no different, which were down in line with both the daily and Sunday market. Recording sales of 19,552 for the Irish Daily Mail and 44,843 for The Irish Mail on Sunday (Jan to June 2022), what looked like a recovery in January and February changed once the conflict in the Ukraine started.

The i newspaper also owned by DMG Media reduced the cover price in October and has seen continuous growth in sales, with over 600 copies now being sold daily. It publishes Monday to Saturday and has a fresh and exciting look at UK and world news, business, opinion, lifestyle, culture and sport.

DMG Media revenues from newspaper sales for the last 12 months were buoyant with nearly €20m going through retailers’ tills.

Business Plus, the market-leading Irish business to business magazine, is now part

of the growing DMG Media Group. With topics covering all areas of SME news from mergers and acquisitions to funding, science and technology to the economy, Business Plus is Ireland’s foremost specialist business publication. DMG Media encourages the trade to fully support this Irish magazine and to stock it on their shelves.

Readership profiles The Irish Daily Mail and The Irish Mail on Sunday have similar gender profiles (male/ female - 52%/48% daily and 53%/47% Sunday) with both publications having a stronghold in the important ABC1 group, (ABC1 profile - 46% daily and 48% Sunday).

Both are over-indexing against the ABC1 population which is 43%.

Main shoppers are strongly represented across both papers; for the Irish Daily Mail, three out of four readers are responsible for the main shop each week within the household and for The Irish Mail on Sunday, that equates to two out of three readers.

Digital portfolio Along with DMG’s two national newspapers,

the Irish Daily Mail and The Irish Mail on Sunday, it is one of Ireland’s largest digital publishers with seven digital brands. This portfolio includes Extra.ie, Evoke, RollerCoaster.ie, OneFabDay.com, GeekIreland.com, MailOnline and BusinessPlus.ie which together with its print titles reach over 3.6 million Irish adults every month.

DMG Media Ireland has become the first member of IAB Ireland to achieve the IAB Gold Standard certification for its stable of digital brands. Through its print and digital publications, the group plays an active and positive role not just in the media, but in Irish society as a whole.

Continued investment Newspapers have a responsibility to maintain high standards and to ensure they have the trust of the public. DMG Media continues to invest in both the Irish Daily Mail and The Irish Mail on Sunday and consistently brings the big stories to readers. Its journalism covers the issues which affect readers, including the rising cost of living, energy crisis, housing and health issues.

Reaching readers Q&A with… Alan Kelly: audience manager for Reach Plc

Alan Kelly outlines the performance of Reach Plc’s titles which include the Irish Daily Mirror, Irish Daily Star, Irish Sunday Mirror, Irish Sunday People, RSVP magazine and RSVP Specials, as well as an extensive digital portfolio, including Irishmirror.ie, DublinLive, BelfastLive, RSVPLive, CorkBeo, Galway Beo and Buzz.ie Q: What are the latest circulation and readership figures for your title(s), and how do these compare to last year’s figures?

A: The Irish Daily Mirror, Irish Daily Star and Irish Sunday Mirror continue to perform strongly in a very challenging market post pandemic, as well as the fallout from the war in Ukraine, and the subsequent cost of living crisis which we now find ourselves in. Despite this, our titles were amongst the best performing in the market in terms of yearly decline, as detailed here:

Jan-Jun 2022 ABC performance

Irish Daily Mirror: 21,215 (-9% YoY) Irish Sunday Mirror: 15,837 (-12% YoY) Irish Daily Star: 29,342 (-10% YoY) Q: What is the profile of your newspapers’ readership demographic?

A: Below is the latest TGI data on our demographic breakdown for the Irish Daily Star and Irish Daily Mirror: TGI ROI 2022 Survey

Irish Daily Star • 128,000 readers - 36% female / 64% male Irish Daily Mirror • 116,000 readers - 47% female / 53% male Morning market • 224,000 readers - 41% female / 59% male Q: Quality journalism is essential for newspapers to perform in today’s market.

How have you ensured you are delivering on, or exceeding readers’ expectations? What were some of your major stories/’scoops’ over the past year and how did these affect sales?

A: We pride ourselves on the quality of the journalism we produce right across our print and digital portfolio. Our loyal readers expect

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

to be informed and entertained in equal measure, and the research we carry out, enables us to produce content that our readers want to consume. It’s imperative that we continue to invest and develop in our print and digital platforms, so we can deliver trusted, informative and entertaining content to readers on a daily basis. One of the biggest stories of the year was the horrific murder of the young schoolteacher Ashling Murphy back in January, which delivered significant sales increases over a two-week period, whilst the dismantling of the Kinahan cartel yielded some big increases too.

Q: As the cost-of-living crisis continues, offers and promotions will become even more important in generating sales: which promotions were the most successful during the past year and what else have you planned on this front in the coming weeks and months?

A: Reach has a consistent strategy for good quality, high-value online and print promotional giveaways that serve to reward regular readers, and attract new readers. Our superb Slimming World magazines, which have run for the past few years continue to deliver solid sales increases in January and

Delivering for retailers

Mediahuis is Ireland’s largest print publisher.

We are fully committed to the print news category and look forward to working with you, our retail partners in the future.

Confectionery

Mixers

Tea & Coffee

Newspapers

50 CATEGORY FOCUS Newspapers

April, whilst our partnership with Paddy Power and the offering of free €5 shop bets to readers on major sporting events such as Cheltenham, Aintree, Galway and the GAA hurling and football finals offers outstanding value for money, and healthy sales increases which will also benefit our retail partners.

Q: What are the benefits to retailers of the trade terms in stocking your titles?

A: The Irish Daily Mirror has long maintained one of the healthiest retail margins in the market at 26.5%. We recognise the important roles played by our retail partners, and shall continue to work closely with them, to explore

new sales opportunities and revenue streams.

Our RSVP Country special magazines have witnessed some brilliant sales performances and delivered a good cash return for retailers based on the current cover price and 25% margin.

Q: As we emerge from the Covid-19 crisis, how has the pandemic shaped consumer trends within the newspaper market in the long-term and what lessons have been learnt from this period?

A: The newspaper industry had just emerged from one of the most turbulent times it has ever experienced with the Covid pandemic, and then it rolled into the war in Ukraine, and

the current cost of living crisis. There is little doubt that there has been a realignment in the market post Covid, as consumers returned to some semblance of normality and routine. I think that the newspaper market showed huge resilience during Covid times, which was typified by the growth witnessed in the Sunday market during the pandemic. We are constantly reading obituaries for the newspaper print industry across the globe, yet the pandemic has taught us that quality, trusted content has the ability to attract new and lapsed readers, regardless of the medium, and that newspapers still have a major part to play in that.

Reaping rewards Record readership

Unique content

The Irish Farmers Journal has increased its print readership by 58,000 weekly readers in 2022, readership figures released by Kantar Media show. The total print readership of the Irish Farmers Journal now stands at 379,400 readers on the island of Ireland, up from a record breaking 321,400 weekly readers in 2021. Circulation sales of the title grew at a double-digit rate from the beginning of the pandemic with readers having more time at their disposal due to the cancellation of farmer meetings, events and marts.

“We would like to thank each of our 379,400 weekly readers for your support,” says McCarthy. “We view this record readership alongside the rapid growth across our digital platforms as a strong endorsement of our ongoing strategy to produce ‘unique’ content that is both relevant and valuable to our growing audience. We will continue to invest in our content and bring the pages to life by engaging with our readers at events such as the 5,000 farmers who attended our recent Tullamore Farm and Thrive Open days.”

Kantar Media’s TGI (Target Group Index) survey is trusted by the world’s most influential publishers, media owners, agencies and advertisers to provide essential consumer insights and audience profiling. 6,310 adults (16+) completed the Kantar Media survey (4,006 Republic of Ireland and 2,304 Northern Ireland).

Growth in younger records The title has seen significant growth amongst its younger print readership with 43% of readers now under 35 years of age (up from 35% in 2020). Editor and CEO Justin McCarthy believes this increase is “a strong endorsement” of the title’s determination to invest in unique content.

Setting the business agenda Following the acquisition of the Business Post

by Kilkullen Kapital in 2018, a lot has happened such as transforming the flagship title in press and online, continuing the acquisition process, and making strides to complete its vision in becoming the Business Post Group.

New acquisitions The new acquisitions included Food & Wine, Irish Tatler and Auto Ireland. In addition, BPMG’s conferences and events business also acquired the Hospitality Expo and Fitout Expo brands and invested in Digital DNA, London Speakers Bureau Ireland and AI firm Tribe 101.

Food & Wine magazine was launched in October 2020 and is free with the Business Post on the first Sunday of every month and Irish Tatler was launched in November 2020 and is free with the Business Post on the second Sunday of every month. Strategically these titles were acquired to compliment the Business Post and add depth and breadth to the already existing great business and political content.

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Management structure changes Most recently the Business Post Group has made a number of significant changes to its management structure following a period of rapid growth over the past three years.

The new changes will see Colm O’Reilly, currently CEO of the Business Post, switch to chief operations officer of the Business Post Group. In this new role he will be responsible for managing the overall financial performance of the group as well as managing its acquisitions and funding strategy.

Business Post O’Reilly’s replacement as CEO of the Business Post is Sarah Murphy who is currently CEO of iQuest, the group’s events and experience business. While she will retain responsibility for this, she will also be responsible for the overall performance and management of the Business Post media business.

In addition, Lorcán Hanlon, currently commercial director of the Business Post, has been appointed as chief commercial & revenue officer of the Business Post Group. While he will hold responsibility for the commercial performance of advertising, sponsorship and partnership revenues, his new role includes focusing on the development of group revenue strategies across media, experiences, data, and emerging business platforms. ■

FOOD FOCUS

Krispy Kreme and Jaffa Cakes pair up to introduce the Jaffanut

Krispy Kreme and McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes have come together for the first time to create the limited edition Jaffanut (€3.15).

Iconic sweet treat Creating the ultimate sweet brands, Krispy Kreme and McVitie’s treat, Krispy Kreme’s signature have joined forces soft dough has been filled with for the first time to Jaffa Cakes’ iconic zesty spread joy with the orange flavoured filling to ultimate zesty treat offer a tangy twist. The Jaffanut is topped with a dark chocolatey icing and has been moulded into a Jaffa Cakes-shaped doughnut, to replicate the shape of the nation’s favourite cake in the biscuit aisle.

Siobhan Devereux, Willie Devereux and Will Devereux of Scúp Gelato

Natural yogurt wins Ireland’s Great Taste Golden Fork award

Following a record-breaking 14,205 food and drink entries from 110 countries across the world, Great Taste, the world’s largest food and drink accreditation scheme based entirely on taste, has reached its grand finale for 2022.

Announced at the Great Taste Golden Forks ceremony held at Southwark Cathedral, the Great Taste Golden Fork trophy for Ireland has been awarded to Scúp Gelato from Kerlogue, Co. Wexford, for its Natural Yogurt, described as “fresh and light, with a lactic tang and citrus notes”. The Scúp Gelato Natural Yogurt is made using only the highest quality raw material sourced locally and internationally, starting firstly with Ireland’s amazing milk and cream.

Fyffes announces results of first anniversary of melon business transformation in Honduras

To demonstrate a more responsible, ethical and environmentally positive melon business in Honduras, multinational fruit company Fyffes and its subsidiary Sol Group has published the initial results of its melon business transformation in the country.

This was led by its new local management that prioritizes working conditions, community participation and improvement, environmental management, as well as sound corporate governance.

The first step for the transformation was the appointment of a new general manager for Sol Group, Genivaldo Pereira, in October 2021. This was followed by the incorporation of a new operations manager in Honduras, Reginaldo de Lima, as well as new managers of compliance, human resources, sustainability, labour, and farm relations.

The transformation involved a large-scale investment in the training and upgrading of workers in the new operating procedures

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Just Eat Pay is a new innovative Employee Benefit Service enabling corporate businesses to care for, empower and connect with their employees, no matter where they work

Just Eat for Business launches in Ireland with new employee benefit service Just Eat, part of Just Eat Takeaway.com, and Ireland’s leading online food delivery marketplace, has launched an employee benefit service for businesses across Ireland through its corporate arm, Just Eat for Business.

Just Eat Pay serves as a digital food platform that allows small, medium and large businesses to provide employees with a daily or monthly allowance to order a meal from a wide variety of food options via Just Eat’s 3,525 Irish restaurant and convenience partners. There are no fixed costs for Just Eat Pay and companies can manage their account online through a customised dashboard.

As part of the Just Eat Pay launch, the company has also announced availability of the Just Eat Pay Card. The new debit card will not only work through the Just Eat

website and app, but also at selected Mastercard and Maestro merchants in Ireland, meaning users can access hundreds of additional food and beverage outlets in-person.

“With a complete overhaul of how we work post pandemic, Just Eat Pay will allow corporations to offer its employees next level food benefits, no matter where they choose to work,” said Amanda Roche-Kelly, managing director of Just Eat Takeaway Ireland.

“Just Eat Pay is also not restricted to the Just Eat website meaning employees can make choices that fit with their lifestyle and preferences. With the rising cost of living this is a really nice benefit for employees.”

Just Eat Pay launched in 2019 and is already in operation in a number of Just Eat Takeaway.com markets across the UK and Europe.

Irish beef and lamb hits shelves in Singapore farms,” said Minister for Agriculture, Food Irish beef and lamb will appear on and the Marine Charlie McConalogue. supermarket shelves in Singapore for the “I also acknowledge the great work of first time, following its launch there as part Bord Bia in establishing and maintaining of a government-led trade mission. valuable commercial relationships with key Boutique food retailer and butchery, stakeholders in the Ryan’s Grocery, will region. It is also initially stock Irish beef wonderful to see and lamb at its two that quality Irish locations in Singapore. organic foods are This is the first phase finding new and of a two-phase rollout exciting markets,” through its distribution Minister arm, Alternative McConalogue Selection, which will added. create a direct supply Ryan’s Grocery is route for Irish beef the retail face of and lamb to Ciaran Gallagher, Bord Bia director, South Alternative Singapore’s top East Asia and Minister McConalogue at Ryan’s Selection, a restaurants.

Grocery, Singapore Singapore-based Alternative wholesaler founded by husband-and-wife Selection already carries a range of Irish team Sebastian Chia and Wendy Foo, which brands including Glenisk, Ballymaloe and specialises in allergen and preservative free Burren Smokehouse, and will now also stock speciality foods including grass-fed and Burren Smokehouse organic salmon and organic meats.

Glenisk organic yoghurt in Ryan’s Grocery at This is the first retail listing for Irish this time. sheepmeat in the Singapore market.

“It’s a testament to Irish farmers that the Irish beef is currently available in the discerning team at Ryan’s Grocery has e-commerce channel with online retailer chosen Irish beef and lamb to add to their Lazada. ■ premium portfolio of certified supplier

www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife September 2022

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OFF-TRADE NEWS

Blackwater partners with Barry & Fitzwilliam When Blackwater Distillery launched its range of gins seven years ago, it was to immediate acclaim, winning numerous Irish and International awards.

With a recent brand refresh and a new partnership with Barry & Fitzwilliam, Blackwater is anticipating even more exciting times ahead.

The reputation and drive of Barry & Fitzwilliam is the perfect match for Blackwater’s passion for creating premium spirits, which can now be made available nationwide, in both the on and offtrade. It’s the next step towards Blackwater’s ambition to establish itself as a leading and dynamic producer of craft gins and spirits.

Now, represented by Barry & Fitzwilliam, Blackwater can introduce many more customers to its portfolio, which includes Blackwater No. 5, which won Best Irish London Dry Gin at the World Gin Awards and Blackwater Wexford Strawberry Gin which won Silver at the World Gin Awards and upcoming new vodka releases.

Stocked now in all multiples and independent off-licences (RRP: €32). For more information, visit www.blackwaterdistillery.ie.

Corona Ligera is the brand’s new light option with same distinct taste Corona Ligera offers enhanced refreshment from the world’s most popular beer. It is brewed to be lighter, so fans can enjoy an ultra-refreshing beer with the same distinct, crisp taste of Corona.

At 3.4% ABV and 103 calories per 355ml bottle, it is always best served cold and with a wedge of lime.

Brewed to be lighter, Corona Ligera is an ultrarefreshing choice

Comans now representing tito’s handmade Vodka Tito’s Handmade Vodka is America’s original craft vodka. In 1995, sixth-generation Texan Bert “Tito” Beveridge obtained the first legal permit to distill in Texas and created Tito’s Handmade Vodka on a plot of land in rural Austin, Texas. Here, he built a small shack, rigged a pot still with spare parts and batch distilled his corn-based, naturally gluten-free vodka.

Today, Tito’s Handmade Vodka is available in over 140 markets including the Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East, and is distilled and bottled

by Fifth Generation Inc. in Austin, on the very same land where the whole venture started.

Tito’s is also highly committed to community causes, charitable organisations, and disaster relief efforts across the world, through the brand’s ‘Love, Tito’s’ initiatives, especially pet welfare efforts. In Ireland, Tito’s is represented by Comans Tito’s Handmade Vodka is available Beverages Ltd. in over 140 markets

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

Blackwater No. 5 won Best Irish London Dry Gin while Blackwater Wexford Strawberry Gin won Silver at the World Gin Awards

powerscourt Distillery unveils ‘Fercullen Falls’ small Batch irish Whiskey Fercullen Falls is a blend of malt and grain whiskeys, with a high malt content highlighting the unique style of the Powerscourt Distillery. A 50/50 blend, the malt whiskey has matured in first fill ex-bourbon barrels and the grain in a combination of ex-bourbon and new heavy char oak casks.

“With this release, The Powerscourt Distillery is heralding the start of a new era for the distillery, with the inclusion of malt whiskey distilled at Powerscourt,” said John Cashman, head of whiskey.

“As a proud Wicklow man, it is wonderful to be part of the first (legal) whiskey distilled in Wicklow in over a hundred years,” he continued. “The team has worked very hard to develop and deliver Fercullen Falls Blended Irish Whiskey and we are very pleased with the results.”

“The 50% malt content in the blend adds to the complexity and depth of flavour which is very different to what other blended Irish whiskeys are offering,” added Paul Corbett, head distiller and blender.

Drawing on its unique location, the name refers to the Powerscourt waterfall, Ireland’s highest waterfall at 121 metres, and with its contemporary design, evokes thoughts of whiskey falling into a glass and shared amongst friends.

For trade enquiries, contact Trade@Powerscourtdistillery.com.

Celebrating the launch of Powerscourt Distillery’s new Fercullen Falls Whiskey are the management team (L-R): head distiller and blender Paul Corbett; general manager Roger Dugan; head of marketing Caroline Gardiner; head of whiskey John Cashman; international sales manager Ryan Stapleton and COO and co-founder Gerry Ginty

Fercullen Falls appeals to a new generation who are seeking quality not quantity

©2022 AB InBev UK Limited, all rights reserved.

54 OFF-TRADE NEWS

2022 Borsa Vini Italia to be held on 8 November On Tuesday, 8 November, 2022 from 12.00-18.00 in the Hyatt Centric, Dean Street, The Liberties, Dublin, D08 W3X7, representatives from 25 wineries arrive in Ireland to take part in the 2022 Borsa Vini Italia. The event will showcase an impressive line-up of wines with producers travelling from Abruzzo, Emilia Romagna, Lazio, Lombardy, Marche, Piemonte, Puglia, Sicilia, Toscana and Veneto. All are seeking representation on this market.

The concept behind Borsa Vini Italia is that of a wine exchange whereby owners and winemakers will present their wines to the Irish trade who will be able to meet with winery personnel directly. “Our focus will be to connect key businesses from Italy and Ireland, in a forum that is specifically aimed at importers, independents and restaurant trade,” said Antonietta Kelly of the Italian Trade Commission.

The 2021 Wine Market Report published by Drinks Ireland Wine in August, shows wine consumption per capita in Ireland was 2.8 litres and total case sales were to 8.8 million. Italy retained its position as the fifth most popular country of origin with 10% of the Irish market with sales of Italian wine totalling 875,755 cases.

To register, contact Mary Patricia Gallagher of Gallagher & Associates on 087 2461393 or email mp@gallagher-assoc.com.

London: Antonietta Kelly, trade analyst, Italian Trade Agency: T: +44 20 7292 3913 E: a.kelly@ice.it

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Continued success for award-winning Rye River Brewing Company Rye River Brewing Company based in Celbridge, Co. Kildare is one of Ireland’s leading independent craft breweries. Established in 2013, Rye River Brewing Company has become Ireland’s number one retail craft brewery*. Its commitment to quality and consistency is apparent, having been named the World’s Most Decorated Brewery at the prestigious World Beer Awards for the third consecutive year in a row.

Brewing 24/7 on a small 2500 L brewhouse, Rye River Brewing Company mashes in up to 40 brews each week which contributes to its 30 unique recipes across five brands, utilising a unique brewing process with an on-site reverse osmosis purification system.

This year saw the brewery go back to the source with a renewed focus on the company’s origins along the banks of the Rye River. The Rye River Brewing popular McGargles range can Company’s Bidin’ Time now be found under the breweryIrish Lager was led Rye River Brewing Company recently crowned brand which features an origami the World’s Kingfisher on its logo, a nod to its Best Helles/ continued pursuit of brewing Münchner Lager perfection. It’s the same great at the World Beer beer but now with a great new Awards 2022 look.

To learn more about the full nationwide range, visit www.ryeriverbrewingco.com. ■ *(Source: Nielsen Data November 2021)

56 INTERVIEW

Liquid to lips

With premium and above vodka growing by 56% last year in Ireland, John McDonnell, managing director, International, for Tito’s Handmade Vodka, is buoyant about the future prospects here for ‘America’s original craft vodka’. Gillian Hamill reports

In 1995, sixth-generation Texan Bert “Tito” Beveridge obtained the first legal permit to distill in Texas and created Tito’s Handmade Vodka

The Hyatt Centric in Dublin’s Liberties is the venue for our interview with John McDonnell, managing director, International, for Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Described by The Independent (UK) as “Dublin’s coolest neighbourhood,” it seems a fitting location to discuss a similarly up-and-coming vodka within the Irish market. While in recent years, the gin renaissance – or ‘gin-aissance’ if you will – has been making waves – Tito’s is confident that its brand can work similar wonders for the perception of the vodka category, through its premium ‘liquid to lips’ ethos.

“It’s all about the way we’re made,” says McDonnell. “We’re pot stilled versus column stilled, distilled six times and our use of corn makes our taste a little creamier with a distinctive mouthfeel versus the other major players. When you taste Tito’s, you see that there’s a discernible difference.”

home for rest and relaxation, he would make fragrant vodkas as a hobby and give them to his friends.” He later decided to turn his erstwhile hobby into a fully fledged professional enterprise. Determined to create the best vodka possible, “he went around to all the liquor shops in the state of Texas and said, ‘I really want to do this, what should I do?’” explains McDonnell. “They said ‘whatever you do, don’t make a flavoured vodka’.”

Tito duly took this advice to heart, researched all the rules and regulations and

America’s original craft vodka Indeed, an important USP for Tito’s is that it proudly holds the title of ‘America’s original craft vodka’. In 1995, sixth-generation Texan Bert “Tito” Beveridge obtained the first legal permit to distill in Texas and created Tito’s Handmade Vodka on a plot of land in rural Austin, Texas. He built a small shack, rigged a pot still with spare parts and batch distilled his corn-based, naturally gluten-free vodka.

But what was the inspiration behind this innovative business? “Tito used to work on oil rigs,” explains McDonnell. “He was based in South America and when he would come ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

Tito’s Handmade Vodka was born. It was a smart move considering it’s best to “fish where the fish are,” according to McDonnell, with “vodka in America accounting for 35% of total distilled spirits so one out of every three bottles sold is vodka”. A quarter of a century later, the brand is now stocked in over 140 markets internationally and has plenty to celebrate during its 25th anniversary.

Not least of which is the opportunity for further growth presented by the Irish market.

When the numbers are crunched, the growth of premium vodka is impressive. “Europeans have been on a gigantic gin kick, you see that much less in the United States, and I see that trend in Europe slowing down dramatically,” says McDonnell. “I think there’s been a disproportionate amount of shelf space given to gins versus vodka because vodka is the biggest category in the country of Ireland and it’s growing. In 2021, premium and above vodka grew 56% compared to premium-plus gin which grew 24.3% so vodka is coming back in a big way.”

Irish growth

Tito’s Handmade Vodka was first created in a small shack, where Tito rigged a pot still with spare parts and batch distilled his corn-based, naturally gluten-free vodka

Distributed in Ireland by Comans, Tito’s Handmade Vodka has now been in Ireland for seven years; six of those with Comans. The brand is currently stocked in Tesco, Dunnes Stores, O’Brien’s, SuperValu, Spar, specialist accounts and independent outlets. “This is our best performing country euro for euro in Europe,” says McDonnell and Tito’s is aiming for “healthy growth” of 50 – 60%. “We see a large runway; this is a very important vodka

INTERVIEW

market in Europe as the continent’s fourth largest imported vodka market, so we want to get our fair share of that pie.”

The introduction of minimum unit pricing (MUP) to the Irish market has been a hugely positive development for smaller brands, he continues. “A lot of the larger players are not able to heavily discount in the way they have done in years past, so the playing field is more level.” With a RRP of circa €30 per bottle and promotion several times a year at €25, “that gets us closer to the bigger players”.

Nevertheless, Ireland’s high taxes remain a challenge. “When you get outside the US, the taxes on imported spirits are onerous,” says McDonnell. “Ireland has one of the highest tax rates in the EU, with the third highest excise rate on spirits, so when people look at some of the price disparity, it goes to taxes but the consumer doesn’t realise that. That’s why, particularly in these markets, the duty-free airport sector is very important as are the ferry lines.” Accordingly, alongside enjoying a strong presence at both Dublin and Shannon Airports, Tito’s was recently listed with Stena Line Ferries.

Standing out from competitors As in the US, the brand started its journey in Ireland within the on-trade. “We started off on-premise, and when we had built up good momentum, we went into the off-trade because we wanted to show that there was demand for the brand,” says McDonnell.

“Word of mouth is huge for us. That’s what got us momentum in the United States was the idea that ‘if you like it, please tell ten of your friends’ and hopefully they tell ten of their friends and you gain momentum that way. We’re not a brand that’s going to start taking up billboards on major motorways and heavy newspaper announcements; it’s more about word of mouth and social media.” A brand ambassador also visits different bars and works closely with mixologists because they represent the “frontline” in terms of making trend-setting recommendations for consumers.

The brand currently has a special USAthemed bag available for consumers to mark its 25th anniversary, while during the holiday season, its bottles are adorned in mini colourful, knitted jumpers – “ugly jumpers” at they’re known Stateside – which really helps them stand out on-shelf.

In a further boon for the brand, this year Tito’s signed a five-year agreement with the Professional Golfers’ Association to be the exclusive vodka and official sponsor of the Ryder Cup. This saw Tito’s participate in a major charity event at Kilkea Castle for the Greg Hill Foundation earlier this year.

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mountaintop and scream about everything that we’re doing. It’s just part of the company culture; we’d rather lead by example. The younger consumer has shown in research that they’re willing to pay more for brands that are socially conscious and are concerned about protecting the planet.”

Industry experience

Tito’s brand ambassador works with mixologists to spread awareness of the brand as they are at “the frontline” of interacting with customers and making recommendations

this from a quirky and memorable angle. “We work with pet welfare organisations around the globe to raise money for pet shelters.

Instead of running ‘Happy Hours’, we run ‘Yappy Hours’, where the owner of the establishment donates a portion of drink sales to the pet welfare organisations and we as a company match that donation euro for euro.”

Tito’s Handmade Vodka also sells a selection of pet accessories such as dog leashes and bowls, the proceeds of which all go to pet welfare organisations. Explaining where this focus originated, McDonnell explains simply: “Tito is a dog lover. When he was building the still, he always had his dog with him, and he has also rescued a number of stray dogs out by the distillery. He nurses them back to health and then finds a family for them.

“It’s part of our company culture, it’s not a marketing ploy,” he stresses. “Our employees get to bring their dog to work every day and we have a doggy playground out back.”

Sustainability is likewise an important focus for the company. “We catch all the rainwater and irrigate our fields as an example,” says McDonnell. “A large percentage of our packaging is made from recycled materials and we also have solar panels in the distillery.

Nevertheless, we don’t want to stand on a

With a wealth of experience in the industry, knowing what the customer wants is McDonnell’s area of expertise. “I started 39 years ago today in market research in New York City for a company that is no longer here, Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, which used to be the biggest, baddest liquor company in the world.” Unfortunately, it fell victim to the ‘Stupid Grandson Theory’, quips McDonnell.

In 1924, Samuel Bronfman and brothers founded the Distillers Corporation which acquired Seagram in 1928 and kept the name.

“Samuel Bronfman turned the company over to his son Edgar M. Bronfman, who grew Seagram Liquor Company from just a United States and Canada business into a global business and the biggest liquor company in the world. He turned it over to his son, the grandson, Edgar Bronfman Jr., and he nearly bankrupt the company and Diageo bought half and Pernod bought half. Seagram used to have Chivas Regal, Seven Crown, VO, Crown Royal, Martell, Captain Morgan, and even had the distribution for Absolut Vodka so all that came to an end and the sale happened the first week of 2002, just after 9/11. I spent the first 20 years of my career there and then I went to Patrón Tequila, we took that global and then the last nine years have been with Tito’s Handmade Vodka, growing international operations.”

After joining Tito’s in August 2013, the brand is “now in 144 countries around the world and many duty-free outlets at airports and border shops so it’s becoming a truly global brand. People are discovering that high quality vodkas are not just made in Russia and that Americans can make an outstanding vodka. We’ve proved that so hopefully more and more people will discover what we’re doing.” ■

The vodka for dog people “Another way that we attack the market that’s different from the major players is that we’re known as the vodka for dog people,” McDonnell continues. The company comes at

Tito’s Handmade Vodka is known as “the vodka for dog people” with initiatives such as ‘Yappy Hours’ instead of ‘Happy Hours’ to raise funds for pet welfare organisations

www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife September 2022

58 NOFFLA NEWS

www.noffla.ie

SIP will return for 2022 on 10 October Highly anticipated event will feature The Irish Wine Show Star Awards and Christmas Showcase

Monday, 10 October 2022 6pm – 10pm The Morrison Hotel, Dublin 1 The National Off-Licence Association (NOffLA) is delighted to reveal details of SIP 2022 – The Irish Wine Show Star Awards, which incorporates the association’s annual Christmas Showcase.

A window of opportunity for Christmas 2022, the event showcases product formats, bottle sizes, pack sizes and offers on the night.

NOffLA chairman Gary O’Donovan has encouraged the participating drinks brands to achieve a practical feel with the display of products that will be available for NOffLA’s members to retail to their valued customers over Christmas 2022. There will also be plenty of unique offers available for members.

A trade and press only event, SIP 2022 will be held at The Morrison Hotel, Lower Ormond Quay, Dublin 1 on Monday, 10 October 2022 from 6pm onwards. The show will culminate in the announcement of The Irish Wine Show Star Awards 2022-2023. Food will also be served afterwards.

For brands who would like to participate in the event, please contact NOffLA no later than Friday, 23 September 2022.

SIP 2022 is an exclusive opportunity for drinks brands: 1. To promote your product range to members of the National Off-Licence Association and their staff; 2. To showcase new products; 3. For your key sales people to meet their customers; 4. To network with NOffLA and other associate members.

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

STOCK UP NOW

60 ADVISOR: Recruitment

Whisper it: Is ‘quiet quitting’ on the rise?

BARRY WHELAN managing director of Excel Recruitment

www.excelrecruitment.com

While employers might perceive the ‘quiet quitting’ trend as staff deciding to do the bare minimum of work, for employees it could instead be a means of setting greater boundaries between their work and personal lives. It’s an important conversation to explore, writes Excel’s Recruitment’s Barry Whelan

T

he world of work is trending constantly these days, with lots of chatter around ‘The Great Resignation’, but now a new TikTok trend has everyone talking, the trend of ‘quiet quitting’.

Quiet quitting can be described from two points of view, that of the employer and the employee. The employer may see quiet quitting as doing the bare minimum at work, whilst employees are seeing it as simply setting boundaries, to work while at work only and not to live with the stress of a highly pressurised job.

Work-life balance The re-evaluation of our lives in relation to work continues apace on the far side of the pandemic, with many people choosing life and not work as their main priority, despite the risk of sometimes limiting prospects and earnings. Many employees are not doing work beyond what they were recruited to do and beyond what they are being paid for.

A lot of employees are taking a moment now to step back and ask what they can achieve in a day, as they look to regain a work-life balance.

What about in a recessionary environment? Should it not be all shoulders to the wheel? The pandemic has raised questions about work that have not been asked before. With lockdowns blurring the lines between work and home, people are using quiet quitting as a way to set more boundaries between their professional and personal lives.

The new form of “quitting” sees people keeping their jobs, but mentally stepping back from the burdens of work -- for example, working the bare minimum number of hours and not making their jobs an important centre of their lives.

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

Data shows the trend of putting limits on one’s job and work life, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, is most popular among people just starting out in their careers, those who are in their early 20s, which does seem to reflect the term’s popularity on TikTok where the hashtag #quietquitting has been posted more than 3 million times. Whilst being connected to a mission or purpose is a high priority for the younger generation and something they want, unfortunately they are not always experiencing this in their current workplaces.

Deciding to quiet quit a job should come down to a person’s career goals.

If your objective is to secure work-life balance over income and maybe even job security and you are not looking for big raises and promotions, then this could work for you. The current job market is also amenable to the trend. There is no doubt you will be kept on in your employment when there is no-one to fill your role.

The risk of quiet quitting, of course, is that an employee who is less invested in their job may be the one who loses it in times of economic woes.

If you are feeling burnt out or under too much stress in work, then perhaps it may be the right time to speak with

your manager. Set time aside to talk to them about this and prepare solutions for how you can fulfil your job obligations while also taking care of yourself. Employees can also look for community within the workplace to make things a little easier on themselves.

Many employees, because they are looking to reset their work-life balance, may be perceived as quiet quitting when in fact that really is not their intention at all. It is crucial for people to simply reset expectations and have open conversations with their employers. That is a great way for employees to set themselves up for establishing a new baseline for balance that does not impact their future career growth.

I am optimistic that quiet quitting and the discussion it has prompted will bring about real change.

The workplace and its culture may be returning to business as usual, particularly if a rise in unemployment forced by a recession takes hold.

However, will it stay as flexible as it is today? While we might have some bumps along the road, a focus on work-life balance, working from home and agile working are here to stay.

Now is the time to have that conversation. ■

The ‘quiet quitting’ term is most popular among those in their 20s, with the hashtag #quietquitting posted more than 3 million times on TikTok

Begin

Supporting Irish Retail

At Bank of Ireland, we’re here to support the financial wellbeing of your business as it keeps building for years to come. Everyday banking solutions and dedicated business teams when you need them.

For all your Retail Sector needs talk to Owen Clifford Head of Retail Sector 087 9079002 owen.clifford@boi.com bankofireland.com/business

Bank of Ireland is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

62 ADVISOR: HR

Supporting an employee who is transitioning CAROLINE REIDY

managing director, The HR Suite

If an employee notifies you that they will be beginning the transition process, it is sensible to devise a plan of action together. Here, The HR Suite’s Caroline Reidy advises on how to handle a variety of issues that are likely to arise in a sensitive manner

S

upporting a transgender employee before, during, and after their transition process can be hugely empowering to someone who’s taking this momentous step. An organisation’s allyship during this time of transition, and beyond, can foster a nurturing and open culture that embraces and celebrates the experiences, perspectives, and talents of these valuable individuals.

Ensuring that the proper policies and guidelines are in place and available for leaders and colleagues to reference will be important when an employee shares that they are planning to transition. If you’re reflecting on your organisation’s commitment to inclusivity and notice any missing links when it comes to transgender employees, here are some suggested practices that could be considered to support transitioning individuals.

take the lead from your employee

Employers should never make assumptions about an employee’s gender or their plans to transition, writes The HR Suite’s Caroline Reidy

It’s important to never make assumptions about an employee’s gender or their plans to transition. There is no requirement for employees to reveal their gender identity to their employer and it’s also inappropriate for an employee to be asked about their gender identity. Every individual’s process is unique and will vary case by case. Allow the employee to lead the process and ask what they prefer.

Although no two transitions are the same, some areas of consideration may be common in these circumstances, such as modifying the person’s name on organisation documents and communications to co-workers and clients.

plan and review If an employee notifies you that they will be beginning the transition process, it is sensible to devise a plan of action together, including how to handle a variety of issues that are likely to crop up before, during and after the transition. Of course, during the process other things may arise which haven’t been thought of, timescales may change, and the employee’s preferences may change, so it is best to keep the plan under review.

pronouns

CONTACT THE HR SUITE:

If you require further information or advice on HR, please do not hesitate to contact The HR Suite’s consultants on (01) 9014335 or (066) 7102887 or email the company at info@thehrsuiteonline.com.

Pronouns are the words we use to refer to each other in place of a name. The most common pronouns are she/her/ hers for women and he/him/his for men. People who do not identify as male or female might prefer the pronouns, they/ them/theirs. If you are unsure what pronouns to use, it is always best to ask the individual in question what they prefer. The HR Suite advises that employees should be encouraged to share their preferred pronouns and preferred name at work and to inform the business if they would like these to appear on documentation.

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

Revisit policies Revisit your current policies and practices to make sure they’re trans-inclusive. Even if you consider your company’s culture to be inclusive, sometimes there are unnoticed processes that are unintentionally exclusionary.

• Inclusive benefits: To support transgender employees, see that your medical leave policies cover leave for gender transition treatments or surgery. Communicate this policy in employee literature so employees are aware this coverage is available without having to ask.

Remember that the process for applying for benefits should be consistent for all employees.

• Using inclusive language: Check over forms for workplace benefits, on-boarding, and other internal documents to make sure that inclusive language is being used, such as comprehensive gender options and correct and current terminology.

• Bathroom access: The HR Suite advises that colleagues should be able to use the restroom of their choosing throughout their transition period. Keep in mind that requiring transgender employees to use a certain restroom could be discriminatory. Consider creating single-use, gender-neutral bathrooms in addition to, or in replacement of, gender-specific restrooms if it’s within the means of your facility.

• Dress codes: Implementing gender-neutral dress codes make it explicit that all employees may select clothing that aligns with their gender identity.

Reasonably practical steps An employer must demonstrate that they took steps to prevent an incident of harassment and that any complaints were dealt with appropriately. It is necessary for an employer to fully demonstrate that they took steps to prevent such acts by having clear written policies in relation to dignity and respect, equality, bullying and harassment.

However, it is not enough to simply have a policy in place, an employer must ensure that the policy and procedure is applied rigorously and fairly and reasonable action is taken where allegations are made and proven.

Culture The culture of an organisation is a vital factor in creating, establishing and maintaining a positive workplace environment free from harassment, intimidation or any ongoing negative behaviour which might lay the foundation for a discriminatory culture. A positive culture is one in which employees are comfortable raising issues of concern to them, especially of inappropriate behaviours and where there are supportive, effective and fair processes underpinning this in place. ■

You’ll be in good company at MACE Line up with MACE brand ambassador Johnny Sexton and the rest of our winning team.

At

MACE, we’re looking for retailers who bring a smile to work every day to join our amazing team.

Take the first step and get in touch with Andrew or Liam who can give you a full introduction to what the MACE brand and MACE team can do for your business.

Our new stores are designed to be both bright and welcoming, to place you at the heart of the community in which you serve.

To find out more, contact:

Speaking of service, our quality fresh foods and innovations meet the ever-changing needs of people and have been proven to drive profitable sales increases for MACE Retailers.

You will have the support of our experienced team around Ireland, along with award winning marketing to grow your business.

Andrew McCann (Regional Manager North) amccann@bwg.ie / 086 041 4334 Liam Attridge (Regional Manager South) lattridge@bwg.ie / 086 852 1362

www.mace.ie facebook.com/MACEIreland

instagram.com/MACE_ireland

youtube.com/MACE_ireland

twitter.com/@MACEIreland

64 MARKET MOVERS

Logic

Insomnia/Dairyglen

Logic Compact pledges continued innovation and product enhancement

Insomnia and Dairyglen launch new ice cream partnership across Ireland and the UK

The vaping category has continued to grow and evolve, but one aspect that remains constant is JTI’s commitment to providing high quality products that meet strict standards.

Since JTI launched Logic Compact three years ago, the company has consistently innovated, adding new flavours, and grown its product range to meet adult consumers and customers’ needs.

Logic Compact is a rechargeable (re-usable) pod system, for which flavours can easily be changed without cleaning or maintenance.

The team doesn’t stand still at Logic; you will see continued innovation and product enhancement for Logic Compact as the brand maintains its focus and resources on the growing pod segment.

JTI’s salesforce and its customer services team is on hand to provide expert support and advice about the Logic range and help you maximise vaping category sales. You can order Logic products through the web ordering portal JTI Engage, your local JTI trade marketer, by calling JTI customer services on 01-404-5400, or through cash and carry.

Nivea

Insomnia Coffee Co. and Dairyglen Products have joined forces to launch their new 2022 menu featuring milkshakes, ice cream sundaes, affogatos and their famous IceCap range.

The new partnership which brings together great quality Irish ice cream and the nation’s favourite Irish coffee chain, will feature in Insomnia stores all over Ireland and several UK stores. The new product selection includes a wide variety of locally sourced, Irish milkshake and ice cream flavours designed to excite Irish tastebuds including the bestselling Rockshandy milkshake and Nutella and Kinder Bueno classics.

Dairyglen has played a central role in the Irish convenience landscape since 1991 offering customers all over Ireland best-in-class solutions for the ice cream and frozen beverages market. This new collaboration will see Dairyglen expand its consumer base further into the UK, offering full concept management including cleaning, servicing, and preventative maintenance to retailers in the foodservice and hospitality markets.

The partnership with Insomnia is part of a strategic focus for Dairyglen which is currently investing heavily in AI and data analytics to further push the boundaries of the ice cream and frozen beverages market.

Insomnia is the latest addition to a growing number of partnerships for Dairyglen, offering training, servicing, and monthly cleaning for all locations.

Nexba Kombucha

SHS Sales and Marketing launches Australia’s all-natural sugar-free drink Nexba into Ireland

Winter skin saviours from Nivea Ireland’s number one skincare brand, Nivea, is serving up the winter skin saviours that will give skin the boost it needs to stay nourished, moisturised and glowing all winter long. The range protects skin from harsh winter conditions as skin can become dry in the winter months as wind, cold air and heating affect the skin’s natural moisture balance.

The range includes: • Nivea Rich Nourishing Body Lotion, 400ml (RRSP: €7.49) The formula contains Nivea Deep Moisture Serum, natural almond oil and Vitamin E to lock in moisture leaving noticeably smoother skin for 48 hours. With a rich and creamy texture, this reduces the roughness of dry to very dry skin after the first application and offers long-lasting relief from dry skin.

• Nivea Intensive Moisture Hand Cream, 100ml (RRSP: €3.49) Enriched with almond oil, this provides superior performance and deep nourishment for hands. The gentle, vegan formula with a unique Nivea scent leaves hands smooth and soft for 24 hours.

• Original Care Lip Balm, 5.5ml (RRSP: €2.49) Made with naturally derived ingredients and enriched with shea butter and organic jojoba oil, the Original Care Lip Balm takes care of lips all day long.

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

Australia’s number one all-natural sugar-free drinks brand, Nexba, has appointed SHS Sales and Marketing Ireland to look after the sales and distribution of its Kombucha portfolio in Ireland.

Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage which contains healthy components such as B vitamins, organic acids, live cultures and antioxidants. Nexba Kombucha proves that gut health and great taste can go hand-in-hand.

Available in three flavours – Strawberry & Peach, Mango and Mixed Berry – each drink is full of live culture probiotics and made using the globally patented ‘Nexba Natural Sweetener Blend’, so it’s completely sugar-free and contains nothing artificial, yet retains its bold, fruity flavours.

Nexba’s Kombucha range contains zero alcohol and is without the strong vinegar taste commonly found in other Kombucha products. The range is part of the company’s ongoing agenda to tackle diabetes and obesity and improve gut health in Ireland. So far Nexba has taken over 5 billion grams of sugar out of global diets.

Nexba will be available in SuperValu, Centra, Spar and independents in 330ml cans and 1L Pet bottle formats.

For further information, contact SHS Sales and Marketing by telephone: 01 401 6200 or email: info@shs-sales.ie.

A MATCH MADE

n e v a e H in SMART RETAILERS CHOOSE DAIRYGLEN

66 MARKET MOVERS

Pringles

Petits Filous

Pringles extends its Passport range with two new flavours Pringles is adding two limited-edition flavours to its Passport range, which includes mouth-watering Middle Eastern style Roasted Red Pepper and Hummus flavour and moreish Mexican Chilli Taco flavour.

The two new additions are part of Pringles ‘Passport Flavours’ range that launched earlier this year, with other flavours including Italian Style Pepperoni Pizza flavour and New York Style Cheeseburger flavour. The collection aims to tantalise people’s tastebuds by taking them away on holiday to enjoy global tastes from the comfort of their home.

Pringles fans have seen a wide variety of new flavours come and go over the years and have enjoyed trying innovative combinations. This next taste adventure will take fans on a journey to the exotic Middle East and vibrant Mexico.

“We love to create and introduce exciting, new Pringles flavours and these latest additions give fans a chance to temporarily get away,” said Neil Rogers, Pringles Ireland brand & activation manager.

“But holidays don’t last forever, and neither will these limitededition flavours that will be in stores until the end of the year.

We’d encourage Pringles fans to take a taste trip before it’s too late.”

These latest Pringles flavours are in SuperValu and Centra stores now priced at €2.99*.

Petits Filous packs in the vitamins with nourishing NPD Ireland’s number one brand in fromage frais kids’ yoghurt*, Petits Filous, is once again at the forefront of category innovation with a gamechanging new launch of nutrient-packed drinkable yoghurts, designed to help children increase their vitamin intake.

New Petits Filous Vitamin Rich which launched on 12 September, is set to revolutionise the category as the first yoghurt to blend fruit and vegetables together in a drinkable format.

The range will land in major retailers across Ireland in two delicious flavours: Strawberry & Beetroot and Apricot, Peach & Carrot. With no artificial colours or flavourings, each yoghurt is blended with fruit and veggies and has been fortified with calcium, Vitamin D and Vitamin C*.

The tasty snack taps into the growing demand for portable, on-the-go options, with expertly designed packaging and yoghurt that lasts for eight hours out of the fridge. The brand is so confident the new additions will be a hit that it’s offering a bold ‘Love Me or Your Money Back’ promise** on every pack for the first three months on-shelf.

Available in a fun, drinkable format that’s perfect for little hands, it’s a great solution for incorporating extra goodness into kids’ diets.

*(Price is at the sole discretion of the retailer)

*(Source: Nielsen – Scan Track, total coverage including discounters, Kids Yoghurt category, we 29.01.2022)

Vuse

Vuse

BAT Ireland launches Vuse Go to capitalise on growing vape disposables segment

Vuse upgrades to ePod 2 device

In a growing vape market, disposables are currently moving the fastest. To help retailers capitalise on the opportunity, BAT Ireland has entered the category with Vuse Go. Vuse Go is the latest addition to the Vuse brand and combines single-use simplicity with on-the-go convenience. It’s a pre-filled, ready to use vape that lasts up to 500 puffs**. It offers a broad choice of all flavours, including the six flavours currently most popular with adult consumers.

All Vuse Go flavours are in 20mg/ml nicotine strengths but different strengths will be coming soon. To cater further for adult consumers’ evolving demands, the six Vuse Go flavours have also been developed in Vuse ePod and will be available for order later this year.

BAT has invested significantly to achieve its leading position with Vuse. Vuse Go is the latest stage of its journey, which the company believes is a fantastic opportunity for retailers to grow their sales of alternative nicotine products.

Speak to your BAT Ireland rep to learn more about Vuse Go. **(Source: Based on laboratory testing of newly manufactured product and may vary depending on individuals’ usage behaviour)

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

With the Vype to Vuse transition, the Vuse brand promised further innovation and is now upgrading its current ePod device to the ePod 2.

With this upgraded device, Vuse is giving consumers a product that fits seamlessly into their lives, combining convenience and power in a sleek, and distinctive, angular design. The new design allows consumers to stand out and express themselves through two premium metallic colours, while enhanced features like fast charging, vape while charging and splashproof design solve key needs and make a difference in the everyday vaping experience.

Retailers do not need to do anything! There are no changes to barcodes as this is an upgrade to the current ePod device. The ePod 2 will just flow through as retailers place orders when their current stock runs out. You will start to notice the upgraded devices packs in shops soon.

There are a lot of more exciting things to come for the Vuse brand this year and the company looks forward to sharing more with retail partners soon; watch this space.

If you wish to place any orders for Vuse products, visit the website, b2b.pjcarroll.ie or speak to your BAT representative.

MARKET MOVERS 67

Nordic Spirit

Sanpellegrino

Get ready to discover a taste of the tropics from Nordic Spirit

Sanpellegrino has a sleek new look for Tastefully Light range

Nordic Spirit is extending its flavour range, for a limited time only, with the addition of a new Watermelon flavour.

Now adult consumers can experience Watermelon’s refreshing taste of the tropics, available now in ‘Regular’ strength.

Nordic Spirit is also available in Spearmint, Smooth Mint and Berry Citrus flavours, in both ‘Regular’ and ‘Strong’ nicotine strengths.

With Nordic Spirit, there are no limits. Nordic Spirit can be used anytime, anywhere with its tobacco-free, vapourfree, discreet design. Consumers can simply place a pouch under their upper lip and enjoy!

The brand advises retailers to stock up now to ‘discover your true Nordic Spirit’ and capitalise on this opportunity’s potential.

Premium drinks brand Sanpellegrino has created a new visual identity for its Tastefully Light sparkling fruit range. With the very best selection of Italian ingredients including real fruit juice, the Sanpellegrino Tastefully Light sparkling fruit range, has long been a favourite with consumers looking for a truly thirst quenching and delicious citrus drink.

The entire range which encompasses six vibrant flavours has switched up its look to a new premium 330ml sleek can. All flavours are also now available in multipacks of four and six. This new visual identity reinforces Sanpellegrino’s distinctive USPs - highquality ingredients and Italian origins.

The Sanpellegrino Tastefully Light sparkling fruit range includes Limonata (lemon), Aranciata (orange), Aranciata Rossa (blood orange), Melograno & Arancia (pomegranate & orange), Limone & Menta (lemon & mint) and Pompelmo (grapefruit). Each can contains at least 16% real fruit juice sourced from Italy and the Mediterranean and stevia from natural sources. The range provides customers with the superior taste Sanpellegrino is renowned for, thanks to the provenance of its ingredients and Italian flair since 1932.

It’s available now in major retailers such as Tesco, Dunnes Stores, SuperValu and other speciality retailers along with selected vendors nationwide.

For more information, visit www.sanpellegrinofruitbeverages.com/uk/. ■

www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife Month 2022

68 FOOD FOCUS Last seen in 2018, the crowdpleasing Big Beef Sub is back on Subway’s menu

Subway expands menu options The first Pret A Manager on the island of Ireland opened on Dublin’s Dawson Street on Friday, 26 August

Pret A Manger arrives in Dublin with first shop in the Republic of Ireland Pret A Manger has opened its first shop on the island of Ireland, bringing its freshly made food and 100% organic coffee to the people of Dublin.

Located on the city’s historic Dawson Street, the new shop officially opened its doors to the public on Friday, 26 August.

The shop has already created 25 new jobs in the capital and is the first of 20 new Pret shops set to open across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland over the next decade, creating approximately 500 jobs. It forms part of the company’s broader plans to expand into new markets.

The Dawson Street opening comes after Pret agreed terms with Carebrook

Partnership Ltd, one of its longest serving franchise partners, which has overseen the success of many shops in London including Camden, Belsize Park and Finchley.

Having grown up in Tipperary, Carebrook co-owners Gerard Loughran and Ray McNamara have in-depth knowledge of the Irish food industry, alongside 30 years of experience working with Pret.

All the freshly handmade food and organic coffee and teas which Pret is known for, will be prepared in the shop’s onsite kitchen daily.

In partnership with the Pret Foundation, the new shop’s surplus food will be donated to homeless charity Depaul Ireland.

Lidl Ireland signs new exclusive deal with Carrick Farms Lidl Ireland has signed an exclusive deal with Irish family farm, Carrick Farms, valued at more than €2 million. The new deal will see Carrick Farms’ fresh Irish vegetables such as cucumbers and cauliflower stocked across Lidl’s network of stores.

Carrick Farms was founded more than 100 years ago in the foothills of Rush, Co. Dublin.

Having been involved in farming for five generations, three members of the Carrick family still continue the brand’s legacy today.

Gillian Jenner, Lidl Ireland senior buyer for food, Brian Carrick, Carrick Farms and John McDonagh, Lidl Ireland purchasing director

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

Carrick Farms secured its first contract with Lidl Ireland in 2015, supplying lettuce to the retailer. Since then, the partnership has thrived.

From solely family members working the land, to now employing more than 40 employees, Carrick Farms continues to go from strength to strength, now farming over 120 acres of Irish produce annually. The success is further solidified through the new deal with Lidl Ireland.

“I’m delighted to see such recognition and investment in local Irish farming from such a prominent retailer as Lidl,” said Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, who visited Carrick Farms.

Gillian Jenner, senior buyer at Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland, said the deal further underscored Lidl’s commitment to supporting local Irish suppliers.

“Bringing high quality, locally sourced products at affordable prices to our stores is at the forefront of what we do,” Jenner said.

“This latest partnership is a pivotal point for us in terms of supplying local produce in our stores.”

Subway launched three tasty new menu items earlier this month; including the brand-new allAmerican inspired Buffalo Chicken Sub, the Big Beef Sub, which is making a return, and Subway’s Cheesy Garlic Slice, which will be available as a side.

The latest menu additions have been available since 7 September, with the Big Beef Sub and Cheesy Garlic Slice both permanent menu items.

The Buffalo Chicken Sub is a limited edition and only available until Tuesday, 8 November 2022.

“There’s waaay more value and waaay more choice on our menu, offering something for everyone to enjoy,” said Angelina Gosal, head of marketing UK & Ireland at Subway.

Almost a third store chocolate incorrectly

“Around 18 to 21 degrees Celsius is the goldilocks zone for storing chocolate,” according to Nomo’s Angela Beckett.

Research commissioned by Nomo found great confusion among consumers about how chocolate should be stored.

The UK’s number one vegan and free from chocolate brand found that 34% store it in the fridge, 30% store it outside the fridge and 29% flit between storing it in and out of the fridge.

“The aromatic cocoa notes are more apparent at higher temperatures, so if you want to appreciate the depth of flavours it should be stored outside of the fridge in a cool, dark place,” said Angela Beckett, who manages the development of new products at Nomo.

Iceland Ireland introduces inflation busting school lunchbox offers

As back-to-school costs can put parents under pressure, particularly as the cost of living continues to rise, Iceland Ireland has introduced a new backto-school lunchbox offering for only €1.22 per day.

This lunchbox meal deal includes Irwin’s Golden Bake Sliced Pan, Denny Luncheon Roll Ham, Dairylea Cheese Slices (eight-pack), Yoplait Wildlife Strawberry Choobs, and a five-pack of pears, totalling €6.10, that will help with financial worries and sort out lunchboxes across the school week.

The new lunch meal deal offerings are available across all 27 Iceland Ireland stores nationwide and online at Icelandfoods.ie. ■

Dairylea Cheese Slices are one of five items included in Iceland’s new lunchbox meal deal

SOCIAL DIARY 69

Mr. L’s Cocktails launches new range of RTD cocktails created by industry legend 1

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WHERE: Bad Bob’s Rooftop, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 WHEN: Thursday, 25 August 2022

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WHAT: Mr. L’s Cocktails is a brand-new range of ready to drink, premium cocktails mixed with the finest quality ingredients and spirits, under the keen knowledge and expertise of Paul Lambert. Widely regarded as one of Ireland’s most prestigious mixologists, Paul, in collaboration with Cult Drinks, is bringing to the market the best of the best in pre-mixed, bottled cocktails with an initial range of four flavours: Pina Colada, 1930s Cosmo, Whiskey Sour, and P*rnstar Martini.

Friends, colleagues and clients from the on and off-trade gathered for the official launch on Bad Bob’s Rooftop, Temple Bar, where Paul gave guests the full lowdown on his specially crafted collection, with a particular focus on how Mr. L’s Cocktails can provide the highest standard of delicious cocktails with no staff experience necessary.

1. Adele Miner 2. Laura Brennan and Denise Brophy 3. Avila Lipsett 4. Corina Gaffey 5. Sarah Jane Brangan and Patrick McGowan 6. Patrick Blue

Holland & Barrett unveils new flagship Dublin store WHERE: Holland & Barrett, 45 Henry Street, Dublin 1

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WHEN: Thursday, 8 September 2022 WHAT: Europe’s leading health and wellness retailer Holland & Barrett officially opened a new flagship store on Henry Street on Dublin’s busy north city shopping district.

The latest opening is part of an ongoing multi-million euro investment by Holland & Barrett, with €5 million invested over the last 12 months on new store openings, relocations and refits across the country alone. In addition to its dedicated Irish website (www.hollandandbarrett.ie), the company now operates 62 stores across the Republic with 314 ‘Qualified to Advise’ wellness advisors in stores. The latest expansion has created 30 new job roles with a further 60 roles planned over the next year.

The Henry Street flagship will offer a wide range of health foods, vitamins and supplements, sports nutrition and natural beauty products. Customers will be able to experience a wide range of new wellness services with new consultation rooms in the store, offering personalised support to help customers be more proactive in managing their health. Services include a selection of diagnostic tests as well as biometric testing and BMI analysis. Colleagues are qualified to give general weight management and nutrition advice. Sports and fitness enthusiasts will also be able to benefit from nutrition advice as well as access to Les Mills subscriptions on offer in the new-look store. ■

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1. Jessie Collins and Anna Perry 2. Claire Stafford and Shay McManus 3. Natalie Araujo 4. Daniel Twomey 5. Niamh Cullen 6. Siobhan O’Connor and Sonia Harris Pope 7. Ian Mulvaney and Gillian Hamill 8. Lorna Donnelly and Natalie Donohoe

www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife September 2022

70 HOTSPOTS One man’s trash!

It might be an idea to hold on to your plastic bottles as they could soon be worth a small fortune. Scientists at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California have found a way to make diamonds from used plastic bottles. According to the Daily Mail, researchers were intending to recreate the ‘diamond rain’ phenomenon that occurs inside Neptune and Uranus. Within these ice giants are temperatures of several thousand degrees Celsius, and the pressure is millions of times greater than in the Earth’s atmosphere.

To mimic this process, the scientists fired a high-powered laser at polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic - a hydrocarbon material commonly used in single-use packaging and witnessed the growth of diamond-like structures. “PET has a good balance between carbon, hydrogen and oxygen to simulate the activity in ice planets,” said Dominik Kraus, a physicist at HZDR and professor at the University of Rostock. Their technology could help limit plastic waste, as the recycled nanodiamonds have a wide array of applications including medical sensors and drug delivery.

And if you can’t afford an engagement ring don’t fret; an old Scientists in California claim they bottle of Ballygowan and a bit of have found a way to turn used laser could do the trick instead! plastic bottles into diamonds

Following the Twitterati ■ @mauricewalsh1 Just got an email from @dunnesstores advertising gilets, describing them as “the perfect layer to wear as summer fades into fall”. IT’S AUTUMN. AUTUMN LADS. ■ @realLiamMac @TescoIrl Why should I pay so much more just because I don’t sign up to your clubcard programme? This isn’t about inflation, it’s discrimination. Stop exploiting consumers during a cost of living crisis!

■ @thomasbrunkard Lad has just showed up at the Spar in Citywest with his horse and trap and casually ties horse to tree while he completes his shopping. #Dublin ■ @anatomy_alex War has been waged against Ukraine. Many of us buy ‘Chicken Kiev’; Kiev (Key-ev) is the Russian version in English. Let’s ask our supermarkets & butchers to use the Ukrainian Kyiv (Keev) & support Ukrainian cousins. A sticker on product? @dunnesstores @lidl_ireland @Aldi_Ireland

30 for €30!

In a move that may see other retailers curse their European counterpart, Carrefour is to sell Spanish consumers a basket of 30 basic goods for €30, days after Spain announced it was considering asking major retailers to offer special price packages to mitigate inflation that hit 10.3% in August, according to Reuters.

“The current situation requires agile and effective measures,” said Alexandre de Palmas, executive director of Carrefour Spain.

“In these times, where each act of purchase is more valuable than ever, Carrefour is responding to its customers. We are working to offer savings solutions that protect the purchasing power of families in Spain.”

The government’s announcement was met with criticism by Spanish business groups and some politicians, who view the move as the government engaging in price intervention.

French retailer Carrefour, the second-largest grocery chain in Spain after Mercadona, said the exclusive basket offer will include tinned food, pasta, oil and coffee among other products.

Keep the lights on this Christmas!

As we have to consider stocking up on candles as we await a long, cold and even dark winter ahead, Retail Excellence has warned the government that a major intervention on energy costs is needed in order to keep businesses’ lights on this Christmas.

The warning from the industry group comes as 400 retailers gathered at the Retail Excellence retreat in Carton House in early September.

Managing director of Retail Excellence Duncan Graham said that Irish retailers are facing huge challenges in the months ahead.

“Retailers of all sizes are currently dealing with unprecedented energy bills which are threatening thousands of livelihoods around the country,” he said.

Retail Excellence is calling for a cap on energy costs as a priority in advance of the industry’s busiest season.

He added that retailers look set to experience a poor Christmas trading season for the third Christmas in a row without the introduction of an energy price cap. No longer are we dreaming of a white Christmas; a No longer are we dreaming of a bright one would suffice for this year, white Christmas, a bright one will suffice this year! thanks very much.

Grocery across the globe US

Juul Labs has reached an agreement in principle to pay €438m to 33 states to resolve a two-year bipartisan probe into the e-cigarette manufacturer’s marketing and sales practices, particularly claims that it marketed addictive nicotine products to children. Under the deal, Juul will refrain from all youth marketing, paid product placement and funding education programmes. Juul said in a statement that the settlement is a “significant part of our ongoing commitment to resolve issues from the past”.

UK

British bread is set to be fortified with folic acid, health officials confirmed. Folic acid will be added to all white and brown flour, when the ruling eventually gets the go-ahead. The nutrient, a synthetic version of the vitamin folate (B9), helps the body make healthy red blood cells. A lack of the nutrient is associated with neural tube defects, including spina bifida – when a baby’s spine does not develop properly in the womb.

ShelfLife September 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

France

Regular consumption of diet drinks could raise your risk of heart attacks, French scientists have suggested. A team of researchers have studied the eating habits of more than 100,000 people, including how much artificial sweetener was in their diet. The findings, published in the British Medical Journal, show that those with the most in their diet, equivalent to half a can of a diet drink per day, were a tenth more likely to suffer heart disease.

Ukraine

Grain exports from Ukraine are helping to push prices down, according to a UN spokesperson. A drop in global wheat prices in August was partly due to grain exports resuming from Ukraine and ensuring food and fertiliser supplies were critical to maintaining a downtrend. The grain deal, signed in July, aimed to avert a global food crisis by guaranteeing the safe passage of ships in and out of Ukrainian ports. ■

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