Mace store profile: After once

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.

Passing trade

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 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.

Fuel choices

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.

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. ■

Today’s woman in grocery

F r a n c e s H i g g i n s , g r o u p h e a d o f p r o m o t i o n s f o r B W G F o o d s U C i s t h e n e w c h a i r p e r s o n o f t h e I r i s h G r o c e r s ’ B e n e v o l e n t F u n d ( I G B F ) a n d t h e f i r s t w o m a n t o h o l d t h i s t i t l e . F i o n n u a l a C a r o l a n s p o k e t o h e r a b o u t h e r p l a n s f o r d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e r o l e d u r i n g h e r t e n u r e

They 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.

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 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 (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)

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.

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

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

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.”

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 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.

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

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.” ■

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

Dill ice cream, have taken this experimental 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’, restaurant as in served by the Central the southwestern city Grill & Lounge 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

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

People with coeliac disease face additional gluten free food costs of almost €1,000 per year: Safefood

The Coeliac Society of Ireland has called for increased support to help people with coeliac disease pay for gluten free food, after a major new study showed that they face additional costs of almost €1,000 each year.

The research, from Safefood, found that the direct costs of following a gluten free diet for coeliac disease are €444 more expensive for an adult and €903 for a child. Additional healthcare costs for people with coeliac disease amount to €426 for adults and €679 for children.

“The Safefood report clearly demonstrates the financial burden people face if they have coeliac disease,” said Sarah Keogh, Coeliac Society of Ireland dietitian and report contributor.

“Coeliac disease is a lifelong medical condition,” Keogh continued. “The treatment for coeliac disease is dietary – they have to live gluten free – yet there is no

support for medical card holders, under the Long Term Illness Scheme, or through the Drugs Payment Scheme. Why not? “The Safefood report recommends that gluten free food should be on prescription for people aged up to 18 years in Ireland. We urge the government to adopt this recommendation and make a real difference to thousands of families in Ireland.” PAYE workers who have coeliac disease can currently claim 20% tax back on any food that is in the Coeliac Society’s Sarah Keogh, Coeliac Society Food List. However, this of Ireland dietitian and report contributor, says that without support to meet the extra does lower not benefit people incomes or who on costs, some people with receive state financial coeliac disease may revert to support. cheaper foods that will lead to The Safefood report on complications with their health ‘The socio-economic cost of food hypersensitivity on the island of Ireland’ is available at www.safefood.net.

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

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)