Issuu

LARGEST INDEPENDENTLY AUDITED GROCERY TRADE CIRCULATION IN IRELAND

July 2022

today’s woman in grocery

BWG Foods UC’s Frances Higgins reveals ambitious plans for her tenure as the first female chairperson of the IGBF

Brand battles Dan White ponders what the recent price spat between Kraft Heinz and Tesco UK reveals about supply chain relations

Evolving ethics Retailers must align sustainability credentials with the next generation of Irish spenders, writes Brian Wallace

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

NUEVO NEW

COMING IN JULY

This summer, Madri Excepcional will bring the soul of Madrid to UK and Ireland, with a multimillion European campaign across TV, Video On Demand, Out Of Home, Digital and Social. All supported by high profile partnerships and sales promotion activation. Madrí Excepcional is a collaboration between Molson Coors and Madrid’s La Sagra Brewery. It aims to capture “El alma de Madrid” or “The Soul of Madrid” and has all the taste characteristics of a modern European-style lager. The crisp, clean and refreshing beverage is full of flavour and aroma at 4.6% ABV, serving a refreshing, balanced taste born from the streets of modern Madrid.

In Ireland, Madrí Excepcional has already broken into the top-ten best-selling draught world lagers [1] so we are confident that this campaign will capture the imagination of consumers across the Island of Ireland and convince beer drinkers to discover the soul of Madrid.

N U EVO N EW

Madrí Excepcional

N U EVO N EW

madriexcepcional

N U E VO NEW N U EV O N EW

T O F I N D O U T M O R E T A L K T O Y O U R M O L S O N C O O R S R E P.

[1] CGA data for Total ROI On Trade, Value and Volume, 12me Dec 2021 – World Lagers. All images are for illustration purposes only, actual campaign creative embargoed until official launch.

OPINION 3

ShelfLife July 2022 Vol. 29 No.7 Editor GILLIAN HAMILL (01) 294 7776 gillian.hamill@mediateam.ie Staff journalist JULIA O’REILLY (01) 294 7709 julia.oreilly@mediateam.ie Contributors CAROLINE REIDY FIONNUALA CAROLAN BARRY WHELAN COLIN GORDON BRIAN WALLACE ROBIN HAYES 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

Summer is the so-called journalistic ‘silly season’ but not here at ShelfLife! Instead, we’re delig hted to bring you another issue packed full of industry insights and analysis, not least of which is Dan White’s cove rage of the recent price dispute between Kraft Heinz and Tesco UK and the wider consequences for brands. Huge congratulations must go mea nwhile to the newly crowned ShelfLife National Grocery Retail Manager of the Year 2022, Mark Byrn e of Blake's Centra, Blarney Filling Station, Co. Cork. We look forward to reporting on all 23 highly deserving winners at this year’s Grocery Management Awards in our August issue. Gillian Hamill, editor, ShelfLife mag azine

Contents July 14

COVER STORY 18

Today’s woman in grocery: Frances Higgins, group head of promotions for BWG Foods UC and the new chairperson of the Irish Grocers’ Benevolent Fund (IGBF), explains her plans for her tenure

NEWS&ANALYSIS 4

News grid

Seen and heard

Publisher JOHN McDONALD (01) 294 7744 john.mcdonald@mediateam.ie

10 Appointments

Printing W & G Baird Ltd

52 Off-trade news

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.

A quick note from the editor

12 CSNA news 50 NOffLA news

FEATURES&REPORTS 14 Dan White: Although Kraft Heinz products have once again been happily reunited with Tesco shelves in the UK, Dan White ponders the ramifications of their spat

22 Evolving ethics: Retailers must align their sustainability and ethics mindset with the next generation of spenders, writes Brian Wallace, relationship director, Barclays Bank Ireland

17 Mace store proﬁle: After once

again extending an already sizeable forecourt, Mace Ballinalack in Co. Westmeath, is proudly flying the flag for the Mace brand

26 Nearby store proﬁle: Oonagh

Hannon, who manages Nearby LMS on Finisklin Road, Sligo, tells Fionnuala Carolan how she endeavours to see the shop through the eyes of the customer at all times

ADVISOR 24 28 29 30

HR Reruitment Legal guide Marketing

MARKETING& CATEGORY FOCUS 32 40 48 54

Back to school Summer wines Driving footfall Market movers

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT Hosons Brands add Lemonaid+ and ChariTea to its portfolio

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

Hosons Brands, a new innovative Irish sales and marketing company that specialises in brand building for boutique beverage brands, has announced that it is now distributing the Lemonaid+ and ChariTea portfolio of products in the Republic of Ireland. This premium range of organic, Fairtrade soft drinks and iced teas are now available in Barnhill Stores, Mortons, One Kinda Folk, Happy Out and a range of other independent cafés, premium grocery stores and casual dining restaurants. Lemonaid+ and ChariTea are a social enterprise that promote the ‘Drinking Helps’ principle. They source their raw ingredients from certified Fairtrade and organic producers, and beyond Fairtrade, they donate 5 cents from every bottle sold to the Lemonaid+ and ChariTea Foundation. This is a registered charity that directly supports social development projects in the ingredient growing regions.

Lemonaid+ soft drinks are made with organically grown Fairtrade ingredients - fresh fruit juices, sparkling water, and lightly sweetened with raw cane sugar, and no preservatives or artificial flavours. There are four flavours - Lime, Blood Orange, Passionfruit and Ginger. ChariTea is a range of freshly brewed iced teas made with organically grown loose leaf tea and other Fairtrade ingredients. Natural refreshment with the best pure juice - no flavour enhancers, preservatives or artificial flavours - and naturally sweetened with organic agave nectar or honey. There are four flavours - ChariTea Red, ChariTea Green, ChariTea Black and ChariTea Mate. Formed in 2020, Hosons Brands is also the exclusive Irish distributor for Something & Nothing Seltzers and Spritz. For more information, visit www.hosons.com.

NEWS

NEWSGRID The top news stories in FMCG Mace aims to raise €100k for Down Syndrome Ireland Mace retailers across Ireland are inviting customers and staff to donate between 15 minutes and one hour of their time to cycle on static bikes and raise much-needed funds for Down Syndrome Ireland, Mace’s official charity partner. Together, Mace and Down Syndrome Ireland have a fundraising target of €100,000 for the summer period and will be hosting a number of Tour de Mace static cycling events across the country. See www.mace.ie for more details. Mace sales director Peter Dwan and Down Syndrome Ireland CEO, Barry Sheridan, at Mace Ballinalack in Co. Westmeath

Circle K opens brand new service station in Grange Circle K officially opened the newest service station in its nationwide company-owned network, Circle K Grange in Co. Sligo, on 8 July. The filling station opened initially in 2000, and with the redevelopment will now offer a wide range of products and services including Circle K’s deli menu, which includes 15,000 combinations.

RGDATA calls on retailers to take part in living wage consultation RGDATA is calling on retailers to take part in a public consultation on the phasing in of a living wage. The Low Pay Commission has made a total of 18 recommendations on how best Ireland can phase in a living wage. It is also proposing setting the living wage “as 60% of the median wage and phasing this in over four-years (2023 to 2026),” RGDATA said. While RGDATA will make a submission, independent retailers can also make your voices heard by emailing your comments to livingwage@enterprise.gov.ie before the closing date of 27 July 2022.

and retail from across Ireland Aldi reopens Clonmel store following €3.8m revamp

Details of ‘Latte Levy’ announced The ‘Latte Levy’ is due to be implemented on 1 December of this year. The levy of 20 cents will apply to hot beverage single-use cups and is payable by the person selling the products. Revenue will be the collectors of the levy, with identical arrangements to the plastic bag levy, whereby annual filing is allowed only if the business pays less than €1,000 in total over four consecutive quarters. Owen Clifford, head of retail sector, Bank of Ireland, with Supreme Champion Mark Byrne and ShelfLife editor Gillian Hamill

Mark Byrne named GMAs Supreme Champion 2022 Ireland’s grocery retail industry gathered at Dublin’s Royal Marine Hotel on Wednesday, 6 July, for the 2022 ShelfLife Grocery Management Awards, recognising individual management excellence in the sector. Led by MC Shay Byrne of RTÉ Radio One’s Rising Time, the prestigious, independently judged awards ceremony is supported by platinum sponsor Bank of Ireland and carried out in association with Excel Recruitment. The judges deemed Mark Byrne of Blake’s Centra in Blarney, Co. Cork an outstanding winner on account of the true dedication and passion he has demonstrated for the retail industry. Full details of all 23 winners will feature in our August issue.

Ocado secures €671 million in funding for tech rollout Online retailer Ocado has raised £575 million (€671 million) from investors to secure funding for the expensive roll-out of its grocery ecommerce technology. Ocado said its new funds would allow it to help customers, which include Kroger in the US and Australia’s Coles, to develop online grocery businesses.

Aldi has unveiled its newly revamped and extended Clonmel store following a €3.8 million overhaul. The environmentally friendly store is powered by 100% green electricity. Over the past two months, the store has undergone a complete refurbishment, including the building of a new extension, increasing the shop Store manager Richard floor space by 25% Blake with Aldi to 1,405 sq m. Clonmel store staff

June spending drops as consumers cut back Against a backdrop of cost-of-living increases, Bank of Ireland debit and credit card analysis for June revealed a 4% overall monthly fall in spending. Total social spending fell by -5% in June as consumers scaled back their pub spend (-8%) compared to May, and also spent less money on fast food (-4%) and in restaurants (-3%). Consumer spending on clothing and groceries both fell by -6% month-on-month.

Signs are positive for extra payment rebate within Sick Leave Act 2022 Employers who can provide evidence that an extra employee was paid during a period of staff sick leave may be able to claim an allowance or rebate for that payment under the Sick Leave Act 2022, both Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and the Minister of State for Employment Affairs and Retail, Damien English have pledged. The Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association (CSNA), which had called for the rebate measure to be implemented, said: “Mr Varadkar and Mr English accepted the views of CSNA that small and medium-sized businesses that need to provide service to their customers are disproportionately affected by this legislation.” ■

For more details on all the above and the latest grocery-related news as it happens, visit www.shelﬂife.ie. ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

SEEN AND HEARD

Gala Getaways are go, with €40,000 of staycation gift vouchers to be won from Gala Retail Gala Retail is set to give away €40,000 of staycation gift vouchers to lucky customers this summer with its Gala Getaways promotion, which is live in stores now. Teaming up with IrelandHotels.com for the in-store promotion, the Gala Getaways giveaway will see each Gala shopper who spends over €10 in participating stores entered into a draw in-store to win a €250 ‘Go Anywhere’ gift card to put towards a staycation at one of the hundreds of Irish hotels and guesthouses partnered with IrelandHotels.com. A winner will be picked from every participating Gala store. “The Gala Getaways promotion is back for

another year following a great reaction from Gala customers last summer,” said CEO of Gala Retail, Gary Desmond. “With a chance to win in every participating store, this is our way of thanking loyal Gala customers for their continued support and Gala retailers across the country look forward to giving their valued customers a chance to win,” Desmond added. The Gala Getaways promotion will run in participating Gala Retail stores from 27 June until 31 July. Further information about the promotion can be found on the Gala Retail social media accounts and at www.gala.ie/competitions.

CEO of Gala Retail Gary Desmond, radio and TV personality Lucy Kennedy and Denyse Campbell, president, Irish Hotels Federation (IHF)

A fresh new look for PRM This summer, PRM reveals its new brand identity — winking at its heritage while reinventing itself for today’s modern world. The Lisburn-based sales and distribution business was founded in 1988 by Philip and Lynne Morrow. Celebrating 35 years in business next year, the company now employs 250 people and has production facilities in Dromore and Derry. PRM offers a complete range of services that enables the business to meet the diverse requirements of leading food brands, grocery retailers and their customers, thus making PRM the distribution partner of choice for many today. “This brand refresh signifies the beginning of the next chapter for PRM as we accelerate plans to futureproof and further grow the business as we respond to the continued demand for route to market services,” said CEO and founder Philip Morrow. “Part of our plans for growth include an expansion of our physical capacity and warehousing capabilities with the construction of a new purpose-built facility adjacent to our current premises in Lisburn,” he continued. Despite the difficulties caused by Brexit, Morrow said it has presented PRM with new opportunities to offer solutions to the supply challenges many brands and retailers now face across GB and Ireland. “I am immensely proud of what we have achieved over the last 35 years, none of which would have been possible without the excellent people who have contributed to the continued growth of the business,

Company director Lynne Morrow and managing director Philip Morrow, who founded PRM in 1988

some of whom have been with us from day one and are still here today leading the company forward within their various departments.” The brand’s logo, color palette and typeface have all been given a style evolution. “Our new identity conveys quality, freshness and the dynamic nature of our business — representing our continued commitment to providing solutions for our suppliers and customers alike,” said marketing manager Emma Morrow. Over the summer months, the company will launch its new website, staff uniforms and unveil new livery across a fleet of 30 multitemperature-controlled vehicles.

Musgrave invests €25 million in stores as part of net zero journey Musgrave has announced a €25 million investment in SuperValu and Centra stores across the island of Ireland as part of a new sustainability fund aimed at empowering retailers to achieve net zero carbon by 2040. The fund, which is part of Musgrave’s all-island sustainability strategy, will result in an estimated 12% carbon reduction by the company over a two-year period. The 12% carbon reduction is equivalent to removing over 10,000 tonnes of carbon, planting 380,000 trees across the island of Ireland or powering over 5,000 homes. Musgrave’s new sustainability strategy aims to reduce its carbon emissions to reach net zero carbon by 2040, provide consumers with more sustainable shopping choices in-store and work with retailers to make every community in Ireland a sustainable one. In the Republic of Ireland, Musgrave is committing €50,000 per SuperValu store and

ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

€28,000 per Centra store. Retailers can select suitable initiatives based on each store’s needs and set-up, including upgrading freezers and refrigeration units, LED lighting retrofit, solar panels, and electronic shelf edge labels (eSEL).

At a glance As part of its strategy, Musgrave has committed to the following: • 100% of its own brand packaging will be eliminated, and where necessary will be recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. • Currently over 90% of its own brand packaging is recyclable, reusable or compostable. • 100% of fruit and veg packaging to be recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. • 100% of in-store packaging to be recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. • By 2025 all stores will have LED lighting. • By 2025 over 75% of stores will have doors on their refrigeration.

Alex Kelly, age 10 from Portmarnock, Dublin and Olivia I Hekaire age 9 from Santry, Dublin, alongside Musgrave CEO Noel Keeley (Picture: Jason Clarke)

• By 2025 100 stores will be fitted with solar panels. Further details on Musgrave’s sustainability strategy can be found at: www.musgravegroup. com/sustainability/. ■

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APPOINTMENTS

JTI Ireland announces new general manager JTI Ireland, the country’s leading tobacco manufacturer, has announced a change in its senior leadership team with Gabriella Offeddu taking over as general manager from 1 July. Gabriella Offeddu succeeds Andrew Shannon, who led the company to record success in his time in the role, as well as driving the development of the brandnew nicotine pouch category in Ireland through the

Nordic Spirit brand. He retires following numerous international leadership roles during his 21-year JTI career. An Italian national, Offeddu also brings extensive international leadership experience in the tobacco and fashion industries, most recently as marketing and sales portfolio strategy vice president in JTI’s Geneva headquarters.

Kepak Group appoints human resources consultant Orla Coughlan to its board The board of Kepak Group has announced the appointment of human capital consultant and leadership coach Orla Coughlan as a non-executive director. For over 25 years, Coughlan has worked at executive level in Europe, US and Asia with business leaders in multi-cultural and global markets, as well as acquiring and growing businesses in both consumer and enterprise technology where she has focused on developing business strategy. Her previous roles include global vice president HR at Activision Blizzard in the US, and chief human resources director at Eir in Ireland In 2017 Coughlan founded The Riasc Partnership which works with entrepreneurs and organisations on people development, leadership coaching and start-up business strategy. A passionate advocate for the role of women in business, she is a member of the steering committee of The 30% Club Ireland and is committed to achieving better gender balance at leadership levels in Irish companies. She is also a non-executive board member of SOLAS and KerrySciTech. Orla Coughlan is the granddaughter of Roger Coughlan, who ran a retail butcher business in Cork until the 1970s. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Economics from University College Cork and a Diploma in Executive Coaching from the Irish Management Institute. Orla Coughlan

Joe Ryan

Joe Ryan takes over leadership of Meat Industry Ireland

Joe Ryan will lead Meat Industry Ireland, business representative group Ibec has confirmed. He succeeds Cormac Healy, who joins Drinks Ireland as its new director. Speaking on his appointment, Joe Ryan

ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

Gabriella Offeddu

Jason Birks elected as national president of The Fed County Durham retailer Jason Birks has been elected as the new national president of The Fed (Federation of Independent Retailers). Jason Birks took over the chains of office from immediate past president Narinder Randhawa at the organisation’s annual conference, held in Birmingham, on Tuesday, 21 June. Birks has lifelong experience in independent retail and has held a string of high-profile positions within The Fed, both at district and national level. Having represented the Durham branch in several roles, eventually becoming district president in 2012, he later became a national councillor for the Northern district and a member of various national committees. He has also served as national deputy vice president and national vice president over the last three years. After starting out running his current store with his wife Fiona on behalf of his parents at Mosci’s Convenience Store, in Horden, Co. Durham in 1993, he joined the NFRN in 2005 when he took over ownership of the store. Today, Birks has a clear vision of the direction The Fed should go in. “We have made some great progress over the last few years and my main aim is to keep this progress on track and make The Fed the absolute go-to resource for the independent retailer,” he said. “By increasing the membership and understanding what the grass root members want, we can provide more special offers that they can’t get anywhere else. We are a paid for membership, and we must offer value for money to our members.”

said: “I am extremely excited to lead MII in what is a period of huge opportunities for the industry, despite emerging economic challenges. “The meat sector in Ireland, from farm through to processing and export, is one of the most important indigenous industries in the national economy, supporting in excess of 120,000 individual farmers and generating total sales of more than €4.5bn. Rurally located meat processing plants act as a key economic contributor by providing direct employment in many Irish towns with additional supplementary jobs generated in distribution, transport and services. “Within the Irish meat sector, the potential

Jason Birks with vice president Muntazir Dipoti and deputy vice president Shahid Razzaq

exists to further scale up activity and capacity to grow export value delivering new revenues and jobs through value added processing in a sustainable manner.” Joe Ryan joined Meat Industry Ireland in 2014, having previously held roles in the agrifood sector for SouthWestern, North Cork Co-Operative and Permanent TSB’s AgriFinance division. He holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Science from University College Dublin, as well as an MBA from UCD Smurfit Business School. He currently represents MII on several national and European committees to progress market access and export opportunities for Irish meat.

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ENTER YOUR STORE NOW

www.cstore.ie Submit your entry before September 2 2022 Venue Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin Date November 23 2022

TICKETS & INFORMATION IAN MULVANEY | (01) 294 7766 | ian.mulvaney@mediateam.ie

MARK MORGAN | (01) 294 7767 | mark.morgan@mediateam.ie

AWARD SPONSORS

APPOINTMENTS

The Fed names Graham Stafford as new COO The Fed (Federation of Independent Retailers) has appointed Graham Stafford as its new chief operating officer (COO). Stafford joined the retail trade organisation on Monday, 4 July and will be based at its head office in Durham. Previously he has worked as COO for Amazing Instore and in senior roles for Nokia and Sony. Stafford’s introduction to the news trade came at the age of 15 when he worked as a paperboy for his local independent retailer. “The Fed has a long history of supporting independent retailers and they need our help and support more than ever,” he said. “I am looking

Sharon Whitehead

Graham Stafford

forward to rolling up my sleeves and helping members tackle the myriad issues facing them.” In his new role, Stafford with work closely with new national president Jason Birks, the Fed’s national executive committee, national finance committee, national councillors and senior management to build on the federation’s successes and to help shape the next stage of its development. “I am delighted to welcome Graham into The Fed family,” Birks said. “He brings with him a wealth of experience and a proven track record of achievement, so I look forward to working with him to build on The Fed’s strengths and to grow our membership.”

ABP appoints Sharon Whitehead as non-executive director ABP Food Group (ABP) has appointed Sharon Whitehead to the board of the company as a nonexecutive director. Whitehead is the group vice president of HR at Smurfit Kappa plc. Prior to joining Smurfit Kappa plc, she worked with Kerry Group plc in various international HR leadership roles, including global vice president of HR. She is a fellow of the CIPD, the professional body for human resources and people development, and holds a bachelor’s degree, in addition to various industry qualifications. John Moloney, chairman of ABP Food Group welcomed the appointment. “Sharon brings a

wealth of international leadership experience to the role, particularly in the areas of HR, talent development, food science and food processing,” Moloney said. “Her appointment further strengthens the board as the business continues to grow and evolve across each of our divisions. We look forward to working with Sharon.” ABP is a leading food company which provides quality red meat products to many of Europe’s leading retailers and food service providers. The company employs 13,200 colleagues across its four divisions: Beef, Pet Foods, Renewables and Proteins. ABP has processing facilities in nine countries and has a turnover of over €4 billion.

PRM appoints new commercial director and brand manager Leading sales, distribution, logistics and production organisation PRM has appointed Brian Magennis as its commercial director. In his new role, Magennis will champion the next stage of PRM’s growth strategy along with the experienced team that is in place. Having previously worked for C&C Group and Britvic Ireland in senior commercial roles, he brings with him extensive knowledge and experience from his many years working within the FMCG industry across Ireland. “I am delighted to take on the role of commercial director at PRM at this time and I see it as a great opportunity to grow and evolve the PRM business to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers and consumers,“ Magennis said. “Like many other businesses, PRM has navigated the challenges of Covid-19 and Brexit over the past two years, demonstrating great resilience,” he continued. “However, these challenges now present

ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

a new opportunity for PRM to offer solutions to the supply challenges many brands and retailers now face. PRM can offer an effective, efficient and straightforward route to market for many leading consumer brands throughout Ireland, GB and Europe. This is an exciting time to join the organisation during a time of opportunity and growth.” PRM has also recently appointed a new brand manager, Karla McAviney, who will drive the strategy for PRM’s own brands; Galberts and Cottage Desserts. “I am excited to take on the role of brand manager at PRM and look forward to bringing my marketing expertise to the commercial function and wider business,“ she said. Established in 1988, PRM works with over 30 leading brands providing a route to market to the retail, wholesale and food service sectors across the UK and Ireland. ■

Brian Magennis

Karla McAviney

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CSNA NEWS

CSNA NEWS CSNA NEWS

CCTV: Be very careful how you use it

JOHN PAUL LONERGAN

National President, CSNA

PRESIDENT’S OPINION

SMEs urgently need temporary ﬁnancial support package This government needs to understand the very serious pressures that all small and medium-sized businesses are encountering and must resolve to immediately put in place a series of measures designed to provide badly needed relief to the sector. We need a temporary financial support package that will give immediate assistance by way of a suspension of commercial rates, a number of measures specifically designed to acknowledge the importance of energy in our businesses, including making provisions for inclusion in schemes from which we are currently excluded, and the application of a rebate or refund scheme to reduce the effect that community-based retailers are experiencing with increases of over 200% in the cost of energy. The CSNA will seek the assistance of other representative bodies with similar concerns to join the call to action.

Retailers are being hit by increases of over 200% in energy costs

ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

The Court of Appeal delivered what is expected to be the final adjudication on what appeared, at first instance, to be a relatively minor disciplinary infringement infraction regarding the upbraiding of an employee for taking unauthorised breaks over three separate periods in his place of employment (a hospice). Management had been advised in 2015 by gardaí to try to identify the perpetrator of some graffiti that had terrorist overtones. CCTV notices in the buildings made staff and visitors aware that their images were recorded for the purposes of health and safety and crime prevention. The hospice CCTV policy states that the purpose of the system is “to prevent crime and promote staff security”. When management reviewed the images recorded in the area in which the graffiti had been written, they noticed that an employee had entered the room on numerous occasions for what they considered unauthorised breaks. There was never a suggestion that he had vandalised the property. This led to a disciplinary sanction against the employee. The employee made a complaint to the Data Protection Commission (DPC) which rejected the complaint as it was of the view that the

Clear policies and procedures are essential regarding the viewing and processing of CCTV footage

processing of the data (the employee’s images) in relation to the security concerns was legitimate. They said that as there wasn’t any downloading of the data, the viewing was necessary and did not go beyond its stated purpose. The employee unsuccessfully appealed to the Circuit Court and then appealed to the High Court, which found against the DPC’s decision on the ground that “the collection of the CCTV footage was for the express and exclusive purpose of security and was used (permissible) for that

CSNA NEWS

CSNA Executive members announced for 2022 – 2023 The CSNA National AGM held on 9 June 2022, re-appointed John Paul Lonergan as president and Gus O’Hara as vice president of the association. The National Executive 2022 – 2023 is as follows:

CSNA National Executive 2022 – 2023

• Vincent Jennings - CEO • Peter Gaughan - Balla, Castlebar, Co. Mayo • Joe Mannion - Daybreak, Clondalkin, Co. Dublin • Derek Moran – Eurospar, Drogheda, Co. Louth • Brian Kelly – Spar, Newcastle, Co. Dublin • Joe Tierney – Newsagents, Navan, Co. Meath • Emma George – Centra, Dublin • Sara Orme – Daybreak, Delvin, Co. Westmeath

purpose, but was also used for a distinct and separate purpose, i.e. disciplinary proceedings.” This was no longer a security-based investigation and the Circuit Court was in error. The images were therefore used for a different purpose than the one for which the data was originally collected. The DPC appealed to the Court of Appeal which made reference in a critical fashion, to “the costs involved in all of these appeals are very substantial and entirely disproportionate to the issue concerned where there is no obvious necessity for such a multiplicity of appeals”. The COA agreed with the High Court – there was no problem viewing the images when investigating a possible security issue, but the fact that the image of a person was captured in a “nonsecurity issue” matter, and that the person was the subject of a disciplinary complaint based on what had been seen, was a breach of that person’s understanding of his consent to have his image recorded and watched.

Takeaway for employers This highlights the need for clear policies and procedures. Further processing of personal data is not automatically unlawful. However, it is more likely to be so where further processing is not related to the original purpose, was not expected by the subjects, may have negative consequences and there are no safeguards to ensure fair and transparent processing.

CSNA NEWS

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

CSNA NEWS

CSNA TIP OF THE MONTH

Department conducts public consultation on phase-in of Living Wage The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has published a document inviting the views of stakeholders on the proposed phased introduction of a Living Wage from 2023. The Low Pay Commission was requested to make recommendations based on the Programme for Government commitment to “progress to a living wage over the lifetime of the government”. Submissions are now invited

during the six-week consultation period from 15 June to 27 July. The CSNA will be making a detailed response on behalf of our members but would also encourage individual members to consider making their own submission. It would also be very useful for members concerned about this proposal, or any specific aspects of the timing, methodology, etc that they contact us and make us aware of them.

Scams continue to catch untrained staff The first time we heard of this con-trick was over 40 years ago – the conman removes all cigarettes from the packet by opening the pack and replaces them with something of similar weight and volume. He returns the packet to the staff member who has just served him (having taken the doctored replacement from his pocket), claiming he wants a different brand. Two for the price of one! This scam works because as far as the sales assistant is concerned, it is a perfectly legitimate request, never suspecting for a moment they are being conned!

Beware: Make all staff aware of the need to be vigilant and look for signs of disturbed packaging.

Ensure all staff know to look for signs of disturbed packaging on returned cigarette packs

CSNA NEWS

WRC determination illustrates importance of clearly setting out Sunday premium in staff contracts

Submissions are invited during the six-week consultation period from 15 June to 27 July

CSNA NEWS

Department announces details of ‘Latte Levy’ to retailers

Members reading the account of an Irish Examiner report of a WRC determination on Sunday premium pay should note the importance of having, clearly and explicitly, the rate of pay noted in staff contracts when the employee is scheduled to work a part of their week on a Sunday. You can specify a composite rate, (you are permitted to fix a uniform rate) or you can put a rate of premium (expressed either as a percentage or a flat rate in euros) payment that will be

enjoyed by the employee. If you do not specifically set out how the legally entitled premium is to be calculated, the WRC will presume that the rate of pay set out in the contract is the rate that a premium shall be applied; at a level that far exceeds what is the norm for our sector. Remember: If you pay a composite rate, the contract must state it is a composite rate. If you pay a separate premium, make sure the contract says this. ■

At a recent briefing given by officials from Minister Eamonn Ryan’s Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications on the ‘Latte Levy’, the following provisions were disclosed: • The levy will apply to “hot beverage single-use cups only in 2022”. • The levy will be 20 cents. • There will be a public education and awareness campaign. • It is payable by the person selling the goods/products. • The implementation date is 1 December 2022. • Not applicable at wholesale level, payable at point of sale.

1st December 2022 is the planned implementation date for the so-called ‘Latte Levy’

• Revenue are the collectors of the levy – identical arrangements as plastic bag levy (annual filing allowed only if they pay less that €1,000 in total over four consecutive quarters).

Whether you pay a composite rate or a separate premium for working on Sundays, this must be explicitly stated in your staff contracts

www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife July 2022

OPINION

Dan’s Digest

With Dan White VieWs on the latest eConomiC & politiCal neWs

Tesco UK battles suppliers Although Kraft Heinz products have once again been happily reunited with Tesco shelves in the UK, Dan White looks at the ramifications of this debacle and similar supplier disputes for the wider retail trade Tesco UK’s recent spats with Heinz and Mars are almost certainly the shape of things to come as the multiples squeeze their suppliers while inflation continues to soar. In late June, products produced by Kraft Heinz including the eponymous baked beans and tomato ketchup disappeared from the shelves of Tesco, the UK’s largest food retailer and, along with Dunnes and SuperValu, one of the “big three” in Ireland, although Tesco Ireland was unaffected.

Rising costs It quickly emerged that Tesco and Kraft Heinz were locked in a price dispute with the Brazilian-owned supplier attempting to pass on rising costs to the retailer. Media reports indicated that Kraft Heinz was looking for price increases of up to 30% for some products. Shoppers, worried that they wouldn’t be able to purchase some of their favourite brands in Tesco, needn’t have worried. The sham battle lasted less than a fortnight with Tesco announcing peace in our time, or at least peace in the aisles, on 9 July. “Lorries full of Heinz products including Heinz Tomato Ketchup and Heinz Beanz will hit the road shortly, and Tesco colleagues will be working hard to ensure shelves are filled again over the coming days,” Tesco said in a statement. “It’s great to be back together.” So that’s alright now. We’re all happy families once again. Maybe, maybe not.

pet food prices Kraft Heinz isn’t the only supplier with whom Tesco has been tussling over prices recently. It has also been in the wars with Mars, not over the price of its confectionery products, but pet food. Mars has suspended supplies of its Whiskas, Cesar and Sheba brands to Tesco UK. ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

“It’s great to be back together,” read a Tesco UK statement, as lorries packed with Heinz products hit the road toward Tesco stores

At the time of writing, there was still no sign of peace breaking out between the two sides. A Tesco spokesperson was quoted as saying the retailer remained “laser-focused on keeping the cost of the weekly shop in check”. Unlike the honeyed words that accompanied the end of hostilities with Kraft Heinz, Tesco still seems to be up for the fight with Mars. “With household budgets under increasing pressure, now more than ever we have a responsibility to ensure customers get the best possible value, and we will not pass on unjustifiable price increases to our customers,” the supermarket giant said. And just in case Mars might think that customer pressure would force Tesco to climb down, the retailer rammed home the point, stating: “We’re sorry that this means some products aren’t available right now, but we have plenty of alternatives to choose from.” That’s fighting talk!

Upsurge in inflation Of course, the dispute between Tesco and Mars could have been settled long before this article appears in print. What won’t have changed is the huge upsurge in inflation which

is forcing suppliers to try and increase the prices they charge the retailers. Meanwhile the supermarkets, only too aware of the strain the resurgence of inflation has placed on household budgets, are desperately trying to limit or delay these supplier price increases. The CSO rushed out preliminary figures on 1 July showing Irish inflation hit a near-40 year high of 9.6% in the year to June. Things are even worse across the Irish Sea with the Bank of England now forecasting that UK inflation will hit at least 11% by October. Survey data compiled by market research firm Kantar shows that inflation is having a serious impact on how consumers do their shopping. It estimates that grocery sales were down by 4.9% in the 12 weeks to 12 June and that grocery inflation was costing shoppers an average of €453 a year extra.

Boon for own label Shoppers are responding to higher grocery prices by seeking out special offers and switching to own label with 53% of those surveyed telling Kantar that they will be seeking out discounts and special offers and 66% saying that they would replace a branded item if a cheaper own label product was available. Those findings should send a shiver down the spine of every producer of branded products selling to the supermarkets. With household budgets likely to come under further pressure when even higher energy bills kick in during the autumn, the flight from branded to own label is likely to become a flood. Tesco’s dustups with Kraft Heinz and Mars may have been the first but they certainly won’t be the last such conflicts as the supermarkets desperately squeeze their suppliers in an effort to soften the impact of higher prices at the checkouts. Seconds out!

OPINION

higher interest rates clobber Boots sale At the tail end of the bull market unleashed by cheap money from the world’s central banks, private equity investors couldn’t seem to get enough of UK supermarkets. Now, with interest rates rising, such deals are harder to finance with the proposed acquisition of pharmacy chain Boots falling through as would-be buyers struggled to borrow the £5bn price tag. In October 2020 the Issa brothers and UK private equity outfit (less politely known as asset-strippers) TDR Capital purchased a majority stake in Asda, in a deal that valued the UK’s third-largest supermarket group at £6.8bn. The ink was barely dry on the Asda deal when another private equity firm, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice from the US, agreed to pay £7bn for Morrisons, the UK’s fourth largest supermarket price. At the price paid by CD&R, which was one of the underbidders for Asda, it would appear that the Issas and TDR got a bargain in Asda.

Boots Alliance, announced that it was conducting a “strategic review” of Boots, well-sourced stories in the financial media speculated that the chain might change hands for up to £11bn. Except that it didn’t. By May of this year, word on the street was that WBA would settle for £7bn. A few months later the price had dropped to £5bn, with only one bidder, a consortium of India’s Reliance Industries and US private equity outfit Apollo Capital, left in the bidding. By the end of the month, with the debt markets effectively closed to such highly leveraged deals, it too had withdrawn. ■

Common characteristic These two deals had one common characteristic. The buyers put up very little of their own money, borrowing most of the purchase price instead. With interest rates at very low levels this made perfect financial, if not business, sense. Following the Asda and Morrisons deals, the question on everyone’s lips was, who’s next? Attention very quickly focused on pharmacy chain Boots, which has 2,247 stores, including 89 in this country. When in January of this year Boots owner, Walgreen

Earlier this year, well-sourced stories in the financial media speculated that the Boots chain might change hands for up to £11bn, but sadly for owner Walgreen Boots Alliance, it wasn’t to be

www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife July 2022

STORE PROFILE

The owners of Mace Ballinalack, Co. Westmeath have once again extended their already sizeable forecourt. Fionnuala Carolan spoke to family member and employee Kieran Egan about the continued growth of this flagship Mace/Texaco forecourt

Situated in a prime location along the M4, Mace/Texaco in Ballinalack, Co. Westmeath, can hold 250 cars

The ultimate forecourt T

hey certainly don’t let the grass grow under their feet in Mace Ballinalack having just completed a second revamp in four years. Owned by Maura and David O’Reilly, these savvy retailers also own a commercial truck business situated right next door named O’Reilly Commercials VTN (Vehicle Testing Network) Centre, where commercial vehicles are checked for their road worthiness. While Maura and her brother Kieran Egan work in the shop (Egan has worked for his sister and brother-in-law for nearly 30 years), David O’Reilly runs the VTN Centre and commercial trucks side of the business. Needless to say, the forecourt is a destination for trucks and the store caters very well for hauliers with a broad choice of foodto-go options along with ample space in the forecourt for trucks to refuel and park up. Situated in a prime location along the M4, this mammoth forecourt which can hold 250 cars is a much-needed service for travellers along the route from Dublin to the northwest and vice versa. Starting from a small kiosk back in 1997, the first proper shop on the site was opened in

Despite a considerable revamp four years ago, they began another large extension during lockdown and only finished it in recent months, a testament to the level of trade they do and their predictions for future growth.

The store now stands at 10,000 square feet and is one of Mace’s largest outlets in the country. Changes in the recent revamp include an increase in size of the seating area and a whole new extension to house Supermacs, Insomnia coffee and Gelato ice-cream. There is seating for up to 220 people and the dining space is regularly used by many local groups for meetings and functions. “The Active Age Retirement group come in once a fortnight for dinner and coffee and the football clubs use it for functions. We revamped an area upstairs also to deal with the overflow and it’s going very well. It’s imperative that the seating area is kept well. We see a lot of business people having meetings here as it is spacious so you are not on top of other people,” explains Egan. So why did they feel the need to extend further? “We realised we needed a bit more room in the seating area and we were lucky we did the job before the cost of building materials flew up. We had it planned before Covid. We were half-way there when the Covid restrictions came in and the frame of the building was up but we weren’t able to complete the job until all the Covid restrictions were lifted,” he says.

Edita Nikitiniene, Maura O’Reilly and Alaine O’Reilly are proud of the store’s first-class standards and service

Retailers David and Maura O’Reilly also own a commercial truck business situated right next door named O’Reilly Commercials VTN

The spacious seating area is unique, resembling a food court but with very comfortable seating and television screens

ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

STORE PROFILE

address: Mace Ballinalack, Co. Westmeath staff: 65 size: 10,000 sq ft opening hours: Daily from 7am - 11pm, with a night-hatch open from 11pm - 7am

2003 and Mace was the first brand they aligned with and they have remained loyal to this day. They have also retained ties with their fuel partner Texaco since the outset. “We have a very good relationship with the brand,” says Egan. “Barry Flynn is our rep and we have frank discussions about what works for us in our shop and what doesn’t which is the way a good partnership should work.”

Catering for functions

STORE PROFILE

Coaches travelling to concerts and events are big business for Mace Ballinalack so the store’s large Bewley’s hot drink concept to-go is a must-have

Mace Ballinalack now stands at 10,000 square feet and includes a large off-licence section which is a strong performer in-store

“We got hit very badly due to Covid. The recommendation was to have no indoor seating so we had this facility but we were telling people not to come in here. We set up a seating area outside as well which takes about 40/50 people. There was a canopy over it. It’s part of the building now so I suppose Covid made us diversify,” he frankly admits.

roast meats and veg in the carvery section, which remains until dinner time. Then there is Supermacs for the evening trade. The seating area is very unique, resembling a food court but with very comfortable seating, television screens and space which is a commodity not many can boast about with every inch being accounted for in most stores.

Passing trade

Fuel choices

While most businesses will tell you how they rely solely on the local, regular customers to keep their businesses afloat, this store actually relies more on passing traffic due to its location but the return customer is nearly a guarantee once they experience the food-to-go offering and the extensive facilities. In recent years they decided to concentrate mainly on the food-to-go and convenience categories as opposed to stocking a large ambient range although they still offer all the leading ambient brands. There is an extensive lunch and dinner offering in the deli and there is a self-serve area for salads and hot food too. The deli offering changes throughout the day from a full breakfast offering in the morning to a varied lunch offer from 12.30, including

On the forecourt there are ten petrol and diesel pumps and six electric vehicle points. Egan explains that the electric vehicle points are constantly in use and an important part of the business. “We have six different EV points,” he says. “Every time you look out cars are there charging. The fast charge will do it in 15/20 mins and costs on average around €28/€30 for a full charge. It depends on the vehicle obviously. You have to have an electrical substation on-site to facilitate this as it uses a lot of power. It would take half an hour or 40 minutes for a full charge on the slow chargers but they are both constantly in use,” he states. In addition to this there is also a bunkering island where trucks pull in to fuel up.

There is an extensive breakfast, lunch and dinner offering in the For Food’s Sake deli alongside a self-serve area for salads and hot food

With regard to the volatile nature of the fuel game at the moment, Egan says that it is a very difficult situation managing the price of fuel on a daily basis. “You just don’t want to be losing on fuel,” he stresses. “You have to constantly watch the price and adjust it. Some people are loyal to a brand and will only buy Texaco fuel because they know it’s good quality but the ones that drive around looking for a cheaper price don’t gain anything by it. It’s only a couple of pence minimum. Energy is the real issue now and people will feel it this winter,” he predicts. “Due to the fact that the fuel business is so precarious, the shop is becoming more and more important and the services you have will bring people in. We have serious comfort with the shop now. There is such great space,” says Egan enthusiastically.

Crowds are back There is a lot more traffic on the road in recent months with events and concerts resuming. Egan says that coaches are big business for them and sometimes you could have two or three buses arriving at once. “Some of the coach companies will call up beforehand to let you know they are coming,” he says. “But you have to be ready for any amount of them in a given day. We would have a lot of army personal en route from training exercises. We could have 40/50 army staff in on the way up and the same on the way back and that could be three times a week,” he explains. Any large scale event happening in Dublin means a busy day for the store but Egan says that‘s the way they like it and with the new facilities, it never feels crowded even on the busiest of days. The business is definitely future-proofed with both indoor and outdoor seating options and well serviced for the onslaught of electric vehicles in the future. It seems like this Mace store has covered all bases and they are ready and willing to drive the business forward. ■ www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife July 2022

INTERVIEW

Today’s woman in grocery

Frances Higgins, group head of promotions for BWG Foods UC is the new chairperson of the Irish Grocers’ Benevolent Fund (IGBF) and the first woman to hold this title. Fionnuala Carolan spoke to her about her plans for development of the role during her tenure

hey say if you want something done ask a busy person. They certainly followed this mantra with the appointment of Frances Higgins as chairperson of the IGBF. Higgins is group head of promotions with BWG Foods UC, a job that she describes as “keeping all the balls in the air and making sure none of them drop” and one that she thrives on and genuinely enjoys. Higgins took over as chair of the IGBF in January and says that taking on the position is a real privilege. Being the first woman in the role is not something she dwells on but you get the impression she is understandably quietly proud of this fact. “I’ve always been lucky in my jobs and I’ve never had to struggle in that regard so being in a position to do something to help others even for a short time in their life is a real privilege,” she says. “I’ve known people who have been in fantastic jobs and they get sick and life happens. You’re suddenly on the ground and your company will only pay you for a certain period of time and you might just need a little bit of help. I feel really lucky to be in this position,” she says. She has a list of goals she would like to achieve throughout her term in office but primarily the aim is to ensure they have sufficient funds to support those in need in the industry. “That has to be the mainframe of everything,” she explains. “The rest is building on the work done by the last couple of chairs who were really progressive in terms of bringing us up to date on things like governance and compliance with the regulations as a charity because you have to have complete transparency.” Other goals include making it more relevant to younger members of the trade through the use of social media and the website. She feels like this will make it more inclusive and in turn help to highlight and support the sponsors.

ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

INTERVIEW

IGBF The charity assists up to 200 families and contributes in the region of €500,000 annually in support. This takes the form of monthly, quarterly or annual annuities as well as crisis grants where appropriate. Did she find it challenging taking over the role as chairperson of such an established operation? “I shadowed Leonard (outgoing chairman Leonard Hegarty) for a couple of years and learned so much. You generally take the role for around three years but it depends what you are comfortable with. Naturally and organically it’s passed over to the vice when they are ready,” she says. So, what kind of causes does the IGBF support and how does one access this support if in need? Higgins explains firstly that discretion is key as the industry is so small. “For example, a retailer’s partner gets cancer and they can’t be in the shop as they are needed to mind their children and someone in their network would contact us on their behalf to ask for help. Our welfare officer Gus O’Reilly would subtly approach that person and say look, the IGBF are here for this reason, Christmas is coming up so we can contribute to the cost of that. We like to say we are giving people a hand up and not a hand out,” she is keen to clarify.

TWIG Higgins first came to be involved with the IGBF through her participation with Today’s Women in Grocery (TWIG). TWIG was founded in 2016 and is a supporting branch of the IGBF and Higgins sat on its national executive committee. Its aim is to provide networking events targeted at a mainly female

Frances Higgins (centre) alongside BWG Foods colleagues, category buyer Joe Wogan, who is a long-time advocate for the IGBF, and Jenny Eustace, who is the new vice-chair of Today’s Women in Grocery (TWIG)

audience and to encourage more female leadership and participation in IGBF events and initiatives. TWIG held its sixth annual lunch on 6 May in the InterContinental Hotel in Dublin with 470 people in attendance. While the famous Grocer’s Annual Christmas Lunch is the most prominent event in the calendar, the TWIG lunch has become the second grossing event revenue-wise and attendance-wise and has become something of a power networking lunch for woman in the industry. Jenny Eustace, head of the food and beverage innovation team in BWG is now the

Frances Higgins, group head of promotions for BWG Foods UC and the new chairperson of the Irish Grocers’ Benevolent Fund (IGBF), alongside Jenny Eustace, who is the new vice-chair of Today’s Women in Grocery (TWIG) and leads the food and beverage innovation team in BWG

vice chair of TWIG this year. Higgins explains how she would like to build on the work done by the TWIG team in utilising social media and technology to increase donations. “We started using social for TWIG a number of years ago. It was great to be able to go back to the committee to say look this worked at TWIG – let’s try it for something else. It was the first year we used a QR code to sell raffle tickets and we sold €20,000 worth of them at the TWIG lunch,” she proudly reveals.

Career Higgins has had an impressive career trajectory to date which started when she was just 14 years old working with her mother who was a manager of a convenience store at the Walkinstown Roundabout. “At the weekends I’d work in the shop and I’d have to cut the heads off the papers and log them, wash floors, refill sweet jars etc. I didn’t really like it at the time. Come 16 and all my friends were getting jobs in Dunnes and I thought that was very glamorous as they had a uniform,” she laughs. She finally landed a job in Dunnes herself after applying for a role in head office. “I loved the whole buzz about Dunnes. It was so organised and big and maybe it was just because the managers I worked with were always passionate about what they did,” she recalls. A role came up to work in the grocery trading office which made her the youngest trainee manager ever on the trading floor having just turned 18. She eventually became a buyer in ADM Londis getting the opportunity to move into different categories but after 10 years she had done everything she wanted to do and had set her sights on BWG because of the additional opportunities in food service.

www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife July 2022

20 INTERVIEW

Coming out of the pandemic, what is the challenge going forward? “I would say value, value, value and making sure we as a group and each individual brand is set up and supported to be able to continue offering value. People are very conscious about pricing and any retailer who thinks they can get away with abusive pricing now is nuts and they know that,” she warns.

Two hats

IGBF chairwoman Frances Higgins’ primary aim for the charity is to ensure sufficient funds are in place to support those in need within the grocery industry

She succeeded in attaining a role in food service trading, swapping retailers for publicans and hoteliers and says it was a “steep learning curve”. As BWG expanded the business she was promoted to head of food service trading in 2008. One of the toughest times Higgins has experienced in business was during the recession in 2009. There was a lot of restructuring in BWG and it was then she was moved to her current role of group head of promotions. The fast-paced nature of BWG really suits Higgins. “I love my job,” she says. “As we have so many brands and things change all the time in retail and you are reacting to different things, no two days are the same. I have a fantastic team. I get to be involved in the Spar strategy, the Mace strategy and the Londis strategy. There is no standing still. There have been massive amounts of change so it’s adapt, adapt, adapt.”

happy to do that. I felt safer. As the pandemic went on, retailers adapted and increased their range. They listened and responded to what people were looking for. The promotions naturally followed that,” she explains.

When the day job is done and she puts on her chairperson hat, there is plenty to contend with including the 14 annual events and a couple more in the pipeline. This year they are looking at a TWIG golf outing and a new sustainability event where people will bring five outfits they are finished with that others can purchase with all money going to the charity and also to promote the circular economy. Higgins is supported by a “fantastic national executive committee” that sits in Dublin and there are a number of regions around the country who all run their own golf events which contribute substantial donations each year. No doubt the time she gives to it must put her under pressure? “Yes life is busy but you get so much back in terms of the people I meet and the friends I’ve made,” she says. “It’s such a great networking opportunity. At the events we are all coming together, all retailers and suppliers and the added bonus is that we are raising money for our colleagues who are going through tough times so it is more than worth the effort.” ■

Consumer trends According to Higgins promotional activity changed massively during Covid with smaller stores running promotions on multipack beans, crisps and beer, something they would never have done before. “People were staying local and personally I didn’t want to queue up outside Dunnes or Tesco and if I could get what I needed in my local Spar or Mace or Londis, then I was

ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

BWG Foods colleagues Joe Wogan, Frances Higgins and Jenny Eustace, who are all passionate advocates for the work carried out by the Irish Grocers’ Benevolent Fund

Bia Analytical says results are guaranteed within a timeframe of three working days

Bia Analytical develops a robust authenticity test for cinnamon and cassia

Belfast-based Bia Analytical recently added cinnamon to its growing authenticity testing portfolio, to help in the fight against food fraud. Covering multiple varieties and countries of origin, Bia Analytical’s extensively validated protocol can detect the adulteration of cinnamon and cassia with coffee husk, flours and starches. Bia Analytical now offers rapid authenticity testing for a number of herbs and spices including black pepper, turmeric, sage, paprika, oregano, garlic, cumin, ginger, white pepper, coriander, thyme, parsley, basil, fennel and cinnamon – with methods for new food groups currently in development.

Lithuania brings back peculiarﬂavored ice cream for summer

For Lithuanians, ice cream has been a staple item on dessert tables since the end of the 18th century, with unconventional flavours such as rose, saffron, or clove having become favourites among the nobility. Contemporary Lithuanian chefs have taken this experimental Dill ice cream, as served by culinary heritage to new heights Džiaugsmas with flavours that excite the senses, restaurant including quince, dill, seaweed and even mackerel. Tourism development agency Lithuania Travel has compiled a handy list of these unusual treats. Number one is ‘Cricket ice cream with black sesame or vanilla’, as served by the Central Grill & Lounge . restaurant in the southwestern city of Marijampole, A protein-packed treat that we’re assured is delicious but probably not for the faint-hearted!

Safefood reminds home cooks to ‘Trust the Meat Thermometer’ when barbecuing this summer

FOOD FOCUS

People with coeliac disease face additional gluten free food costs of almost €1,000 per year: Safefood support for medical card holders, under the The Coeliac Society of Ireland has called for Long Term Illness Scheme, or through the increased support to help people with coeliac Drugs Payment Scheme. disease pay for gluten free Why not? food, after a major new “The Safefood report study showed that they recommends that gluten face additional costs of free food should be on almost €1,000 each year. prescription for people The research, from aged up to 18 years in Safefood, found that the Ireland. We urge the direct costs of following a government to adopt this gluten free diet for coeliac recommendation and disease are €444 more make a real difference to expensive for an adult and thousands of families in €903 for a child. Additional Ireland.” healthcare costs for people PAYE workers who have with coeliac disease amount coeliac disease can to €426 for adults and currently claim 20% tax €679 for children. back on any food that is “The Safefood report in the Coeliac Society’s clearly demonstrates the Sarah Keogh, Coeliac Society Food List. However, this financial burden people face of Ireland dietitian and report does not benefit people on if they have coeliac disease,” contributor, says that without lower incomes or who said Sarah Keogh, Coeliac support to meet the extra receive state financial Society of Ireland dietitian costs, some people with support. and report contributor. coeliac disease may revert to cheaper foods that will lead to The Safefood report on “Coeliac disease is a complications with their health ‘The socio-economic cost lifelong medical condition,” of food hypersensitivity Keogh continued. “The on the island of Ireland’ is available at treatment for coeliac disease is dietary – they www.safefood.net. have to live gluten free – yet there is no

99 cone is voted Ireland’s favourite ice cream With summer now in full swing and even despite the rain, new research from Circle K*, reveals Ireland’s plans for the summer months. The research was conducted to celebrate Circle K’s summer food offering, which includes three new limited-edition

With barbecue season well and truly here, Safefood is encouraging home cooks to ‘trust the meat thermometer’ this summer and make sure they cook their BBQ meats like burgers, chicken and sausages to 75 degrees Celsius and enjoy the safest and tastiest food. New research from Safefood has found that more than four in ten home cooks (43%) have burned BBQ meats on the outside but left them raw in the centre, while a further 39% undercooked their food. For more information, visit www.safefood.net/news.

*(Source: Online survey of 1,000 adults aged 18+ on the island of Ireland: Empathy Research; June 2022) ■

Chef Guy Sinnott is supporting Safefood’s campaign

The majority (74%) enjoy an ice cream at least once a week during summer, Circle K’s research has found

burgers, refreshing K-Freeze iced drinks and Circle K’s premium ice cream selection. The research shows that we are a nation of ice cream lovers, as a whopping 74% admit to enjoying the ice-cold, sweet treat at least once a week during summer. The classic 99 cone tops the poll as the nation’s favourite (32%), followed by a Magnum (15%), an ice cream sundae (9%) and a Cornetto (8%). An ice-cold soft drink (31%) is the nation’s beverage of choice in the summer, followed by water (24%), iced coffee (11%) and a frozen beverage (9%) like Circle K’s K-Freeze. While 16% of the nation will staycation this summer, over a tenth (11%) will do the double and holiday both at home and abroad. Dublin tops the polls as the favourite place to visit in Ireland during the summer (24%), followed by Galway (13%) and Carlow (6%). For those taking to the Irish roads, over half (51%) say they will stop at a forecourt to satisfy their food and beverage needs along their journey. ■ *(Source: According to research conducted of 1,000 Irish adults by 3Gem on behalf of Circle K, May 2022)

www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife July 2022

FEATURE

Evolving ethics

Retailers must align their sustainability and ethics mindset with the next generation of spenders, writes Brian Wallace, relationship director, Barclays Bank Ireland

The Irish retail sector is no stranger to the transformative impact of sustainable and ethical trading that has been informing the business models of consumer goods over the past decade. Whether responding to the urgent environmental challenges of our time or putting more fair and equitable working practices in place, retailers have made great strides in adapting to these evolving imperatives. We are now seeing a marked and steady shift among consumers and retailers towards an even greater prioritisation of sustainable and ethical standards when they make purchases or sell goods, and grocery retailers are at the forefront of this transformation. Our own research has shown that supermarkets are the highest regarded retail segment amongst consumers for both ethical and sustainability credentials, with others such as fashion retailers trailing. However, the discourse is no longer simply dominated by the efficient use of plastics, dedicated recycling regimes or use of renewable energy. Attitudes have matured and hardened among a growing consensus that transparency and authenticity, rather than cosmetic moves to ‘go green’, are needed in the effort to face down the risks to our collective future.

Ethical excellence

No-compromise approach

Ethical excellence in the way retailers conduct business is also rapidly becoming a nonnegotiable requirement for any business serious about its long-term place in the market. A significant indicator of this shift is the step-change we are seeing in supply chain management philosophy. Businesses are increasingly aware that they are being held accountable by shareholders, employees, investors and regulators as well as their customers, and our own engagement with retailers has revealed the efforts being made to achieve end-to-end transparency across the supply chain. Most importantly, this needs to be done in an authentic manner that demonstrates a collective integrity, with retailers using a range of options from incentives to contract termination to achieve it. The pressure to act ethically and sustainably is having a sizeable commercial impact on the grocery industry’s supply chain, with more supplier contracts cancelled in the past 12 months than ever before, as retailers seek to improve their credentials, with the use of unsustainable materials the main reason (39%), followed by unfair working hours (37%) and lack of accreditation to an ethical or sustainable membership body (32%).

It is increasingly becoming standard practice that where social and ethical performance shortfalls are spotted, suppliers are given action plans with tight deadlines to rectify their operations, or risk being dropped from the supply chain. We’re also beginning to see this near no-compromise approach being embraced by consumers. While overall they will prioritise quality and price as key factors in their purchasing decisions, we can see how the younger generation in particular are demonstrating an increased desire to purchase only goods that meet their standards of ethics and sustainability. In September 2020, fashion retailer H&M took steps to end a supplier relationship following allegations that it was benefitting indirectly from forced labour in the manufacture of its clothing. The reputational damage was potentially significant, as evidenced by the amount of media coverage. It resulted in the company carrying out thorough checks across its factories in China to ensure forced labour was not being used in production.

“The pressure to act ethically and sustainably is having a sizeable commercial impact on the grocery industry’s supply chain, with more supplier contracts cancelled in the past 12 months than ever before, as retailers seek to improve their credentials, with the use of unsustainable materials the main reason (39%), followed by unfair working hours (37%) and lack of accreditation to an ethical or sustainable membership body (32%).” ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

FEATURE

Appealing to Gen Z and Millennials Doing nothing may put business reputation at serious risk, but similarly, doing only the bare minimum to appease authorities could be just as damaging. So, the cost-benefit lesson that retailers can learn for the future is that efforts made today will maintain their appeal to the increasingly influential customer base that is represented by Generation Z and younger Millennials. For today’s customer, the purchasing decision is increasingly influenced by factors outside a basic need or desire for the product. And while this is not a recent phenomenon, our research has shown a distinct shift in thinking towards ethical and sustainability credentials, with recyclable packaging, fair wages for staff, and fair working hours for staff the top three ethical and sustainable business practices expected by consumers today. Our research has also shown how the 35-44 age group is most socially conscious, with 60% valuing ethical credentials as important. 41% of those aged 16-24 (Gen Z) are most concerned about sustainability when choosing where to buy, compared with 22% overall. In a scenario where their favourite retailer was to fall short of ethical or sustainable standards, 66% of 16-24-year-olds would stop shopping there due to ethical concerns, and 68% of 25-34-year-olds would stop shopping there due to sustainability concerns.

Barclays’ research shows recyclable packaging, fair wages for staff, and fair working hours for staff are the top three ethical and sustainable business practices expected by consumers today

Pricing Pricing decisions may also have a part to play in the drive by retailers to enhance their ethical and sustainable credentials, and our research has shown a noticeable willingness among some consumers to pay more for products and services that meet their expectations. Retailers show a level of confidence, too, that they can leverage price to reflect higher standards. However, any consistent evidence of a trend towards a sustainable or ethical premium may not become apparent until the spending power of the generation most enthusiastic about it – Generation Z – becomes a more significant part of the retailer’s customer base. As this group builds up a critical mass of disposable income, and therefore influence, it is likely to carry a strong, socially aware mindset at every

opportunity to purchase for many years to come. For retailers, both the challenge and the opportunity revolve around the same factor; staying relevant with the consumer. Retailers need to think long term and should be operating with an eye on the expectations of those who will dominate spending patterns for the next 20 years. They must boost ethical and sustainable integrity across their supply chains and should look to evolve their green strategy, exploiting basic efficiencies and delivering root-and-branch strategies where required. Finally, retailers must embrace ethics and nurture a culture of change where teams are motivated by positive change and make a virtue out of holding their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies to account. ■

NEWS

Musgrave MarketPlace launches recruitment drive for suppliers to join ﬁrst-of-its-kind B2B online wholesale platform 100% Irish-owned national wholesaler, Musgrave MarketPlace has launched a recruitment campaign which provides Irish suppliers with a unique opportunity to sell their products to a sizeable B2B audience. With over 50,000 B2B customers, Musgrave MarketPlace launched a new eCommerce platform earlier in the year, and is now launching its Extended Range, supported by leading enterprise SaaS platform, Mirakl. Alongside a core range of over 14,000 products, Extended Range is a specially curated range of products which trusted suppliers can sell on the Musgrave MarketPlace ecommerce platform – including everything from artisan Irish food and beverage products to restaurant furniture, packaging and equipment. With an ambition to have over 12,000 Extended Range products by 2024 alongside the core range, Musgrave MarketPlace customers will be able to get everything they need to run their business in one place – a true one-stop-business-shop. As the proposition develops, Extended Range will allow Musgrave MarketPlace to offer tens of thousands of products to customers, and support small Irish

producers to market, as well as providing innovative new food and non-food products without having to add to their physical footprint. Customers can order Extended Range products from these trusted suppliers via their Musgrave MarketPlace account and products will be delivered on behalf of Musgrave MarketPlace directly from the supplier, with dedicated customer service on hand to support. At a global level, B2B eCommerce is expected to continue expanding at a rapid compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.7% from 2021 to 2028. In recent years, B2C shopping habits have influenced the way businesses purchase. B2B buyers have come to expect the same efficient online shopping experience they have as B2C consumers; they are now demanding a simple, digitally enabled, aggregate buying experience, putting pressure on wholesalers to offer more products across more categories than ever before. To meet this customer need for all their product requirements in one location, Musgrave MarketPlace partnered with Mirakl, the industry’s first and most advanced enterprise marketplace SaaS platform. Mirakl has supported over 300 of

Musgrave MarketPlace is urging local suppliers to sign up to its online wholesale platform to sell their products to an established B2B client base of more than 50,000 customers

the world’s most trusted brands, including Astore by AccorHotels, Carrefour, Changi Airport, Debenhams, The Kroger Co., Leroy Merlin, Maisons du Monde, Metro, Superdrug and Toyota Material Handling, to create their marketplace SaaS platforms. “As a seventh-generation Irish family-owned business, supporting local really matters to us. Extended Range will provide a route to market for local suppliers,” said Michael McCormack, managing director, Musgrave MarketPlace. “I’d encourage those local suppliers to sign up and take advantage of the opportunity to become an Extended Range trusted supplier.” Registration is now open for suppliers to create an account and begin selling their products. Suppliers interested in selling via Musgrave MarketPlace Extended Range can e-mail extendedrange@musgrave.ie or visit www.musgravemarketplace.ie/page/ extendedrange. ■

www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife July 2022

24 ADVISOR: HR

Ensuring employee retention A higher salary is far from the only motivating factor that can encourage talented staff to remain with their current employer. Here, The HR Suite’s Caroline Reidy outlines important policy considerations which mark an employer out as one worth sticking with in the long term

CAROLINE REIDY

managing director, The HR Suite

taff retention may be described as an employer’s efforts to manage staff turnover and retain their valuable employees. As businesses return to normal operations, retaining existing employees and sourcing new hires have become major issues in all business sectors. To combat such issues, many companies have begun offering more attractive pay rates and benefits. However, offering higher pay rates to existing staff members, as well as potential candidates, may not be sustainable for many organisations in the long term. To ease the challenges associated with staff retention, businesses can introduce simple processes that will help retain current employees.

Flexible working

Exit interviews help employers rectify any areas of concern and identify trends for employees leaving, writes Caroline Reidy

The pandemic has changed the world of work as many employers are now becoming more flexible with their working approach and have introduced, or are planning to introduce, a hybrid work model. Hybrid working is defined as a flexible working model where employees can spend a certain amount of their time working remotely and a certain amount of time in their place of work. The introduction of such a model will not only attract new employees but also aid retention within a company as hybrid working delivers the benefits of work-life balance.

additional annual leave The introduction of retention strategies, such as additional annual leave, can be seen as an attractive benefit that would aid the retention of employees within a company. For example, offering employees two personal days per calendar year. Personal days are a form of employee benefit that a company can offer and can be used by an employee as rest days or to attend to matters in their personal life.

performance appraisal system

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.

Introducing an effective performance appraisal system can also improve retention. This can be seen as a good opportunity for employees to have a one-to-one discussion with their direct manager to discuss how everything is going and to set goals for the coming period. The introduction of such a system also creates opportunities for discussing further development potential which can be linked to the strategic plan for the business and also succession planning for key roles.

health and wellbeing As employees are a company’s most valuable asset, it is important for employers to invest in the health and wellbeing of their employees. Health and wellbeing initiatives can be perceived by many in the working world as

ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

being more valuable than monetary benefits. Organisations can ensure that staff feel supported by offering an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), offering subsidised Health Insurance or the introduction of an annual health check clinic.

employee engagement Another non-monetary process that can be put in place to improve retention is the introduction of an engagement survey with your employees on a quarterly basis. This can be done anonymously through electronic surveys which would allow employees to be honest with their feedback, for example, about areas they feel the company needs to improve on.

personal development plans Having a culture of learning, development and promotion doesn’t have to be costly. The implementation of a personal development plan for employees provides an employee with support and encouragement which will ultimately improve their level of productivity and motivation. When such a plan is put in place for an employee, the likelihood of the organisation retaining this employee is enhanced as an employee can visibly see the direction of their career path.

employee recognition Recognising the effort of all employees within a company can greatly improve motivation as well as the retention of top talent. There are lots of activities employers can arrange such as foodie Fridays, yoga classes and fun runs. As well as this, having a social club committee can help to organise events and make sure everyone feels involved. The introduction of a peer-to-peer recognition programme can also strengthen retention within a company. The introduction of such a programme has the power to strengthen morale and improve the company culture as employees are recognised for their efforts made. As well as this, the use of a company’s social media forums can be used as an effective tool for showing employee appreciation in a way that is low in cost yet highly visible.

exit interviews Exit interviews are a good way of collecting important feedback for employees who are leaving the business. They help employers rectify any areas of concern as they can identify trends for employees leaving. Exit interviews would not only aid retention but also have the potential to increase employee engagement and productivity as such an interview provides employers with a deeper insight into the workplace culture and solutions to how improvements can be made. To conclude, as costs can be seen as a prime challenge, it is imperative for an organisation to tailor their retention strategies to suit the company’s budget. ■

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.

26 STORE PROFILE

Oonagh Hannon manages Nearby LMS, Finisklin Road, Sligo and endeavours to see the shop through the eyes of the customer at all times. Fionnuala Carolan spoke to her about this dynamic business

Customer is king in Nearby Sligo

The team at Nearby LMS are “a very loyal and hard-working bunch,” says store manager Oonagh Hannon

because you had lost staff and then it was busy in bursts. I don’t know how people coped with having to sit at home every day. It was awful for young people.” On a personal note, Hannon feels that she became more empathic during this time. While she didn’t feel afraid herself during Covid she could understand the fears of others. “I think for me it gave me a bit more empathy,” she says. “I started to understand why people were afraid. We said to staff that if you are scared, you’re welcome to go home and come back when you’re ready and they did come back.”

It’s funny how a name can stick. The obvious question about Nearby LMS is what does the LMS stand for? Manager Oonagh Hannon tells ShelfLife that it goes back 40 years and was named after the three people who launched the original business on the site who were from Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo but the name has stuck with subsequent owners and everyone referring to it as Nearby LMS now. This site itself was originally an oil distribution company and Finisklin is still a busy industrial area with a number of builders’ merchants and other oil distribution companies in the area. Hannon explains how the current business came about. “The previous owners went into liquidation unfortunately,” she says. “It was bought up by Damien and Carmel McPartland and then turned into a 12-pump forecourt shop, diner and deli. They really had the vision to see it take off in this area and it really has.” The deli is the star of the show here, renowned for its local quality food. According to Hannon, it’s a destination that offers really good quality homemade fare. “We buy a lot of

the meat from Sherlock’s Butchers and we have fully trained chefs now,” she explains. “The deli is the best performing area of the store and did extremely well during Covid too.” The store first opened in February 2018 and according to Hannon it is going from strength to strength. During the past two years they were kept busy due to the strong deli trade but they also felt the pinch due to the lack of cars on the road during the Covid lockdowns. “The deli benefited as people knew we were open, but the forecourt was hit as cars weren’t on the road,” she says. “Work wise, it was busy

Originally from Gorteen, Co. Sligo, Hannon moved to London aged just 17 and found work in a pub. She subsequently worked in a bailiff’s office, a tough job but one she excelled at. “It involved buying debt from various companies and then turning it around and making a profit. We had standards and watched our margins and targets. From an early age I fell in love with targets – they motivated me,” she explains. “I spent 15 years in England and then I moved back to Ireland

“The deli is the best performing area of the store and did extremely well during Covid too,” says store manager Oonagh Hannon

The Cuppa coffee concept is ideal when customers need a quality coffee, easy, quick and on the go

‘Always Fresh’ is the cornerstone of Nearby LMS, which is renowned for its quality food offering

ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

STORE PROFILE

store owner: Damien and Carmel McPartland manager: Oonagh Hannon address: Nearby LMS, Finisklin Road, Sligo staff: 15 (four part-time) opening hours: 7-8 pm and 9-5 on Sunday and bank holidays

Customer service

STORE PROFILE

alright as nine times out of 10 there is something and we can rectify it and they leave the store happy. It’s about reading the customer – if they don’t look happy, ask them,” she advises. The shop has a strong lunchtime trade and before and after school is busy too with 500 girls attending the Ursuline College Sligo just across the road. The school children come in for their drinks, chicken fillet rolls, crisps and protein bars so they ensure they are well stocked in these products during term time.

Fuel The team from S&W was delighted to support the opening of Nearby LMS as it became the 75th Nearby store across the island of Ireland

and I ran a credit service office looking after customers so I knew all about customer service. I think good customer service can benefit you in any job.” She was able to easily transfer the skills learned into a retail manager’s job when she settled in Sligo. Hannon speaks highly of S&W Wholesale and assures us that they have not been tempted to look elsewhere. “S&W is the best option for us. We remain independent yet we get the service and support that we need when we need it. Other groups have flirted with us but we haven’t flirted back!” she jokes. Hannon says the fact there is no franchise fee is hugely important. “You can still do your research for prices but S&W have showed us time and time again the fantastic value they offer compared to others. I buy all the ambient goods from them. If I do find a better price I’ll show it to S&W and nine times out of ten they will match it. There is a choice there and you are free to shop around but they make it so straightforward that you don’t want to buy from anyone else,” she explains. Stephen Vincent is their area manager and visits every week and Hannon says they can discuss anything with him and he has become a real support to them.

Inflation Hannon is very conscious of price in the current inflationary market and retaining the store’s reputation of offering good value. “Some products are going up in price that shouldn’t be

going up and I’m watching that closely as I don’t want to pass unnecessary price hikes on to the customer. I’ll discontinue a product if I feel we can’t sell it at a fair price,” she explains. She often challenges suppliers on price to make sure they are not pushing extra costs onto the customer. “I’m conscious of price myself at the moment. We need to make sure we are getting a good price on chicken so we’ll have a margin and we don’t have to change the price of the chicken fillet roll. Obviously we are bringing up prices where we have to but reluctantly,” she explains. She says she runs the business by imagining herself as the customer. “From the toilets to the forecourt I’m looking at that like I’m a customer and fixing it accordingly. I say to the deli staff to come out from behind it every half an hour and see what the customer sees and make sure it looks right. And have a smile on your face. It’s basics but important stuff,” she says. Hannon says that their staff situation at present is really good with 15 full and parttimers employed. “For the last eight months we’ve been so lucky with staff. We’ve a really solid team and I couldn’t ask for better staff at the moment. They are a very loyal and hardworking bunch,” she says. She encourages her staff to engage with the customers and make sure they are happy. “If I think a customer isn’t happy I encourage the staff to ask them if everything is

Attention to detail is paramount at Nearby LMS where store manager Oonagh Hannon says “from the toilets to the forecourt, I’m looking at the store like I’m a customer and fixing it accordingly”

The addition of the 24-hour fuel pump and a car wash in recent times has given the business an extra boost. As is the same the length and breadth of the country, fuel prices are up and down and it is challenging to manage. They don’t have electric charging points and Hannon is lukewarm about needing them and the lure of an electric vehicle. “Drive an electric car and see how far it gets you. I can see how it makes sense in cities for short trips but if I do a big journey and there is an emergency I can’t turn around and head straight back. I have to wait until I can charge my car. That puts me at a disadvantage,” she believes. She also acknowledges how expensive electricity is at present. “It’s very hard to manage overheads at the minute. It’s a challenging time for businesses. I do all the accounts and all the buying for the store so I see everything. If there is any little fluctuation, it can take a few weeks to even out. When the kids finish for the summer holidays we have a lull but I’ve learned that you need to hold the nerve for three weeks and it all evens out. You learn all this from experience,” she says. After an unusual few years in business, normality is something that Hannon is all for. “It is lovely to watch people talking to each other again and life getting back to normal,” she says. With her wealth of experience, sharp focus on customer service and the support from the S&W team, this store should easily weather any challenges they may face into the future. ■

The addition of a 24-hour fuel pump and a car wash in recent times has given Nearby LMS an extra boost

www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife July 2022

28 ADVISOR: Recruitment

CV mistakes to avoid: Part 3 In the final instalment of his three-part series, Excel Recruitment’s Barry Whelan outlines eight more errors to avoid so that your CV doesn’t speedily land in a recruiter’s rejection pile

BARRY WHELAN managing director of Excel Recruitment

www.excelrecruitment.com

xcel Recruitment is 20 years old this year, so we have been recruiting for quite some time and over those years, we must have seen every CV mistake there could be! When it comes to CVs, first impressions last and whether it is a candidate or employer’s market, a large part of our job as recruiters is to filter CVs. On average, each recruiter spends seven seconds scanning a CV to make the decision on whether to delve deeper or not. It is vital to avoid the mistakes that could mean the difference between CV acceptance or rejection. Here are our final eight major errors to avoid:

not filling in gaps All the jobs you’ve listed on your CV need accurate dates, and you should avoid leaving any gaps unexplained as this is an immediate red flag for recruiters (I always ask, somewhat dryly, was the gap a spell in prison?). Gaps can signal that you’re unreliable, lazy or not detail orientated. If gaps exist, explain them. Whether you took time out for travelling, illness, maternity leave, a gap year, or just for some time to yourself, make sure you explain this clearly and honestly. If you were to make it to the interview stage, it’s very likely that the employer would ask you about it anyway.

leaving out helpful information While you don’t want to include a whole load of irrelevant information in your CV, you also want to make sure you don’t leave out anything that could potentially help with your application. Many people think it’s not a good idea to add the jobs they had while at university, for example. However, these types of jobs are often great for gaining soft skills such as teamwork and empathy. All our recruiters consider soft skills highly important, and these jobs also demonstrate work ethic.

Using an unprofessional email address How many times have we seen these! Ticklytoes99@... You know who you are! (Honestly!) Some of us have made a quirky email address at some point, but it’s not a good idea to use it for work purposes. Your potential employers are unlikely to care that your email address is super-original or funny; they’ll be more interested in seeing that you understand the importance of professionalism.

poor choice of file name Please don’t just ‘save as’ and end up with a CV called ‘CV template’, or ‘CV first draft’! When the time comes to send your CV, be sure to use a polished and positive file name. Your potential employer will be able to see the file name in the attachments, so show how you are detail-orientated enough to have given the file a suitable and professional-looking name.

not being cautious with social media We advise including your social media links as a way to add another layer of depth to your application, providing more transparency in allowing potential employers to get to know you. However, if you do choose to add these links, make sure there’s nothing that portrays you in a bad light. Take the time to go through your pages and ensure there’s nothing embarrassing and if need be, change your privacy settings.

not sending a cover letter Always, if possible, send a cover letter. While you should aim to make your CV as complete as possible, you still need to add a cover letter for each application. It may seem like wasted effort, but avoiding it is a mistake. It’s your chance to go into more depth about your skills and experiences, and to show a little more of the ‘real’ you. ■

making it too technical This is not industry or role specific. You should keep in mind that the person who gives your CV its initial read through may not necessarily have knowledge in your specific job area or be familiar with complicated industry terms. Therefore, you should try to make sure that you avoid using too much technical jargon. When listing your previous work experience, it may also be helpful to explain who each company is. They may be well known to your contemporaries, but a recruiter might not know why working for them is impressive.

including a headshot While including a headshot on your CV is standard in some parts of the world, in Ireland it’s not needed. Unless you’re an actor, it’s best to leave out the headshot, otherwise it will just make potential employers think you are egotistical or don’t have a good grasp of workplace professionalism.

ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

If you choose to add social media links to your CV, take the time to go through your pages, ensure there’s nothing embarrassing and if necessary, change your privacy settings, advises Barry Whelan

ADVISOR: Legal Guide 29

ROBIN HAYES

partner, Whitney Moore LLP

Brexit and the importation of trademarked goods from the UK

Irish importers seeking to bring in goods from the UK for resale here must now take extra precautions to ensure they are not infringing IP rights, writes Robin Hayes, partner at Whitney Moore LLP, who explains how to avoid the potential pitfalls

rexit continues to cause confusion for Irish businesses, particularly those involved in the importation of IP-protected goods from the UK. As we all know, the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020. At the end of the UK-EU transition period at midnight on 31 December 2020, it became unlawful to import IP-protected goods from the UK to the EEA* without the consent of the right-owner except where the IP rights have become “exhausted”.

exhaustion of ip rights

After Brexit, it became unlawful to import IP-protected goods from the UK to the EEA without the consent of the rightowner except where the IP rights have become “exhausted”, writes Robin Hayes

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Whitney Moore LLP, 2 Shelbourne Buildings, Crampton Avenue, Shelbourne Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, D04 W3V6, Ireland. Telephone: +353 1 611 0000 Email: connect@whitneymoore.ie

In trademark law, the owner of a registered trademark has exclusive rights to the trademark and those rights are infringed by the use of the trademark without the owner’s permission. Although the owner of a registered trademark has the exclusive right to apply its mark to particular goods, there comes a point where the law says that the owner can no longer control or interfere with dealings in those goods. Once trademarked goods have been placed on the market anywhere in the EEA by or with the consent of the trademark owner, the IP rights in those particular goods are said to be exhausted and the goods can subsequently move freely throughout the Single Market without interference by the trademark owner. The principle of free movement of goods therefore creates opportunities for traders to engage in parallel imports of goods for which the IP rights have been exhausted. Clearly, the question of whether it makes financial sense for a trader in Ireland to engage in the parallel importation of goods for which the IP rights are exhausted will depend on the price differential for the goods on the relevant EEA market compared to the price at which the goods are available on the Irish market, and after taking into account additional costs such as shipping. However, there are many occasions where such a financial incentive is present; for example, there is a thriving trade in the parallel importation of trade-marked pharmaceuticals goods. Provided that the trademark rights are exhausted, the trademark owner may not interfere with the further reselling of such goods

including by means of parallel imports from one EEA jurisdiction to another.

the position before Brexit Prior to Brexit, if trademarked goods were put on the market in the UK by or with the trademark owner’s consent, the trademark rights were exhausted throughout the whole of the EEA, including the UK, and vice versa.

after Brexit The UK has left not only the EU but also the EEA. Now post-Brexit, if a trademarked good is put on the UK market by or with the trademark owner’s consent, the owner’s IP rights are not exhausted in the EEA. This means that since 1 January 2021 it is unlawful to parallel import trademark protected goods from the UK to the EEA unless the trademark owner has consented to such activity. This gives the trademark owner, and in some cases its licensees, the right to oppose the import of the goods into the EU, and to take legal action for trademark infringement against importers that do not obtain the prior consent of the trademark owner.

What can irish importers do? Irish importers seeking to bring in goods from the UK market for the purpose of resale on the Irish market must now take extra precautions to ensure they are not infringing IP rights, or they could find themselves at the wrong end of a legal suit or their goods being seized at the border. Firstly, businesses should review their supply chain and confirm if they are the first to import the goods into the EEA or if the particular goods have previously been sold elsewhere in the EEA. If an importer can obtain evidence that the trademark owner’s rights have been exhausted in the EEA, they are entitled to import those goods into Ireland for resale. If not, the importer should either ask the UK exporter to provide evidence of the trademark owner’s consent to the goods being placed on the EEA market (which could take the form of a contractual provision) or, if that is unavailable, seek the trademark owner’s consent, which will most likely involve negotiating a fee. Otherwise, businesses may be forced to adapt their models and look to other sources for their goods. This article is not intended to be a complete statement of the law and speciﬁc legal advice should be sought on a case-by-case basis. ■ *(The EEA includes all 27 EU member states, as well as Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein)

www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife July 2022

30 ADVISOR: Marketing

Government meddling with marketing COLIN GORDON

marketing expert

Recent advice by the UK government for businesses to cut their marketing spend is shortsighted and illconceived, writes Colin Gordon

was intending to write this column on the issue of increasing levels of business regulation. I will return to it in the next short while, but I want to concentrate this time out on an issue fundamental to marketers and marketing.

silly season They say that summer can be a silly news season; journalists can’t find any really juicy stories, so they fill their newspapers and other news platforms with innocuous and less than meaningful commentaries and hope that the real news comes back when the schools and parliaments reopen. However, there’s silly and just plain stupid! Imagine my horror when I read a recent headline in Marketing Week which reported that the London government advised (UK) businesses to stop spending on marketing and use their budgets to introduce price discounts instead.

Deeply damaging Marketing Week’s reaction was “Government advice to cut marketing may be ‘deeply damaging’ for UK economy, industry says.” The coverage continued that “reacting to news of an upcoming government campaign calling on businesses to divert marketing spend into cutting prices, marketers point out the function’s role as a “growth lever” for both businesses and the economy”. Where do I even start with this government meddling and vacuous advice? Maybe with reminding myself that the role of marketing is extremely poorly understood by entire cohorts of society. And very much by marketers themselves. ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

“Marketing involves an ever-changing balance between all the elements of the marketing mix – pricing has an important role but not to the detriment of say, product,” writes Colin Gordon

Flawed understanding Too often, marketing is seen as essentially a comms function within a business, and in particular it’s seen as something to do with advertising. I’ve seen this in my own independent research into the subject, and indeed my own career experience. It’s a lazy and deeply flawed understanding of both the complexity and nuance that are part of the marketer’s day-to-day job. ‘Growth’ issues seldom come up as a stated rational for why marketing exists. Nor do such issues as business strategy or even customer service. It’s an open goal for any government to attack marketing when marketing doesn’t even know what it is itself let alone how to defend itself. Marketing to me is all about identifying and managing with colleagues and all other stakeholders how to make selling your product or service easier all the time. As such, it’s all about someone (the marketer, ideally but not exclusively in all organisations) knowing the business well enough, including the route to market and customer requirements, to

be able to see the opportunities and challenges and work them out to maximise sales.

interconnected globally It’s taken the combined effect of a global pandemic and a devasting European war, on upended supply chains and supply prices, et cetera for the world to realise how interconnected we all are and in all of what we do. All of a sudden, the lack of availability of microchips from the Far East means you can’t get new cars here in Ireland; no new cars mean hugely inflated car rental costs. And taxis are hard to get! Or think of the difficulty there is to get wheat or sunflower oil from Eastern Europe – suddenly there is an almost immediate impact across whole parts of the farming and food processing businesses; soaring prices of petrol-based products or oil-based products for plastic packaging and plastic films impacts on the availability and cost of a whole range of products and ingredients. History has a lot to teach us here. Stalin knew the importance of

“It’s an open goal for any government to attack marketing when marketing doesn’t even know what it is itself let alone how to defend itself.”

ADVISOR: Marketing

Ukrainian wheat and oils to the extent that in order to fully control this ‘bread basket’ for his own needs, he caused the starvation of four million Ukrainians in a single year – the so-called ‘Murder by Hunger’. I’m sure that lesson wasn’t lost on Putin in his scenario planning for his war, but maybe we in the West didn’t spend enough time remembering how history repeats itself.

right now on the impact of this interconnected world on inflation and product availability. We haven’t really had any inflation in this part of the world (except in housing!) in many years and we have all taken for granted that what we want will be available when and where we want it. So, it’s no wonder these issues are grabbing headlines.

maintaining great consumer connection

ever-changing balance

We’re all extraordinarily connected. But that doesn’t mean nothing can be done. And even if there is a very limited choice (e.g. regarding lack of available product in the short term), marketing should be looking at maintaining a connection with the consumer through great service, looking at introducing adjacent product or service areas that bolster the overall brand image, considering if this is an opportune time to look at acquiring weaker competitors, reengineering the marketing mix (not abandoning whole parts of it as the UK government would have it), more economically sustainable packaging, recipes or whatever helps keep the consumer at the core of your focus while recognising that there are challenges. There is rightly a considerable focus

Yet it would be wrong to allow all the focus to be on oil-based inflation and Covid-19 caused shipping and supply shortages. The key here is who will lead the focus on these and other challenges if not marketing. If marketing focuses extensively on comms issues, it will miss the full potential of its role and it will allow others to see it as ‘wasting’ monies that could have gone to pricing. And yet if it abandons comms, it reduces the engagement with consumers that is so important. I see marketing as an everchanging balance between all the elements of the marketing mix – pricing has an important role but not to the detriment of say, product. Governments are taking cheap shots at a sector that is a bit confused in itself, but they would be better off trying to solve global issues that were ignored for decades. ■

‘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

QUICK QUESTIONS WITH

Paddy Carmody

1. Best place for coffee? Tough question to start with. Lots of great independents have popped up over the last few years which is great. Roast House, Tralee, Kaph and 3Fe, Dublin. 2. Favourite movie? Love Shawshank, Seven, The Lord of the Rings, Braveheart and Gladiator but a worthy shout out is The Bee Movie that my boys love; super creative and witty! 3. Top book recommendation? Enjoying reading ‘Good strategy, Bad strategy’ by Richard Rumelt at the moment. 4. Which social media platform do you use most? LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook and WhatsApp.

PADDY CARMODY

head of marketing Ireland, Nivea 5. Best ad on telly? I thought the ‘recent’ Irish rail adverts were quite good as they were targeting different audiences with different creative. 6. Worst ad on telly? None spring to mind. 7. Favourite grocery shop? Working within FMCG, I love visiting different retailers and seeing the differences between them, be it Dunnes’ shops-within-a shop with their Whelan’s butchers, Nourish health stores, or SuperValu’s focus on local producers such as The Happy Pear. 8. What would you cook if you were to compete in ‘Come Dine With Me’ and would you win? Anything out of a Delicious Ella or Happy Pear book…love cooking but a disaster for remembering recipes! Actually, linking back to question 7, I love that in Coles in Australia, they give you recipe cards each week as you shop, so you can cook something new; great shopping experience.

9. First thing you would do if you were Taoiseach? Improve our transport network. Why we don’t have fast trains up and down the country with a central spot in the midlands is beyond me. This would help us as a country on so many fronts e.g., bring down the prices of houses in Dublin. 10. If you had to live in another country, where would you choose? Argentina or Australia. Both countries/ cultures are outdoorsy, their scenery is spectacular, and people are friendly. 11. Greatest achievement to date? Love being able to work in a job, sector and industry that I love with responsibility for the UK market and our Liverpool FC partnership from Tralee! Work global, live local! 12. Best website? My favourite websites tend to now be apps I use e.g., Irishrail, Ryanair etc. So handy to be able to rearrange travel whilst on the go. 13. Most annoying public ﬁgure? Kanye!

14. Best piece of advice you ever received? Whatever you do, give it 100%. 15. Biggest fear? Thankfully no great fears. 16. City or beach break? Love both, so will go with city breaks but beach holidays. 17. Top restaurant recommendation? Spillane’s in the Maharees, Co. Kerry and I love Fire and Saba in Dublin. 18. Pop or rock? Neither: prefer dance and hip hop… don’t judge! 19. Favourite time of the day? No favourite, as I try and enjoy each day as it comes. 20. What’s the last compliment you received? We recently ran some marketing training with The Brand Detectives and the wider team really enjoyed it, so it was nice to know it was well received! 21. Who will win Sam this year? Kerry! ■ www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife July 2022

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CATEGORY FOCUS Back to School

In a class of its own! As it won’t be long until the new term rolls around again, products that tick all the right nutritional boxes for parents will once again be in high demand. Retailers must ensure they have all their bases covered, and the brands displayed here have stepped up to the mark to help ensure a first-class performance all round, writes Gillian Hamill

he start of a new school term is often when parents try out new brands and innovations. If they prove to be a hit with the kids, these products often end up becoming repeat purchases throughout the academic year. Often the brands commanding the most attention reassure parents of the nutritional and natural value of their products. Parents have high nutritional expectations when it comes to packing the all-important school lunchbox. And for good reason. With child obesity on the rise in Ireland, parents are paying close attention to what they put on their children’s plates. Many brands have responded by producing healthier alternatives to traditional sweet and savoury products. Caroline Decourcy, research & insights director at Talon Ireland (talonoutdoor.com/ Ireland) has examined how FMCG brands and 52% of shoppers will be keeping it local, by spending in school supply stores within their local area, says Caroline Decourcy, research & insights director at Talon Ireland

A little sunshine in every drop! MiWadi is a truly iconic Irish brand and continues to grow from strength to strength in the marketplace. From humble beginnings in 1927, MiWadi has been a fruity and flavoursome part of childhood in Ireland for 94 years and has always remained relevant to Irish families with a wide range of flavours in its Regular, No Added Sugar, 0% Sugar and Drops ranges. MiWadi is still produced in Dublin to this day and is a proud member of Love Irish Food. This summer, MiWadi is delighted to announce that its single concentrate and double concentrate ranges are now fortified with Vitamin D which supports families’ immune systems*. Vitamin D is very important in diets to help

ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

retailers can target consumers effectively in Ireland ahead of the back-to-school season through the power of outdoor advertising. Talon Ireland’s research shows that most consumers anticipate back-to-school shopping to take place in July (34%), followed by August (29%), with a number already having started to get organised in June (27%). Its research also confirms that despite inflation, consumers are planning to spend in preparation for the upcoming school year, with most families (37%) estimating a spend of between €200-€400, followed by 28% spending between €400-€750 and a smaller number (18%) estimating a spend of more than €750. Talon’s study also shows consumers will be shopping across several stores, with Tesco being the most popular (65%), followed by Dunnes Stores (60%). 52% of respondents will be keeping it local, by spending in school supply stores within their local area. Moreover, 40% of back-to-school shoppers will be shopping across the high-street, shopping centres and local stores. 27% will be using a mix of in-store and online. Only 4% of consumers will be doing all their back-toschool shopping online; this shows that there is a growing comfort with a return to in-store shopping. Based on these findings, Caroline Decourcy has outlined a number of points for

support families’ general health, growth and development but it can be difficult to achieve the recommended daily intake of 5 ɥg. It has been reported that Vitamin D deficiency is very prevalent in Ireland**. MiWadi makes the water that everyone needs to drink each day extra delicious and refreshing. To enjoy all the thirst-quenching tastiness of MiWadi at its best, just add water. MiWadi continues to grow year on year maintaining its number one position in the squash category***. *(Excludes MiWadi Regular Blackcurrant 1L) **(Source: Department of Health Article Reporting on Vitamin D Deficiency in Ireland, April 2020) ***(Source: Nielsen Value Share MAT Total Squash Category May 2022) (Vitamin D contributes to the normal functioning of the immune system and maintenance of normal bones and teeth)

advertisers and brands to consider, in order to make the most of this time of year: 1. Local communities are still vitally important. Even though we are finally at the point of a post-pandemic new normal that does not mean local communities should be forgotten when planning your campaigns. Many consumers now, more than ever, are making a more conscious effort to shop local therefore it’s important to still include these areas in your plans to reach audiences right along the path to purchase. 2. Despite Inflation, spending power is still prevalent for back-to-school shoppers. Talon’s findings suggest that this will be an extremely competitive back-to-school shopping season with many consumers shopping across multiple stores. 3. Brick and mortar is still an area of focus. Even though consumers are beginning to shop more online, back-to-school shopping is likely to be done in person. Advertisers and brands should still be focusing their campaigns on driving footfall to stores; they can do this via campaigns that include directional messaging to the nearest location or prompt shoppers by displaying quieter times to visit. All of the above findings point to the optimism consumers have heading into the 2022-2023 school year.

MIWADI

fortified WITH

VITAMIN D FOR A LITTLE SUNSHINE IN EVERY DROP

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wonder Avonmore soups are showing the highest growth of the category, at +29% volume MAT year-on-year*. *(Source: Nielsen, TS, MAT 27 March 2022)

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Available in 10 x 250ml Kids multipacks, Ishka Irish Spring Water is perfect for lunchboxes and backpacks

Making drinking water fun Ishka Irish Spring Water is the perfect spring water for kids, tested by real-life mums and their kids. Ideal for lunchboxes and backpacks, this healthy alternative comes in a Kids funsize bottle for small hands with a kid-friendly sports cap. It’s available in 10 x 250ml multipacks, allowing mums and dads to stock up in advance of hectic school weeks. Ishka is proud to make drinking water fun for kids. The brand has also taken another step forward in its mission to provide healthy hydration choices in environmentally sustainable ways. Much work at Ishka Irish Spring Water goes into thinking about the packaging used for its water. Ishka has chosen to use PET because it is still the most environmentally sustainable option. The business is committed to minimising its environmental impact through a range of initiatives, including rPET and lightweighting. This means that all Ishka bottles are 100% recyclable. Lightweight BPA-free plastics are used, which are both convenient and recyclable. What’s more, Ishka’s PET bottles are blown on-site, reducing additional road miles. In fact, Ishka was the first Irish spring water brand to introduce a 100% recycled PET bottle. Another ‘feather in its cap’ so to speak, is that Ishka was actually the first bottled water company in Ireland to introduce tethered caps, three years ahead of the EU directive. Overall, Ishka says the company is determined to do all it can as a business to drive the necessary change in consumer behaviour to help solve our global waste problem and protect marine life. The 40-year success story of Ishka Irish Spring Water, since 1978, has been due to its relentless drive for perfection in production and service to its valued customers – retail, wholesale, food service and vending. Flowing from its exclusive on-site natural springs and bottled on-site, in Ballyneety, County Limerick, Ishka’s certified spring water is unprocessed and untreated for maximum health and wellness benefits – just as Mother Nature intended.

simply bottles it at source and preserves its natural quality and taste. Guaranteed Irish product, Ishka Irish Spring Water, is now stocked in all main nationwide wholesalers and retailers from 250ml to 5L, in flat and sports cap formats. Ishka also provides a wide range of easy-tostore spring water multi-packs, making it convenient for shoppers to stay hydrated across a whole range of occasions. Licenced by the HSE, FSAI and Guaranteed Irish, Ishka is also a member of Repak and Team Green. For further information on any of Ishka’s product ranges, contact info@irishspringwater.com or telephone 061 - 450705.

A super option for nutrients Avonmore Super Milk is a significant growth brand within the fresh milk category. Enriched with added vitamins D, B, E, extra calcium and folic acid, Avonmore Super Milk contains more of these important nutrients than fresh milk. Vitamin D helps in the absorption of calcium from food and drink which is important for maintaining bone and muscle health and also helps support a healthy immune system. Research shows that amongst children aged 5-12 years old in Ireland, approximately 37% are not consuming enough calcium and 94% are not consuming enough Vitamin D*. Available in 1.75L, 1L and 500ml sizes, Avonmore Super Milk is a must-stock item for the busy back to school period. *(Source: IUNA 2018).

Taste of real homemade soup As the back-to-school routine returns, Avonmore Soup strives to provide those busy on-the-go families with beautiful, fresh ingredient soup options that really capture the taste of real homemade soup! Avonmore’s standard 1kg and 400g family friendly soup cartons, do not only provide the consumer with an instantly delicious meal solution, but can also form a fantastic base for many recipes that consumers can find on the www.Avonmore.ie website. Recipes such as lamb rogan josh, Spanish style chicken casserole, Thai style chicken curry and many more! Avonmore Soup is passionate about supporting the time-poor Irish consumer with super convenient, family meal solutions that do not sacrifice on taste or quality. It’s no

Avonmore Super Milk is enriched with added vitamins D, B, E, extra calcium and folic acid

Fabulous flapjacks Baked in Flahavan’s bakery, beside its famous mill in Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford, Flahavan’s Flapjacks are available in a range of delicious flavours. These include Original, Chocolate Chip, Cranberry & Orange, and Dark Chocolate & Orange and the newest addition, Chocolate & Hazelnut. The latter is created

OUR CHEFS CAREFULLY BLEND, SEASON AND COOK our beautiful, fresh ingredients to capture the taste of a real homemade soup.

Pure, authentic goodness Ishka Still Irish Spring Water is naturally pure and low in sodium, rich in calcium, magnesium and potassium. With a naturally balanced pH of 7.3, Ishka’s water is naturally pure, crisp, healthy and delicious, with nothing added for taste or enhanced with extras. The company

ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

FOR FULL RANGE OF AVONMORE SOUP VISIT WWW.AVONMORE.IE

Avonmore soups are showing the highest growth of the category, at +29% volume MAT year-on-year*

A delicious crunchy wholesome oaty snack, Flahavan’s Flapjacks are enjoyed by all the family

I AM

100% Recyclable

Inspired by nature for a clean, crisp taste irishspringwater.com

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using the highest quality Belgian dark chocolate and roasted Italian hazelnut pieces. Flahavan’s sources the finest quality Irish oats from local growers based within a 60-mile radius of its mill and bakes its flapjacks to perfection using an age-old family recipe, resulting in a delicious crunchy wholesome oaty snack, enjoyed by all the family. Made with wholegrain Irish oats, not only are Flahavan’s Flapjacks a source of fibre, but they are also vegan friendly and individually wrapped for convenience, making these Waterford-baked treats a perfect fuss-free addition to lunchboxes. What’s more, they are available in a variety of formats for retail, including a 6 x 40g retail pack and 24 x 40g individual bars. An exciting new format is also set to launch in September. So, whether your customers are ‘t-oat-ally’ Original fans or love a Belgian Choc Chip fix, keeping energy levels up has never been easier.

Immunity for kids

Flahavan’s has created a great, attentiongrabbing stand for displaying its flapjacks

ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

Providing goodness for immune systems, new Actimel* for kids is launching with perfect timing ahead of the back to school season. Available in two delicious flavours, Strawberry Banana and Peach, every shot of Actimel is bursting with 10 billion l.casei cultures and is rich in Vitamin D which helps

support the immune system. Actimel for kids is also a source of calcium and contains no sweeteners. Available in playful colourful packs, with the arrival of this Vitamin D-rich option, a new lunchbox hero has arrived on the scene! The launch follows a unique moment of relevance for the Actimel brand over the past two years as consumers’ awareness and knowledge around Immune support increases. A brand that has always been famous for supporting the immune system, Actimel has experienced phenomenal growth over the last few years. All consumers need do is just shake it up and drink it down to give the day their best shot! Actimel meanwhile has a huge support plan to give the important ‘back to school’ season its best shot. *(Actimel contains Vitamins B6 and D to help support the normal function of the immune system) *(Enjoy as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle)

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38 CATEGORY FOCUS Back to School

Stationery anything but stationary! By allocating a designated space for stationery as an everyday category, retailers can gain strong impulse sales. This is particularly true during the crucial back to school season, when stationery lines are anything but stationary – instead, quality brands are jumping off the shelves!

he impact of grocery inflation is being felt nationwide right now. As prices for essentials rise, consumers are feeling the pinch on their pockets. That’s why, when it comes to back-to-school spending, there’s no doubt many parents will be looking to stretch their back-to-school budget further this year, and one area where shoppers will look to snag a deal is stationery. From notebooks and rulers

to coloured pencils and folders, the list of musthaves is lengthy, so retailers should ensure they don’t get caught without the essentials, and stock everything needed for all students. While pricing is obviously a factor, stationery – particularly in schools with prescribed uniforms, schoolbags and even shoes – is an area where kids can often express their personality and impress their

growth in online home trading. Similarly, arts and crafts continues to warrant extra space in stationery planograms. Solv-X has a suite of planogram options up to its largest 3m display, with even smaller convenience stores increasingly allocating a designated space for stationery as an everyday category that can gain strong impulse sales. The full range of Solv-X stationery can be ordered via your local area manager or online at www.solv-x.com;; telephone 042 9377055. ■

Reach for the stars! Reach Stationery is a leading supplier of stationery lines to retail. Reach boasts an extensive range of market-leading brands including Supreme, Bic, Staedtler, Crayola, Pukka, Stabilo, Milan, Sellotape and more. It offers competitive pricing with next day delivery and ease of online ordering. From school bags to staplers, calculators to copy books and maths sets to multi-colour pens, Reach Stationery has everything retailers need to cater for primary, secondary and third level students. Reach Stationery also offers great prices on copier paper, till and Visa roll all-year round. To view the full range offered by Reach Stationery, go to www.reachstationery.ie. If

Easy to order online, Reach Stationery offers competitive pricing with next day delivery

ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

classmates with a cool pencil case or nifty pens! As such, they may often be willing to spend their own pocket money or savings on stationery options and brands that pass muster with their peers. Exciting new stationery options and formats can also inject some real fun and positive anticipation into how kids plan for their return back to school after the seemingly endless summer break.

Reach Stationery offers market-leading brands including Supreme, BIC, Staedtler, Crayola, Pukka, Stabilo, Milan, Sellotape and more

you don’t already have an account, the online account set-up process is simple, enabling you to start shopping right away.

With the Solv-X own brand range, convenience retailers can be highly competitive on quality and value

Highly competitive offering Solv-X offers convenience retailers a combination of over 100 quality own brand products plus brands such as Bic, Papermate, Loctite, Sellotape and Helix to maximise retailers’ sales and profitability. With own brand sales growing strongly in all categories, the Solv-X own brand range allows convenience retailers to be highly competitive on quality and value with specialist stationery suppliers and discounters. Stationery was to the forefront in the growth in convenience non-food sales during the pandemic and postage and packaging stationery continues to benefit from the

Solv-X has a suite of planogram options for stationery up to its largest 3m display

Kerrygold to dish up a feast with ‘Paul Flynn’s Food Truck Favourites’

Kerrygold is proudly sponsoring the brand Kate Saul, vice president new RTÉ TV series ‘Paul of marketing, Ornua and Flynn’s Food Truck chef Paul Flynn Favourites’, which first aired on Wednesday, 6 July on RTÉ One at 8pm. The six-part series sees renowned chef Paul Flynn explore Ireland’s thriving street food scene, which has enjoyed a boom over the past two years as the nation embraced outdoor dining amid pandemic lockdowns. In the spirit of the series, Kerrygold has also embarked on its own food-truck tour, taking the newly launched Kerrygold Spreadable on the road to food-lovers nationwide this summer. For more information, visit https://aperturemedia. ie/paul-flynns-food-truck-favourites.

Traidcraft’s paperand plant-based packaging is eco-friendly and compostable, minimising waste

Fair Trade pioneer Traidcraft launches unique range of organic chocolate bars

With the increasing demand for organic and fairtrade products, UK leader, Traidcraft, has launched a new range of speciality chocolate bars. As part of an exciting new collection for the ecoconscious chocolate lover, the brand has introduced an Organic White Chocolate with Earl Grey, Organic White Chocolate with Matcha, and a vegan Organic Dark Chocolate with Hazelnut bar. In order to emphasise its transparency theme and invite both consumers and retailers to explore it further, Traidcraft is launching a competition that incorporates a select number of chocolate bars wrapped in compostable, transparent packaging. Whoever receives a bar will win a prize. To find out more, visit www.traidcraftshop.co.uk.

Iceland Ireland launches childhood picnic inspired range of retro ice-cream favourites

Iceland Ireland has launched a fun new range of retro-inspired ice creams. These include Skittles Rainbow Wild Berry Ice Cream (€4.00, four-pack) while Iceland has answered every Capri-Sun lover’s dream by creating an iced version of the classic, free from artificial colours, flavours or preservatives with Capri Sun Ice Lollies (€4.50, 12-pack). Barratt fans will also be thrilled to see three new Iceland exclusives in the form of Swizzels Drumstick Squashies Ice Lollies (€2.75, four-pack), Swizzles Drumstick Squashies Bubblegum Lollies (€2.75, fourpack) and Swizzles Parma Violets (€2.75, four-pack).

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Hassetts Bakery secures new deal with Lidl worth €6 million contract. A family-run business to this day, Lidl Ireland has announced a new deal worth through the ongoing relationship with Lidl, €6 million with Hassetts Bakery, based in the supermarket giant has Cork. The two-year deal will propelled the see the family-run business confectionery range to supply Lidl’s network of 175 homes throughout Ireland. stores across Ireland with a The bakery has seen brand-new chilled cake and consistent growth through dessert range. The Rachel the demand for its quality H’s range created by products and has Hassett’s is exclusively increased its workforce by available in Lidl stores an additional eight staff. nationwide now as part of The new exclusive deal its everyday listed range. will see the addition of Established in 1984, four Rachel Hs chilled founder Michael Hassett Owner Michael Hassett and developed a passion for business manager Noreen Foley cakes to Lidl stores nationwide, such as Rachel baking during his time at Hassetts Bakery, alongside Hs Vanilla & Custard Slice working across Europe in the senior buyer Stephanie Walsh, and Brendan Conway, buying and Rachel H’s Coffee early 1980s. On returning to director - food, Lidl Ireland & Cream Slice. Ireland, Michael started his Northern Ireland “At Lidl, more than ever own wholesale bakery in we are committed to Douglas, Cork. Such was the investing in local partners and are delighted demand for Hassetts artisan bread and to sign this new deal with Hassetts,” said confectionery, made using the best of local Stephanie Walsh, senior buyer, Lidl Ireland & ingredients, by 1988 Michael opened up his own shop, and seven years later, he expanded Northern Ireland. “The quality and taste of their products is into the nearby town of Carrigaline. a true testament to their passion to provide Hassetts first connected with Lidl in 2020 the best handcrafted confectionery on a daily supplying a Handcrafted Vanilla Gateau, basis,” she added. securing the bakery’s first major retail

TV cook Donal Skehan challenges Ireland’s ‘most imaginative’ meal-makers Celebrity cook and television presenter, Donal Skehan has once again joined with banana importers Fyffes; this time in search of Ireland’s most imaginative meal-makers, their quest being to find the most delicious dish, savoury or sweet, in which a banana is the key ingredient. Having discovered the talents of Cobh native Gillian Carney (best banana bread baker 2020) and Drumcondra student Roisin Gallagher (best banana dessert maker 2021), Skehan has broadened his search to include any dish on the menu from first to final course. Focusing on any serving from starter to sweet, the challenge he puts to competitors is “to create an appetising recipe that will demonstrate the versatility of bananas as an ingredient, whether in meals that are cooked, baked, boiled, blended and everything in between”. Open to mums, dads and the younger generation, rewards will go to the overall winner and best in category, including junior entrants, best breakfast, savoury, dessert, no bake and vegan.

“With a host of new categories added this year, we’re really looking forward to receiving some exceptional and original entries,” said Fyffes head of marketing Emma Hunt-Duffy. Entries close on 4 August: details on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ FyffesIreland) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/fyffesireland/). ■

Fyffes marketing executive, Áine McElroy (left) and head of marketing, Emma HuntDuffy (centre) with celebrity cook Donal Skehan

More ice cream inspiration can be found at Icelandfoods.ie

www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife July 2022

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40 CATEGORY FOCUS Summer Wines

On cloud wine! After a highly anticipated wait, sunny days have finally arrived on Irish shores. And with the sun comes a panoply of opportunities to enjoy a fine wine or two, so ensure you don’t leave customers disappointed by stocking a strong selection including prominent showings of the bestsellers displayed on these pages, writes Gillian Hamill

ine is Ireland’s second favourite alcohol beverage with 32% market share, so it’s essential to have a refreshing selection on your shelves now that the summer days are well and truly here at long last, and thoughts turn to relaxing outside with a flavoursome tipple. The Drinks Ireland|Wine 2020 Market Report, published in August 2021, shows that wine comfortably remains the nation’s second favourite alcohol beverage after beer. In fact, 2020 saw a five-point increase in wine’s market share to 32.2%, mostly at the expense of beer’s market share which fell from 44.9% in 2019 to 38.9% in 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic saw changing purchasing trends and overall alcohol sales fall by 6.6% in 2020, Drinks Ireland|Wine found. Beer and cider sales were significantly hit as those products are typically consumed

in the hospitality sector. However, generally about 80% of wine purchased in Ireland is in the retail sector. Due to the rolling lockdowns of the hospitality sector, an estimated 95% of wine sales were from the retail sector in 2020. Overall, wine sales in 2020 rose by 12% to over 10 million cases. According to industry estimates, the popularity of rosé continues to grow. It had an estimated 7% share of the wine market, which is double its share in 2016. White wine is Ireland’s favourite, with a share of 48%, followed by red wine at 45%. Meanwhile, Chilean wine remains the nation’s favourite for the seventh year in a row, In fact, it’s estimated that one in four bottles of wine sold in Ireland is from Chile, according to the report. Spanish wine continues to grow in popularity with a 15.4% share of the total

wine market in 2020, just ahead of Australia’s 13.8%. French and Italian wines are the fourth and fifth most popular wines respectively. Richard Halstead at www.wineintelligence.com, has also previously examined the topic of Ireland’s post-Covid wine renaissance. According to Halstead: “Ireland’s wine drinkers used the enforced stay-at-home rules to indulge in their wine habits – both drinking more and drinking better.” He adds that the trade is reporting increased interest in higher value wines, and also in more diverse styles and origins. “Trade respondents mentioned that their Pet-Nat, organic and natural wines have been moving well in recent months,” Halstead wrote, “as has their more special interest products from more niche origins such as Portugal, Germany, Austria and Greece, as well as more mainstream offerings from Chile and Spain.”

Delightful low alcohol options

Santa Rita is introducing three new low alcohol wines which will be sold under the 120 Reserva Especial brand tier as ‘De-Light’

simultaneously a cool vapour created from the wine itself rises from below and carries off all the lightest molecules in the liquid. The process is repeated until the desired level of alcohol is reached. This is a very gentle and sympathetic technique which works well in reducing alcoholic content yet retains the delicate aromas and flavours of the wines. The final wines are a blend of full alcohol and dealcoholised wines.

Following on from the launch of the 0% dealcoholised wines earlier this year, Santa Rita is set to introduce three new low alcohol wines. The wines will be sold under the 120 Reserva Especial brand tier as De-Light and include a De-Light Pinot Grigio at 9% alcohol and 80 calories per serving, a De-Light Moscato at 8% alcohol and a De-Light Cabernet Sauvignon at 9% alcohol and 80 calories per serving. The RRP of each is €12.50. Each wine is made according to traditional winemaking practices, with the Pinot Grigio and Moscato picked early to achieve lower alcohol and the spinning cone method used to reduce the amount of alcohol in the Cabernet Sauvignon. The spinning cones gently and repeatedly spin the wine out into thin liquid films,

ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

Dealcoholised choices Santa Rita’s Dealcoholised wines are made using the spinning cone column distillation process after alcoholic fermentation is completed

Two Santa Rita Dealcoholised wines – a Sauvignon Blanc and a Cabernet Sauvignon, were launched into the Irish market in March 2022. The wines are made using traditional methods with dealcoholisation taking place after alcoholic fermentation is completed. The method used to dealcoholise the wine is the spinning cone column distillation process, with the resulting wine containing 0.4% alcohol and

WITH E N

A LC O

Excellent Taste

pure freshness, zero worries!

WWW.120SANTARITA.COM

120SANTARITACL

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42 CATEGORY FOCUS Summer Wines

residual sugar of 30 g/L. The RRP of each is €7.50 “Research has shown that regular wine drinkers, except possibly during the pandemic, have been decreasing over the last couple of years and consumers are more conscious of the negative effects of excessive alcohol,” said Terry Pennington, export commercial director of Santa Rita Estates. “Current trends are towards healthier lifestyles and more moderate alcohol consumption with the younger generations looking for low alcohol alternatives,” he continued. “With this in mind, Santa Rita has launched both a low alcohol – Santa Rita 120 De-Light and a 0% alcohol – Santa Rita Dealcoholised range in 2022.”

Defiant by nature, bold in character

popular wine brand 19 Crimes is borne of the rules they broke and the culture they built. And like the legendary rogues, the brand is confident it’s a taste that’ll live forever in infamy. 19 Crimes has also created a mobile phone app which brings these rogues’ stories to life. When a phone’s camera is pointed at a bottle in the app, the character on the label becomes animated and begins to tell their story. This red blend bears the same traits as those banished to Australia. Defiant by nature, bold in character. Always uncompromising. It is a great bottle to drink with classic barbecue dishes; an unforgettable taste. This summer, 19 Crimes will be sampling at Big Grill Festival and demonstrating how to make the most of BBQ season.

Blossoming for three decades! Blossom Hill began with a revolution. Back in 1992, its first winemaker passionately believed that wine should be enjoyed and certainly not debated. Complex terminology and vintages

were drowning out what mattered most taste and a gap were identified in the market for a fresh, very fruity, smooth, crowd-pleasing wine. From juicy red berries to zesty citrus and wonderful watermelons, there’s a whole world of taste out there with all-natural flavours. Taste is where Blossom Hill started, and a range was created that focused on taste - the first easily accessible wine style. More than 30 years later, there is a Blossom Hill wine to suit all tastes and occasions. From classic crisp whites to fruity reds and fresh rosés, everyone can find something to love in blossom hill. Blossom Hill is celebrating its 30th birthday with the help of TV presenter Laura Whitmore. Turning 30 comes with all types of societal and family pressures to achieve particular life milestones, and Blossom Hill and Laura want to quash these and help customers live life on their own terms. This summer, Blossom Hill will celebrate its birthday in Ireland with exclusive invites to brunch in Brother Hubbard.

When a phone’s camera is pointed at a bottle in the 19 Crimes app, the character on the label begins to tell their story

Nineteen crimes turned criminals into colonists. Upon conviction, British rogues guilty of at least one of these 19 crimes were sentenced to live in Australia rather than death. This “punishment by transportation” began in 1788, and many of the lawless died at sea. For the rough-hewn prisoners who made it to shore, a new world awaited. As pioneers in a frontier penal colony, they forged a new country and new lives, brick by brick. Today,

Blossom Hill is celebrating its 30th birthday with the help of TV presenter Laura Whitmore

New free trade deal with the EU is positive for winegrowers New Zealand Winegrowers is pleased that wine exporters will benefit from the announcement of a new free trade deal with the European Union (EU). “Our understanding is that the agreement is positive for winegrowers exporting to the EU,” said Philip Gregan, CEO of New Zealand Winegrowers. “It will help remove technical barriers to trade, and reduce burdens from certification and labelling requirements in a dedicated Wine Annex. It will also support future growth in the market and encourage exporters to focus on the EU.” The EU is a significant export market for New Zealand wine, with over 20 million litres of wine exported, valued at over $150

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million, over the past 12 months. “The EU’s complex rules can make market access difficult for winegrowers, so it is encouraging to see some easing of restrictions in this area,” Gregan added. “We look forward to publication of the full text of the agreement, so that we can examine the agreement in more detail.” Under the terms of the agreement, tariffs on NZ wine will be lifted as soon as it takes effect. The New Zealand Government has estimated this will save NZ wine exporters approximately $5.5 million annually. The removal of technical barriers to trade will also reduce other direct and indirect costs of producing and exporting wine to the EU. “We thank Ministers and officials for their

The new free trade deal will “support future growth in the market and encourage exporters to focus on the EU,” said Philip Gregan, CEO of New Zealand Winegrowers

support and their ongoing engagement in these negotiations, which at times have been challenging,” Gregan said.

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Summer Wines

Driving Footfall

44 CATEGORY FOCUS Summer Wines

Pure and wholesome grapes Cono Sur is present in seven of the most important wine valleys of Chile, where each valley’s micro-climate determining factors, such as abundant luminosity, significant daily temperature variation, dry weather during ripening season and fresh Andean irrigation water, contribute to the production of pure and wholesome grapes. Since its beginning, Cono Sur has been deeply committed to taking care of the environment by developing practices such as natural vineyard management, organic production, and ISO certifications and always believing that high-quality wine production can work hand-in-hand with eco-friendly practices. This sustainable path has led the winemaker to meet the highest

The number one USA wine brand in Ireland, Barefoot has something for everyone

standards in terms of social performance, environmental care, transparency, and corporate responsibility, granting it B-Corp certification. These good practices are reflected in its Organic line, which was born in 2012 as a tribute to the vineyard workers who daily attend their workplace on bicycles as shown on the label. The creative use of technology, the orientation towards quality, and the respect for the environment are part of the fundamental values of Cono Sur to create quality and innovative products from South America, on whose western edge lies Chile and its gifted wine valleys. To highlight the importance of sustainable community, and this year, the company celebrated Pride the best way it knows how by supporting LGBTQ+ causes and unveiling a fresh new look for its Pinot Grigio. The eyecatching new label is inspired by the Progress flag, as a mark of Barefoot’s long-standing advocacy of the LGBTQ+ community. To learn more about Barefoot’s history as an ally, visit www.barefootwine.ie/lgbtq. Barefoot is in the business of making great wine that has something for everyone, from sweet reds and refreshing whites, find your perfect match and enjoy with friends and family - life’s more fun when we’re together!

Life’s more fun together!

Set your summer in bloom

Barefoot Wine, the number one USA wine brand in Ireland, has found the fun this summer! Kicking off the season by celebrating Pride with a striking new rainbow label on its awardwinning Pinot Grigio - alongside the return of the incredibly popular Barefoot Beach Sports for festival season - the summer is in full swing for Barefoot Wine. Barefoot Beach Sports, sponsored by Barefoot Wine, made a highly anticipated return to Sea Sessions in June. Set in the beautiful surrounds of Donegal’s Bundoran, sports fanatics joined headliners Kodaline, Tinie Tempah, Joel Corry and Basement Jaxx at the biggest beach party weekend of the year. In the spirit of Barefoot Wine, having a laugh is always a top priority with festival goers enjoying a host of beach sports from volleyball to frisbee - with all proceeds going to its charity partners and event hosts Liquid Therapy, a multi award winning charity locally based in Donegal. For the past 34 years, Barefoot Wine has been a committed ally of the LGBTQ+

Picnics, garden parties and BBQs alike are sure to stand out this summer, with the limited-edition Fruity White and Rosé wines from Black Tower. Featuring a beautiful flower design, of pretty pinks and lilacs, the new sleeve bottles are guaranteed to brighten up any al-fresco occasion - whatever the weather! The newly released wines are sure to delight guests and act as the perfect accompaniment to light, summer dishes and, for those more health-conscious drinkers, Black Tower has a delicious alternative with its low-calorie and low-alcohol B range.

Barefoot Wine is celebrating Pride with a striking new rainbow label on its award-winning Pinot Grigio

ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

Barefoot Wine has been a committed ally of the LGBTQ+ community for the past 34 years

Fruity white summer sleeve With an elegant sweetness which nods to vibrant orange, passionfruit, peach and pineapple with honey running through, Black Tower’s Fruity White is a favourite all round and perfect for serving up in the summer months. Delicate, refreshing flavours make this wine the perfect pairing for a feta and watermelon salad or Moroccan vegetable tagine on a

Cono Sur will sample its Organic wine range in the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre and Dundrum Town Centre next month

winemaking, Cono Sur will be sampling its Organic wine range in the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre and Dundrum Town Centre in August. balmy evening. Plus, with its beautiful bottle design, this wine is the ideal gift for bringing to a get-together.

Rosé summer sleeve Perfect for enjoying on a sunny afternoon in the garden, Black Tower’s Rosé is a fresh wine with delicate hints of summer fruits including strawberry, raspberry and aromatic red berries. Serve with seafood, a Thai noodle salad or a refreshing summer pudding for a dinner that’s sure to impress. Black Tower Fruity White, Rosé and Smooth Red are available at the following retailers: Dunnes, Costcutter, Carry Out and SuperValu with bottles priced at €8 nationwide.

Lighter way to enjoy Looking for a lighter way to enjoy the Fruity White or Rosé? Look no further. The B by Black Tower range means consumers can enjoy a lower calorie, lower alcohol glass of wine without compromising on taste. At only 55 calories per 125ml glass, the B range contains over 30% less calories than standard 9.5% vol. wines, perfect when looking for something lighter to enjoy midweek. Each Black Tower wine can be served cold or lightly chilled for the most refreshing glass to satisfy your taste buds, whether enjoying on its own or with your favourite foods. The B by Black Tower range is available at the following retailers: Tesco, Dunnes, Costcutter, Carry Out and SuperValu with bottles priced at €5 nationwide. For more information, visit www.black-tower.co.uk, www.instagram.com/ blacktowerwine/ and www.facebook.com/ BlackTowerWine/.

Black Tower’s limited-edition floral design wine bottles are perfect for summer garden parties

Cheers to a devilish summer As we well-know, the Irish summertime can make outdoor planning quite tricky and typically picnics and barbecues tend to be last-minute when the weekend heatwave arrives. One thing your customers can control however is the chilled wine in the fridge, ready

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Summer Wines

Driving Footfall

46 CATEGORY FOCUS Summer Wines

to be enjoyed at a moment’s notice. Naturally, consumers tend to opt for more whites and rosés in the warmer months and these varieties will take the lead during this time in all brand communications both above and below-the-line, from online and TV to in-store. Starting with rosé, this wine is the perfect accompaniment to any summer event. With its fresh flavours of red berries, it embodies the perfect balance between acidity, minerality and delicateness. Casillero del Diablo Rosé is sure to be a real crowd pleaser. Fans of a more traditional white wine will enjoy a Sauvignon Blanc, providing notes of lime and peach, the ideal choice to pair with summer salads. For those who prefer a fruitier wine, the Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio are great options which pair perfectly with seafood and pasta dishes. Of course, for those who aren’t white wine fans, there are plenty of red wine options from Casillero to choose from too! The brand’s advice is therefore straightforward: Whichever Casillero del Diablo wine you opt for this summer, ‘be sure to make it legendary!’

Packed with fresh flavours of red berries, the Casillero del Diablo Rosé embodies the perfect balance between acidity, minerality and delicateness

Did you know? With notes of lime and peach, the Casillero del Diablo Sauvignon Blanc is an ideal choice to pair with summer salads

ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

Concha y Toro is a certified B Corp company. As consumers are now looking to reduce their environmental impact when shopping, knowing that Casillero del Diablo wines are part of this movement will help shoppers make a more conscious decision in-store. You can soon find the B Corp logo on all bottles and point of sale (POS) materials. ■

Point Cash by Brinks, the world’s largest cash management company is changing instore banking! ATMs by Point Cash by Brinks offer market leading branding solutions to ensure you can engage with your customers, with features like:

• ATM wrapping and branding

will ensure your brand is clean and clear.

• Can deliver a new revenue stream and reduce bank charges while recycling cash.

• On-screen promotions with imaging • Allows access to cash driving impulse and offer driven sales.

• Flash animation or video

can also be shown to enhance the customer experience.

in a trusted environment.

• Irish based helpdesk

best In class – full-service helpdesk.

This transformation means, the customer journey is even more enjoyable, and our ATMs will enhance the destination value of your stores. A real ally, some research has suggested that basket spend can increase by up to 65% when there’s an ATM with marketing. Contact: Arrange an appointment to see how you can re-engage with your customers by calling: Will Caffrey, Business Development Manager, on 01 588 6957 or email will.caffrey@brinkspointcash.ie

www.brinkspointcash.ie

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Summer Wines

Driving Footfall

48 CATEGORY FOCUS Driving Footfall

Heading in the right direction! Ireland is renowned internationally for the service and standards of our convenience store sector; a fact which is obvious every year at our ShelfLife C-Store Awards where the standard of entries is phenomenal. However good your store is though, it is always worth considering footfall generators which can encourage even more shoppers through your door on a repeat basis

enerating foot traffic is essential when running a brick-and-mortar retail store. More traffic means more opportunities for sales and customer engagement, which in turn leads to higher revenues. There’s no doubt that consumer patterns changed dramatically with the rise of online shopping.

Digital signage success We know that our eyes automatically follow movement, so it’s not really surprising to hear that studies show viewers retain 95% of a video’s message compared to 10% when reading text. Digital signage in stores has been shown to increase footfall by up to 24% and the chances of an impulse purchase between 18% and 20%. But it needs to be straightforward to implement and easy to manage. Digital Signage as a Service (DSaaS) is a 360° digital signage solution from Stacked, which incorporates hardware, software, installation, training, and ongoing support into one low monthly price. Intelligent analytics add-ons are available to further increase return on investment. Stacked’s analytics integrations incorporate invaluable insights on audience measurement, campaign insights and content performance so you can see at a glance what’s working and why – and then do more of it! The content management system (CMS) that sits at the heart of the Stacked solution is a far cry from the CMS of old which simply allowed you to schedule and publish content. It is a hub, a single pane of glass platform that will allow you to do everything you associate with a modern CMS and much more. Rather than just following the ‘right message, right person, right time’ mantra – you can now look

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In a bid to drive footfall and generate allimportant repeat business, many stores have broadened their range of in-store services, demonstrating that they can offer so much more than groceries. Cigarettes and newspapers may have been the main drivers of footfall in the past, but

today the scope of what a retailer can now provide is much richer. Now, retailers can offer a lengthy range of services, from postal services to electronic payment of bills and much more. Below, we shine a light on the many efforts a retailer can make to get more shoppers walking through their door.

at relevancy and context when you communicate digitally - triggering the right content based on (anonymised) audience demographics, time of day, prevailing weather conditions, proximity or even stock levels for perishable goods. The Stacked content management system can also provide data and tactical insights into the likely effectiveness of campaigns even before they are launched. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse and score content samples prior to publishing, allowing you to adjust as needed without using your customers

as guinea pigs. It then completes the feedback loop with analysis on the campaign performance after completion. The content management system is only one element of Stacked’s ‘Digital Signage as a Service’ model but it is an important one in terms of making the technology more intelligent, extremely user friendly and very intuitive. Want to know more? Get in touch with Stacked now to book a free, no obligation consultation with one of its experts. Telephone: 0818 409 988 | Email: hello@stacked.ie

Benefits of in-store banking

With Stacked’s ‘Digital Signage as a Service (DSaaS)’ solution, retailers can now look at relevancy and context when you communicate digitally

Recent years have seen retailers innovate to drive footfall and generate repeat business and in-store banking is a key part of this strategy. The more there is on offer, the more of a destination a store can be, and giving consumers secure access to their cash in a trusted environment, is a great way to entice customers in. Will Caffrey, business development manager at PointCash by Brinks explains real ally research has suggested basket spend can increase by up to 65% when there’s an ATM service offered in-store with onscreen marketing. This can now use video to promote special offers or daily deals to entice consumers towards an impulse or family meal promotion and improve the customer experience. The receipt can also be printed on with a coupon, barcode or offer that the retailer can track through the till.

Driving Footfall CATEGORY FOCUS 49

Bill payment, top up and mail services

Summer Wines Back to School

PostPoint agents across the company’s network of retail and convenience stores experience a rise in footfall thanks to the range of convenient and essential footfall driving services they can offer in-store. PostPoint is a wholly owned subsidiary of An Post and offers retailers the opportunity to provide a comprehensive range of bill payment, top up and mail services. Agents can accept payments on behalf of

Ireland’s main utility providers. This drives customers in-store to pay their bills or top up their mobile phone. PostPoint agents also have the opportunity to sell An Post mail products such as stamps and One4All gift cards. Agents report experiencing a huge increase in demand for international stamps this summer with the welcome return of visitors to our isle. In partnership with PostPoint, convenience stores are transformed into destination hubs where agents can become parcel collection points driven by the surge in eCommerce shopping. The addition of in-store PostPoint services also provides essential and convenient services within the community and enhances the experience for the customer in their local convenience store. ■

Driving Footfall

ATMs provide retail outlets with a healthy revenue stream, without any capital outlay, allowing them to recycle cash back to their customers and reduce banking costs and with the Central Bank of Ireland predicting the demand for cash to grow by up to 8% in 2022, in-store banking will continue to develop for PointCash and retailers.

Research suggests basket spend can increase by up to 65% when there’s an ATM service offered in-store with onscreen marketing

www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife July 2022

50 NOFFLA NEWS

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Dublin diamond

The winner of NOffLA’s Bombay Sapphire Dublin Off-Licence of the Year 2022 Award, McHughs Off-Licence on the Malahide Road, Artane, has something special to offer everyone, regardless of their budget. Gillian Hamill caught up with owner Cathal McHugh to learn more about what makes this store stand out from the competition “Wine is bottled poetry,” the Scottish poet Robert Louis Stevenson famously said. Selling wine can likewise be something of a subtle and delicate art in reading the customer. Something which Cathal McHugh knows only too well, as the owner of McHughs Off-Licence on the Malahide Road, Artane, which earlier this year was named The Bombay Sapphire Dublin OffLicence of the Year 2022.

Helpful customer service The personal touch never goes amiss, even for customers who prefer to browse the shelves without assistance. “There are some customers that don’t want to engage with you, so we try to get as much knowledge as possible onto our point-of-sale materials. We put little quotes, notes or something that appeared in a newspaper onto our signage to help customers select a bottle of wine. “We’ll always try to offer our assistance; very gently, very subtly,” he continues. “Can I help you?” And if they say no, you say to them ‘well, I’ll just be over there if you need to ask anything’. Sometimes people feel intimidated but once they do engage with you, I’d like to think

that our staff, they would be a very well-trained team and they’re always able to give pointers across wines, beers and spirits.” In fact, given their enthusiasm and knowledge on spirits, “if anyone comes in looking for a good whiskey or gin, they’ll get the ears burnt off them talking to them about it!” McHugh laughs. He himself is a seasoned hand within the trade, explaining: “We’re second generation within the grocery and drinks business and in 1995, we opened the first of our two independent offlicences, which are situated on Kilbarrack Road and on Malahide Road in Artane. Proudly serving an excellent range of wines, with 900 labels in-store, and options across all price brackets, from €10 all the way up to the €300/€400 mark, McHugh says he would much rather the person looking for an inexpensive €10 bottle came in their door, instead of heading into the supermarkets. “We have a good range within the €10 – €12 bracket but our main specialty and expertise comes at the higher levels of wine. However, we want those people buying a €10 wine to come in our door instead of the supermarket because one day, they’ll approach us and look for something better

With floor-to-ceiling windows at the front of the store, “the whole impression as you come into the store is large and open and inviting,” says retailer Cathal McHugh

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Award sponsored by Bombay Sapphire

but if they’re not coming in our door, we’ll never get the chance to sell them that something better.”

Pre-made cocktails Cocktail fans are also in for a treat at McHughs as the business has created its own range of premium pre-made cocktails. Explaining how this development came about, McHugh says: “During Covid, there was a big move towards cocktails and cocktail-making at home but also pre-made cocktails. We saw that trend and started bottling our own pre-made cocktails. We also own a restaurant and we have a

mixologist there, so we mix batches of really premium cocktails with all the best ingredients and we bottle them in 500ml bottles under our brand, Shake Me! Cocktails, and they’re going very well.” The core range of these top-quality cocktails includes a Magarita, Cosmopolitan, Old Fashioned and a Porn Star Martini. As well as an extensive range, McHugh’s believes it’s important to offer “extensive refrigeration. Most drinks are consumed quite soon after purchase, so we make sure that everybody can buy beer cold from us.”

McHughs showcases an extensive selection of wines, beers, ciders and spirits

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The off-licence has extensive refrigeration, so that customers are always able to enjoy an ice-cold beverage straight from the fridge

Revamp With all these factors in play, it’s not hard to see why the offlicence was deemed a worthy Dublin winner, “I suppose probably what got us over the line this year,” says McHugh, “is that towards the end of the Covid period, we revamped the store. We hadn’t refurbished the store in about 15 years, so it was long overdue. We created a very open-plan feel which was very well received by our customers and presumably that contributed to the award.” A feeling of spaciousness is a key element within the store’s new design. “We have no pillars, no high display units and floorto-ceiling windows at the front, so the whole impression as you come into the store is large and open and inviting,” McHugh says.

McHughs often display notes, quotes or snippets of information or articles on their shelves about products to help shoppers make an informed choice

British breweries, American breweries, and European continental brewers, that it’s quite a fight for space on the shelf and they have to be top quality to survive.”

Staff training The team at McHugh’s, which includes three full-time and six part-time staff are certainly well placed to know what constitutes the best in every category across the store, as staff training is an important element within the business. “We would always support education, so we send our staff on wine courses, including with WSET and Maureen O’Hara’s Premier Wine Training for formal wine education.” In fact, a number of staff have WSET Level 2 and 3

qualifications while McHugh has also reached WSET Level 4. Regular tastings for staff are also vital, according to McHugh. “All of our reps that call to our door know that we want them to come in with a bottle open so we can sample the product and everybody in the team can sample the product. There’s no point in just me knowing about the product; every person behind the counter needs to know what it tastes like because they could be the one selling it.” Although customer tastings naturally “tailed off during Covid”, McHugh is happy to note that aspect of the business is starting to come back. At the time of our interview, he notes: “For instance, we held an event last week just to mark our award.

Craft beer competition Speaking of inviting, the store’s passion for craft beers means that craft afficionados will find a warm welcome and knowledgeable guidance in-store. According to McHugh, the increased competition in this sector means that to warrant shelf space nowadays, the product must be top notch. “Over the past 10/15 years, craft beer has become a really established part of our business and with that, it’s become more competitive,” he says. “Ten years ago, there weren’t as many breweries, and everybody got a space on the shelf, whereas now there are so many Irish breweries,

With the increasing competition that has developed within the craft beer sector in recent years, only the best will make it on to the shelf at McHughs

We had five tasting stations set up inside in our store, so there was a whiskey one, a cocktail station, two wine tables and we had Hope Beer which is our local brewery all showing their wares.” The reaction was extremely positive, and McHugh is keen to continue in-store tastings in the future.

Passion for product We’re sure this was an enjoyable event given that McHugh’s enthusiasm for the product is infectious. “Nearly every product that we sell comes with a really interesting back story; we love everything about the wine business, where the grapes are grown, the farmer that grew the grapes, all the different processes that go into choosing different styles of wines and then similarly in craft beer and in spirits, with emerging breweries and distilleries, we love all their stories.” The story of McHughs is also one that’s continually developing! “Our plan would be within the next 12 months to do a similar revamp for our Kilbarrack Road store so that’s a big project right now,” says McHugh. “Other than that, it’s resetting after Covid, getting back to brass-tacks retailing because during Covid, everything took on a different dynamic and really now we’re coming back to the world of 2019, and you have to put your best foot forward at all times, so you need to be showing value and quality at all times.” Sounds like a premium recipe for success to us! ■

noffla contacts If you have any queries regarding NOffLA membership or services, please contact our administrator, Reggie Walsh, at Block D, Unit 6, Nutgrove Office Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14, by telephone on 01 - 296 2326, by fax on 01 - 296 2451 or by email at info@noffla.ie. The NOffLA website can be found at www.noffla.ie. ■

www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife July 2022

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My favourite...

In our monthly column outlining NOffLA members’ favourite tipples, Judith Boyle of Boyle’s Pub and Off-Licence in Kildare, outlines why bitters – although sometimes overlooked – are a fabulous option for adding depth of flavour to cocktails and recreating the bar experience at home Boyle’s Pub and Off-Licence is a family-run, independent offlicence based in Kildare town. As an independent off-licence it is important to support small businesses that give customers value for money but also flavour. During the lockdowns, people were no longer able to rely on bartenders to give them suggestions and make them delicious drinks, so they turned to their nearest off-licence. Consumer profiles changed and so did the products that they picked to give them the bar flavour and experience at home. One of these products was bitters. Bitters are a great addition to any style of drink. Bitters were first introduced in

the 1800s as a medicine used to help stomach issues. They then became an element added to cocktails to give a depth of flavour to the drink and hide the issues with spirits that were made illegally during prohibition. Even during the Temperance movement, people who were teetotallers were still drinking bitters even though it was a highproof infusion. Off the Cuffe bitters were created by a former chef Jarrod Cuffe and Barry Gargan in 2016 in Dublin. The company is based at the Chocolate Factory in Dublin and its whiskey new-make comes from the Teeling Whiskey Distillery. They now have several different flavoured bitters, but I

ADVERTORIAL

Kopparberg launches new Mixed Fruit Tropical flavour Ireland’s bestselling fruit cider brand serves up tasty tropical twist Kopparberg, Ireland’s bestselling fruit cider brand, launches a new flavour in the cider category, Mixed Fruit Tropical. With passionfruit, pineapple and mango flavours – this refreshing cider provides a tasty tropical twist on the iconic Kopparberg Mixed Fruit, in the first-ever limited-edition design. The unique flavour offering is new and experimental for the Irish market. Northern Ireland sales data indicate Tropical is becoming the number four flavour in cider, making it bigger than Strawberry, Raspberry, Cherry & Rosé. Kopparberg’s ongoing performance this year has been impressive, currently outselling its nearest competitor by 11:1*. Kopparberg’s alcohol-free cider is holding onto the number one position in the cider category and number two position in the total non-alcohol category. Strawberry & Lime Gin with lemonade ready-to-drink (RTD) is in the top five for the spirit category, and the four-pack has a greater rate of sale than the top gin and rum brands. Stock Kopparberg Mixed Tropical this summer to give your customers the ultimate refreshingly fruity experience! Currently available in Dunnes Stores. Distributed in Ireland by Richmond Marketing. *(Source: Collated EPOS Data to Week 4 2022)

still love the original Marmalade Citrus bitters. With its zest and vigour, this accentuates the more delicate notes of marmalade on both palate and nose and works amazingly in an Old Fashioned cocktail. Try a couple of dashes in a club lemon for a more flavourful version of a soda. These bitters also work very well in an amaretto sour. Try it next time you want to discover something delicious in your glass. ■

Did you know? Bitters were first introduced in the 1800s as a medicine used to help stomach issues.

W.D. O’Connell Whiskey Merchants has attracted huge praise for its releases to date

As an independent off-licence, the team at Boyle’s believes it is important to support small businesses that give customers value for money but also flavour Judith Boyle is impressed with Off the Cuffe bitters, based at Dublin’s Chocolate Factory

OFF-TRADE NEWS

Kopparberg launches new mixed Fruit tropical flavour Kopparberg, Ireland bestselling fruit cider brand, launches a new flavour in the cider category, Mixed Fruit Tropical. With passionfruit, pineapple and mango flavours – this refreshing cider provides a tasty tropical twist on the iconic Kopparberg Mixed Fruit, in the first-ever limited-edition design. The unique flavour offering is new and experimental for the Irish market. Northern Ireland sales data indicate Tropical is becoming the number four flavour in cider, making it bigger than Strawberry, Raspberry, Cherry and Rosé. Kopparberg’s ongoing performance this year has been impressive, currently outselling its nearest competitor by 11 to one. Kopparberg’s alcohol-free cider is holding onto the number one position in the cider category and number two position in the total non-alcohol category. Strawberry & Lime Gin with lemonade RTD is in the top five for the spirit category, and the four-pack has a greater rate of sale than the top gin and rum brands. Stock up on Kopparberg Mixed Tropical this summer to give your shoppers that refreshingly fruity experience! Currently available in Dunnes Stores, Kopparberg is distributed in Ireland by Richmond Marketing. *(Source: Collated EPOS Data to Week 4 2022)

The White Claw Variety Pack outsold all other hard seltzer SKUs by more than 2.5 times in both value and unit ROS last summer

White Claw Variety pack available now just in time for august Bank holiday The White Claw Variety Eight-Pack delivers some of Ireland’s favourite flavours; Black Cherry, Mango, Natural Lime and Raspberry in one convenient eight-pack; driving trial amongst consumers and increasing basket size. White Claw boasts the finest natural ingredients; a blend of sparkling water, gluten-free triple distilled spirit, and a hint of natural fruit flavour with only 95 calories per can. With no artificial sweeteners and an ABV of 4.5%, White Claw Hard Seltzer delivers a wave of pure refreshment. Last summer, the White Claw Variety Pack outsold all other hard seltzer SKUs by more than 2.5 times in both value and unit ROS, making it the number one for value delivery in Ireland*. White Claw Hard Seltzer is already the number two ready-to-drink (RTD) can brand for volume in Ireland**. White Claw has become a cultural phenomenon with fans generating over 4 billion impressions and 46 times more social media mentions than competing brands in the USA. Speaking about the variety pack, Flor Prendergast, market director UK & Ireland said: “Last year, we had an incredible response to our Variety Eight-Pack, so we’re delighted to have the opportunity to reintroduce the product to our Irish customers. A White Claw Variety Eight-Pack is a great way to promote trial of our brand among consumers as well as offer their favourite flavours in one convenient pack.” The White Claw Variety Eight-Pack is available in key retailers with two Mango, two Natural Lime, two Black Cherry and two Raspberry variants; distributed by Barry & Fitzwilliam. *(Source: Nielsen Ireland Total Scantrack excl Dunnes & Discounters 12wks data to August 15th 2021) **(Source: Nielsen Ireland Total Scantrack excl Dunnes & Discounters 52wks data to May 22nd 2022)

Kopparberg is currently outselling its nearest competitor by 11 to one

Irish drinks exports to US valued at €619m in 2021 New figures compiled by Drinks Ireland* show that drinks exports from Ireland to the US were valued at around €619 million in 2021. To mark the 4th of July, the Irish drinks industry is highlighting the importance of the US market for exports from the sector. In 2020, 51% of Irish drinks exports went to the USA, according to Bord Bia. Renowned for their quality, and rich with heritage, our country’s drinks brands are a pivotal part of Ireland’s famous food and drinks offering, according to Drinks Ireland. The US is the biggest export market for Irish spirits, which were valued at a mammoth €561 million in 2021. This was driven in large part by Irish whiskey, but Irish cream liqueur is also hugely popular in the US. Irish gin is also carving a niche for itself. Elsewhere, the US was the second biggest export destination for Irish beer and cider last year, after the UK. Exports in 2021 were valued at €49 million for Irish beer and €8.4 million for Irish cider. Vincent McGovern, director of Drinks Ireland|Spirits said exports to the US had remained resilient despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. “Irish drinks producers take great pride in creating quality products that are renowned the world over, and the US is a key destination for our spirits, beer and cider exports, which is very positive to see,” McGovern said. “While heavily impacted by Covid-19, and particularly the global closure of the on-trade (pubs, restaurants, hotel bars), exports remained resilient, and producers are now focused on recovery and further growth.” ■ *(Source: CSO/Eurostat, ROI only)

The US is the biggest export market for Irish spirits, which reached €561 million in 2021

www.shelflife.ie | ShelfLife July 2022

54 MARKET MOVERS

Frank and Honest

Vuse

Frank and Honest adds Decaf Coffee Capsules to at-home coffee range

Vuse upgrades to the ePod 2 device

Frank and Honest is launching new Decaf Coffee Capsules, adding to its already extensive at-home coffee range. Perfect for all day drinking, this flavoursome drink never fails to hit the right spot for coffee fans. Available in a medium roasted 100% arabica blend – the new Decaf Coffee Capsules have tasting notes of yellow plums, hints of citrus and grapefruit, with woody notes. Shoppers can treat themselves with decaf coffee indulgence, without compromising on the richness of flavour. The new Decaf Coffee Capsules still pack in plenty of flavour and satisfaction, ensuring a satisfying quick cup of coffee when it’s needed most. The new Decaf Coffee Capsules are Nespresso compatible and made of aluminium; currently available in select SuperValu and Centra stores nationwide at an RRP of €3.50.

With the Vype to Vuse transition, the Vuse brand promised further innovation and is now happy to say it is upgrading its current ePod device to the ePod 2. With this upgraded device, Vuse says it 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 device packs in shops from the end of July. There are many more exciting things to come for Vuse this year and the brand looks forward to sharing more with its retail partners soon. If you wish to place any orders for Vuse products, visit the website b2b.pjcarroll.ie or speak to your BAT representative.

SynerChi

Kellogg’s

Kellogg’s launches new Special K Granola

SynerChi Kombucha serves up perfect ‘synergy’ of natural ingredients SynerChi is Ireland’s original Kombucha brewery, founded by Laura Murphy, who is the team’s ‘brewmaster’. Situated in a custom state-ofthe-art facility in Gweedore, Co. Donegal, with Mt. Errigal and the wild Atlantic on the doorstep, it’s a fitting location to create natural, healthy and refreshing products using natural kombucha cultures. The business supports 20 local jobs in the local Donegal community, creating, producing and packaging all products on site. SynerChi is craft-brewed using 100% natural and organic ingredients and a unique micro-brewing process to produce authentic live culture kombucha drinks. Carefully blending the finest organic teas and tisanes, which according to the brand, creates the perfect ‘synergy’ of natural ingredients, the SynerChi Kombucha range is brimming with natural live cultures, perfect for topping up the good bacteria we all need to support gut health and immunity. With a growing range to choose from – from the original organic glass bottles (330ml), lower sugar Kombucha cans (250ml), to the new Kombucha shots with added prebiotics, fibre and vitamins (60ml) or even SynerChi Water Kefir with Apple Cider Vinegar (330ml) – there is something in the range to suit everyone. Vegan friendly, low in calories and naturally free from dairy, gluten and soy, find your inner-chi! For more information, visit www.synerchi.ie.

ShelfLife July 2022 | www.shelflife.ie

Special K Crunchy Oat Granola’s delicious crunchy clusters, with 30% less sugar*, make the perfect breakfast choice and come in two tasty flavours: for those who like a fruity twist, ‘Mixed Berries’ with blackcurrants and cranberries or for those chocolate lovers, ‘Dark Chocolate Curls’ with 64% cocoa. Special K’s latest innovation has an oat-rich base with puffed grains making it a tasty, light textured granola. It’s also high in oat grain fibre to support gut health**. “It’s so important to get your day off to a good start** and it’s easy when you’ve got something that tastes so delicious,” said Neil Rogers, brand and activation manager for Kellogg’s Ireland. “Our food development experts have created a new Special K Crunchy Oat Granola to give people a great tasting high fibre option with 30% less sugar* than other granolas. With so many different ways you can enjoy Special K Crunchy Oat Granola for breakfast, it’s sure to be a household favourite!” Special K Crunchy Oat Granola is available now (RRP: €3.95)***. ■ *(Source: 30% less sugar on average than other granolas. IRI UK 2021) **(Source: Special K Crunchy Oat Granola Mixed Berries / Dark Chocolate Curls contains 6.5g / 6.0g oat grain fibre per 100g. Oat grain fibre contributes to an increase in faecal bulk. Enjoy as part of a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle) ***(RRP: Pricing is at the sole discretion of the retailer)

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ShelfLife - July Issue