Retail News May 2021

Retail News MAY 2021

Ireland’s Longest Established Grocery Magazine

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Contents News 2

Do the MUP-pets know their minds?

MERE months ago, the Irish Government indicated that introducing Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for alcohol in the Republic of Ireland, without similar legislation coming into force in Northern Ireland, would not be happening. The reasons were obvious: the availability of cheaper alcohol products in Northern Ireland would attract significant numbers of Irish shoppers across the Border. And yet, despite earlier assurances, our Government has pushed forward with MUP, with the legislation, part of the Public Health Alcohol Act, set to come into force from January 1 next year.

As an industry, retailers are supportive of MUP, but surely to introduce it now without similar legislation in the north will only serve to hurt our retailers, particularly those in Border regions, at a time when our economy is already reeling from the effects of the pandemic, allied to the Brexit fallout. Our Chief News Reporter, Pavel Barter, gauges reaction to the Government’s decision from across the retail sphere (Page 2).

Elsewhere, we report on the winners of the ECR Heroes Awards (Page 14), celebrating those in our industry who have gone above and beyond during Covid-19, we report on a new survey from Love Irish Food and PwC into Irish food SMEs’ plans for the year ahead (Page 22) and we present our annual Retail News Summer Stocking guide, highlighting the brands guaranteed to fly from your shelves as temperatures rise (Page 34).

Kathleen Belton Editorial & Marketing Director

Border retailers fear cross border exodus from MUP. Calls for glass to be included in DRS.

26

4

Early signs of optimism as shoppers return to stores; Irish shoppers vote Aldi as Ireland’s most reputable supermarket.

IGBF

5

Joyce’s Supermarkets celebrate 70 years in business; Bain Capital acquires Valeo Foods; New Industry Talent Manager at Bord Bia; Mars Petcare announces sustainability progress.

6

Petcore Europe launches roadmap to circularity; Only 40% of batteries recycled in Ireland.

7

14

The ECR Heroes Awards recognised and celebrated those individuals and organisations in the Irish grocery sector who have stepped up to the plate during the difficult months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

17

Smarties becomes the first global confectionery brand to switch to recyclable paper packaging.

31

Taking over a grocery store in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic and then revamping the shop may be a daunting prospect, but experienced retailer Damian Osbourne is already reaping the rewards at his new Daybreak in Ferns. Co. Wexford.

18

22

75% of Irish food SMEs expect revenue growth in the year ahead,

The iconic KitKat brand has pledged to become carbon neutral in just four years’ time.

Moy Park 32

56

Love Irish Food

Galway independent supermarket group, Joyce’s, have increased their commitment to home-grown suppliers, spending €20m on Irish products in the last year.

Suzie Edwards, Director of Marketing and Insight at Moy Park, explains what retailers and consumers can expect from the Moy Park brand in 2021.

32

NOffLA Awards

Shop Profile 18

Leonard Hegarty, Chairman of the Irish Grocers Benevolent Fund, highlights the individuals and companies whose hard work and effort means that the charity can continue to help over 200 families in need despite a tough 2020.

KitKat

Smarties

Molloys Liquor Store in Dublin’s Francis Street was named National Off-Licence of the Year at the 25th edition of the NOffLA industry Awards.

Employment Law 58

The Workplace Relations Commission has survived a constitutional challenge in the Supreme Court, but there were two aspects of its processes found to require immediate change, with implications for employers and employees going forward.

Regulars & Reports 8 @RetailNews1

Managing Director: Patrick Aylward Editorial & Marketing Director:

Published by: Tara Publishing Ltd,

Kathleen Belton

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14 Upper Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin 2.

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Subscription to Retail News: e95 plus VAT Email: morgan.stokes@tarapublications.ie

Production: Ciara Conway

30

ECR Heroes Awards 2021

facebook.com/RetailNews1

Graphics: John Sheridan Printed by: W&G Baird

29

The National Dairy Council’s new campaign, From the Ground Up, has been created to fortify consumer trust in Irish dairy farming.

Supporting Local

FTA Ireland launches academic qualification for commercial driving; New alcohol policy research network launched; WIT launches ‘Supplement Certified’ standard.

Ireland’s Longest Established Grocery Magazine

Wine Correspondent: Jean Smullen

Dairy

3

Retail News Chief News Reporter: Pavel Barter

according to new research from Love Irish Food and PwC.

Reproduction without written permission is strictly prohibited.

Industry News

24 Retail Ireland:

Monthly Update 34 Summer Stocking 61 What’s New 62 Forecourt Focus: News 64 Shelf Life

2|Retail News|May 2021|www.retailnews.ie

News

Border retailers fear cross border

THE Government is pressing ahead with plans to introduce a Minimum Unit Price (MUP) for alcohol products, despite a lack of alignment with Northern Ireland.

Earlier this month, Cabinet signed off on the introduction of MUP, which is listed in Section 11 of the Public Health Alcohol Act, with a commencement date of January 1, 2022.

The plans set a minimum price of 10c per gram of alcohol, raising the price of a can of lager to at least €1.32. A 750ml bottle of wine will cost at least €7.75 and the minimum price for a 700ml bottle of gin or vodka will be €20.71. According to industry group Drinks Ireland, this will result in the price differential on alcohol between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland rising to 38%.

Patricia Callan, Director of Drinks Ireland, believes that its introduction will

Tara Buckley, RGDATA Director General.

“drive many price sensitive households, who have already been hard-hit by the pandemic, to shop across the border.

It would also place massive pressures on border businesses, and lead to an increase in illicit alcohol smuggling at the border, all at a vulnerable time for our economy.”

Charlie McClafferty, proprietor of McClafferty’s Carry Out Letterkenny, told R etail N ews that he blamed large supermarkets for the situation. “They are fighting to get people into their shops where they can take hits on selling cheap alcohol,” he said. “We’re all tired of this. We can’t compete at all, especially at Christmas time. I firmly put the blame with the big boys. There was no responsible trading of alcohol for a long time.”

Retailers are overwhelmingly in support of MUP, but they believe it should be introduced on a unilateral basis with Northern Ireland. “When there are price differentials between the north and south, currency fluctuations, and the lure of cheap alcohol, Irish consumers do considerable amounts of shopping in the north,” said Tara Buckley, RGDATA Director General, who noted that consumers are likely to buy other products while shopping for booze across the border.

Arnold Dillon, Director of Retail Ireland, concurred: “If consumers travel to Northern Ireland to shop, they will inevitably spend money in a wide range of retail and hospitality outlets, not just in grocery and off-trade. This will be at the expense of struggling businesses here.

While retailers in border regions will be hit hardest, we have seen in the past that consumers will travel long distances to save money.”

The Government had previously vowed to introduce MUP when similar

Vincent Jennings, CEO of the CSNA. rules came into force in Northern Ireland. “The introduction of this Act was predicated on it being jointly enforced with the north,” said Vincent Jennings of the Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association (CSNA). “Now it is going ahead regardless of what the north does.”

Stephen Donnelly TD, Minister for Health, said his department decided to overlook the terms laid out within the Programme for Government, after Robin Swann, Health Minister in Northern Ireland, opted not to introduce MUP. “That why we are acting now,” said Donnelly. “It’s likely that minimum unit pricing would not be introduced in Northern Ireland until 2023, and possibly longer. That would be nearly five years after we decided in Ireland to adopt the measure. And we as a Government are not willing to wait that long.”

Leo Varadkar TD, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, also admitted he was contradicting his own previous statements: “I’m on the record as saying that we should only move ahead with minimum unit pricing in tandem with Northern Ireland, and that it wouldn’t work if people were crossing the border to buy cheaper alcohol. But I’m also on the record as saying that we cannot wait forever. And with Northern Ireland’s recent announcement, we believe we have to proceed now.”

Tara Buckley said that certain ministers pushed for the immediate introduction of MUP. “My understanding is that Frank Feighan [Minister of State

Retail News|May 2021|www.retailnews.ie|3

News

exodus from MUP for Public Health] wanted it to be introduced in September [2021].

At least the Government listened a bit and pushed it to January [2022].”

The influx of cheap alcohol into the state arguably began in 2005, following the decision to repeal the Groceries Order under then Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin TD, which has been credited with allowing multinationals to use below cost booze as a footfall driver. “This started with the removal of the Groceries Order,” said Jennings. “Every person involved in making that decision was aware of the concerns in front of them relating to the danger of making alcohol a loss leader.”

MUP, without Northern Ireland’s alignment, has been praised by some alcohol retailers. According to a recent report in Sunday Business Post, the National Off-Licence Association (NOffLA) lobbied the Department of Health to push forward with the measure without waiting for Northern Ireland.

“As responsible retailers of alcohol, NOffLA supported the Public Health (Alcohol) Act whole-heartedly and in full, including Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) since the enactment of the legislation in 2018,” Evelyn Jones, NOffLA Director, told Retail News in a statement. “As a targeted alcohol pricing policy to control the retail of ultra-cheap alcohol products, it is important to remember that MUP will have no impact on the vast majority of alcohol products sold responsibly.”

NOffLA claimed that “cross-border shopping has not meaningfully increased between Scotland and England since implementation of MUP by the Scottish Government in 2018.”

But many border retailers disagree. The recent opening of shops in Northern Ireland following Covid lockdown, prior to the equivalent happening in the Republic, led to throngs of shoppers crossing the border to NI towns such as Newry.

“The situation in Scotland was totally different,” claimed Buckley. “We have experience, over the years, of how consumers react when there is significant price differences between north and south.” Dundalk Chamber has called for MUP to be only introduced on an all-island basis: “We do not believe that this isolated measure is a step in the right direction.”

Retailers in the Republic now face a double whammy of added cost, and potentially lost business, following the impending introduction of the deposit return scheme, which will require retailers to accept used bottles cans for recycling.

“The plan was for that to go ahead jointly with Northern Ireland,” noted Buckley. “It would make more sense as an all-island initiative. People could return cans or plastic bottles purchased wherever on the island. But now we’re doing it on our own.

Border retailers are going to have to charge deposit and return on cans. You will get a refund if you bring back the can, but it is still going to be another incentive for people to go north.”

Retailers now wonder if Northern Ireland will ever align itself with the Republic on minimum unit pricing. “Our fear is once the executive sees the flow of customers coming up from the south, and doing their shopping up north, they Arnold Dillon, Director, Retail will never introduce MUP,” Ireland. concluded Buckley.

Calls for glass to be included in DRS

GLASS bottles should be included in Ireland’s deposit return scheme (DRS) in a bid to tackle the country’s waste crisis, according to Danish experts.

The calls were made recently during a Best Practice Workshop, which explored how Ireland’s DRS can be as effective as possible and was attended by experts from Denmark’s DRS scheme, which boasts high collection and recycling rates for drinks containers.

The Irish Government is set to introduce a DRS for drinks containers in 2022. A second consultation on the scheme is currently underway, with a draft design where consumers pay a variable deposit fee on all PET plastic drinks bottles and aluminium cans. This deposit is paid upon purchase of the drinks container, which is then received by consumers when they bring the containers back to the shop or collection point.

Both Lars Krejberg Petersen, Chief Executive of Dansk Retursystem, the company who operates Denmark’s DRS, and Klaus Rehkopff, Chief Executive of Danske ØlEntusiaster, the association of Danish beer enthusiasts, shared their insights during the workshop.

Around 1.7 billion bottles and cans were returned in Denmark last year, with 64,000 tonnes of glass, aluminium and plastic recycled. In 2020, 91% of cans, 94% of glass bottles and 96% of PET containers were returned in Denmark for processing.

“Nobody in Denmark would dream of taking glass out of the scheme,” said Lars Krejberg Petersen. “Glass is not a big source of income, but there’s still a huge environmental uplift in including it.”

Klaus Rehkopff agreed, adding that by including glass in DRS schemes, consumers are more likely to see the value in returning their bottles to collection points.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Independent retailers (NFRN) has warned that the timescale to introduce the DRS may be too ambitious.

In its response to a consultation on the legislative framework and scope of the scheme, the NFRN believes lessons learned from its involvement with a similar scheme in Scotland point to the planned implementation of DRS in Ireland by the third quarter of 2022 as extremely challenging.

NFRN National President Stuart Reddish said: “From our previous experience, we know it will take time to design, agree and implement a workable scheme, with the variety of stakeholders and agreements and contracts to be made. The fact that the Scottish government, having delayed the implementation of DRS once, is now holding a ‘Gateway Review’ that will in all probability delay the launch again, could be seen as acknowledging the difficult path to introducing DRS. “We look forward to engaging with the Irish Government and industry stakeholders to build a robust scheme, negotiate handling fees and agree the legal structure,” he continued.

“However, we hope that the government will show appropriate flexibility as to this date, as the complexities of creating the scheme are addressed by industry stakeholders.”

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News

Early signs of optimism as Irish shoppers return to stores THE latest figures from Kantar show grocery market growth in Ireland slowed to 1.9% in the 12 weeks ending April 18. In the most recent four weeks, sales declined by 3.3% compared with the same period last year, a time when Irish shoppers were preparing for the first national lockdown and bigger shopping trips generated record-breaking sales for the supermarkets.

“It’s hard to believe that we’ve been living with restrictions for over a year now, and it means grocery market growth will fluctuate in the coming months as we compare sales against the different stages of lockdown in 2020,” reveals Emer Healy, Retail Analyst at Kantar. “Growth may have dipped year-on-year in April, but we’re still some way from normal and take-home grocery spending remains an incredible 19.4% higher than pre-pandemic levels. With restrictions still firmly in place and most of us eating all our meals at home, the average household grocery bill was €245.10 higher in the past 12 weeks than in 2019.”

While Ireland remains in lockdown, there are signs of growing consumer confidence this month. Emer Healy comments: “As the vaccine rollout continues, Irish shoppers are beginning to venture out more and they visited the supermarket an additional 3,992,538 times in the past four weeks compared with this time last year. This is the most shopping trips in a month since March 2020. The mostly vaccinated over 65s are leading the return and increased their visits to bricks-and-mortar stores by 13.7% compared with this time last year - ahead of the national rate of 8.9%.”

As people return to physical stores, the boom in online grocery shopping has started to soften. “Online grocery sales grew by 29.3% in the past four weeks. While still high, that’s the slowest rate in a year as people added slightly fewer items to their digital orders and felt more comfortable popping to the shops to top up their cupboards,” Emer noted.

“It’s clear that people are itching to get out and about and visit stores again, but that doesn’t mean completely waving goodbye to their new online shopping routines anytime soon. Online grocery accounted for 5.6% of sales in the past 12 weeks – a significant jump from the pre-pandemic level of 2.5% – and 16.5% of Irish households placed an order during this period. With all retailers now offering some form of digital service, either directly or through partnerships with delivery platforms, many shoppers have been converted to the ease of online grocery long-term and will continue to balance it with smaller in-store shops in the future.”

Ireland celebrated a second Easter in lockdown this year, with Irish shoppers making “an extra effort for Easter”, according to Emer, who reveals that sales of chocolate eggs shot up by 17.4% compared with 2020, while sales of premium eggs rose by 21.7%. “Although they weren’t able to meet up with friends and family, consumers still made an effort to mark occasions during lockdown, laying on traditional feasts and spending an extra €5.5m

MARKET SHARE - TOTAL GROCERY

Includes expenditure across Food, Beverages, Alcohol, Household and Health & Beauty categories Total Take Home Grocery - Ireland Consumer Spend 12 Weeks to 19/04/20

Total Outlets

12 Weeks to 18/04/21

% Change

(year on year)

% Change

(vs. 2 years)

%*

%*

%

%

100.0%

100.0%

1.9%

19.4%

Total Multiples

89.3%

90.0%

2.7%

20.9%

SuperValu

22.2%

22.5%

3.3%

25.3%

Tesco

21.7%

21.7%

2.0%

19.0%

Dunnes

21.7%

21.1%

-0.6%

13.7%

Lidl

12.0%

12.6%

7.5%

31.2%

Aldi

11.8%

12.0%

3.9%

20.1%

Other Outlets**

10.7%

10.0%

-4.7%

7.3%

* = Percentage Share of Total Grocers ** = Includes stores such as M&S, Boots, Spar, Centra, Greengrocers, Butchers and Cross Border shops Source: Worldpanel FMCG

on roast beef and €6.5m on vegetables,” Emer reveals.

SuperValu and Lidl benefited from consumers wanting to treat themselves this month, experiencing significant growth in shops where more than a third of the basket was made up of treats such as alcohol and confectionery. At SuperValu and Lidl, these indulgent shops increased by 19% and 21.5% respectively year-on-year.

SuperValu continued to hold the largest share of the grocery market at 22.5%, its highest level since June. Meanwhile, Tesco’s sales increased by 2%, as the grocer attracted new customers through its doors to boost sales by €1.1m.

Dunnes accounted for 21.1% of grocery sales this period. As new regulations that restrict alcohol promotions through customer loyalty schemes come into force, Dunnes has seen its share of alcohol sales drop by 2.8% in the past 12 weeks.

Lidl received the most significant boost from people making extra, smaller shops.

Basket-sized trips increased by 8.8% yearon-year at the retailer, helping it to achieve the fastest growth this period. Aldi held 12% of the market as shoppers continued to pick up additional items in store.

Grocery market inflation stands at 0.1% for the 12-week period ending April 18, 2021.

Irish shoppers vote Aldi as Ireland’s most reputable supermarket IRISH shoppers have voted Aldi as the most reputable supermarket in Ireland according to the new RepTrak Ireland Report, published recently.

The annual RepTrak Ireland survey measures the level of trust, respect, admiration and esteem consumers have for Ireland’s largest and most visible companies. The findings are from a comprehensive survey of 7,000 members of the public from January to March 2021. Aldi scored consistently well across key criteria including workplace, governance and citizenship.

“Irish shoppers voting Aldi as the most reputable supermarket is testament to the dedication of our amazing store teams, suppliers and business partners, all of whom have worked tirelessly to provide the best customer experience for Aldi shoppers in incredibly challenging circumstances,” said Niall O’Connor, Group Managing Director, Aldi Ireland.

“Over the past year we have looked at areas in which we can do more for the communities we serve particularly in the areas of citizenship and governance,” he continued. “New community initiatives such as our long-term commitment to raise €1m for Barnardos and ambitious plan to plant 1m native woodland trees around Ireland by 2025 have made a real impact, while we have also made significant progress on our sustainability goals by reducing plastic across our range of products in store.”

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News Joyce’s Supermarkets celebrate 70 years in business INDEPENDENT Galway-based grocer, Joyce’s Supermarkets recently celebrated 70 years in business. The first shop was opened by Patrick C Joyce in 1951 and Joyce’s Supermarkets now operate 10 supermarkets in the Co. Galway region and a central warehouse in Claregalway.

“Our business began in 1951 as a small grocery store founded by my father on the site of our current Headford store,” revealed Pat Joyce, Managing Director of Joyce’s Supermarkets. “70 years is a notable achievement and milestone for our family business. While the retail environment has shifted over the years, community remains at the heart of the operations at Joyce’s Supermarkets. We are grateful for the support of our customers, including generations of the same families that would have who gotten their weekly shop from the ‘travelling shop’ 60 and 70 years ago. We look forward to continuing to serve the local community.”

Pictured are Pat Joyce, Managing Director (centre), and Patrick Joyce, Manager of Joyce’s Headford, and Aisling Joyce, Director of Operations.

Bain Capital acquires Valeo Foods BAIN Capital Private Equity, a leading global private investment firm, has signed a definitive agreement with CapVest to acquire Valeo Foods Group.

Established in 2010 and headquartered in Dublin, Valeo Foods operates across Europe, with a portfolio of iconic brands including Jacobs, Rowse, Kettle, Odlums, Barratt, and Balconi, many of which have histories that stretch back as far as 150 years.

Valeo has expanded rapidly and grown annual net sales to approximately €1.1 billion for the 12 months through to March 2021, from less than €200m in 2010. Today the company serves 106 markets globally, produces more than 400,000 tonnes annually across its 24 manufacturing facilities, and employs more than 4,000 people.

Seamus Kearney, Group CEO of Valeo Foods, will continue to lead the business with the existing management team.

“Valeo Foods has been developed into a key player in the European food industry by a talented and ambitious team,” noted Nigel Walder, a Managing Director at Bain Capital Private Equity. “We believe Valeo has further potential to grow significantly, both organically and through acquisitions, and look forward to partnering with Seamus and his team to accelerate that growth trajectory and further consolidate the company’s position as a leading international food business.”

Seamus Kearney, Group CEO of Valeo Foods, said: “This transaction is a very positive reflection of the quality of our business and all of our people. It is also testament to the passion and commitment CapVest, our management team and all of our colleagues have shown in continuously delivering bestin-class food products to our customers and consumers across our 106 markets. Bain Capital’s deep knowledge and heritage in Seamus Kearney, Group innovation and investment in the CEO of Valeo Foods. food and grocery sectors means this is great news for our business and our people. We are very excited to work alongside the Bain Capital team as we continue our journey and pursue our ambitious plans for further growth in the future.”

New Industry Talent Manager at Bord Bia

Karen Connaughton, Industry Talent Manager, Bord Bia.

BORD Bia has appointed Karen Connaughton as its new Industry Talent Manager, with responsibility for the Bord Bia Talent Academy, which helps to identify and develop future executive talent for Ireland’s food and drink industry. In her new role, Karen is returning to Ireland from the UK, where she spent the past five years with Bord Bia, most recently as its Market Specialist or the dairy, seafood and alcohol sectors.

Mars Petcare announces sustainability progress MARS Petcare announced progress towards a longstanding goal to sustainably source 100% of the fish used in some pet food recipes.

The company now sources 81% of fish used from more sustainable sources aligned to Mars’ guidelines. The company also confirmed it sources no endangered fish species.

In partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Mars Petcare set an ambitious target in 2010 to seek 100% sustainable sources of fish. Progress toward the goal is highlighted in a new joint report from WWF and Mars Petcare detailing work over the past decade to innovate and scale approaches to more sustainable fish sourcing. WWF and Mars Petcare have renewed their global partnership until 2025 to advance Mars sourcing goals and to positively influence progress toward sustainability in the fishing sector more broadly.

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News

Petcore Europe launches roadmap to circularity PETCORE Europe are launching a five-step policy roadmap to a circular economy. The roadmap is part of a wider communications campaign to raise recognition of the role that PET (polyethylene terephthalate) can play in helping Europe achieve a fully circular and carbon neutral economy, and reaffirms Petcore Europe’s strong commitment to the European Union’s 2029 90% PET beverage bottle collection target.

“If we are serious about the circular economy, then investment in better collection and sorting is paramount - we need smart waste management now. Although it will require hard work, collaboration, and investment in waste management, Petcore Europe is confident that Europe can achieve 90% collection of PET bottles by 2029,” noted Christian Crépet, Executive Director at Petcore Europe.

Petcore Europe’s roadmap includes: 1. Invest in collection and sorting of PET. European PET recyclers have an unused capacity of 10-12 billion bottles, some of it awaiting approvals to recycle to food contact materials. The industry is ready to recycle more, and in a closed loop scenario: turning bottles into bottles.

2. We want our bottles back: Two out of three PET bottles are collected for recycling in Europe. The PET industry is ten years ahead of the EU’s target and in some countries, over 90% of bottles are collected for recycling or reuse thanks to their deposit return schemes. The PET industry needs its bottles back in order to close the loop.

A key element to increasing collection rates are deposit return schemes or similar systems that are convenient for consumers and give value to plastic products. Separate collection must be put in place in the public realm (public buildings, parks, streets), not just private homes.

3. Ban landfilling and incineration of PET bottles. PET is a valuable material that has no place in landfills and incinerators. PET is fully recyclable and incinerating or discarding it in landfill should be banned across the EU. 4. Evidence-based decision making: The concept of waste hierarchy has a long history in EU waste legislation, it is now time to go beyond and develop both a recyclability hierarchy and a carbon hierarchy. Europe needs evidence-

based decision making to ensure legislation favours materials with the smallest carbon footprint and a clear, sustainable end-oflife option.

5. Empower EU citizens to separate and recycle through education.

Petcore Europe is committed to developing a pan-European consumer campaign, beginning initially in France and Germany, which aims to empower consumers to recycle PET packaging and help contribute to achieving a fully circular economy and closed-loop system. The campaign will provide key resources to aid the consumer in understanding how to recycle PET packaging better and build greater trust in the recycling system.

“We all need to do our part to bring our bottles into a fully closed system,”

said Sebastian Lemp, Corporate Public Affairs and Circular Economy Specialist at Alpla. “In addition to implementing a smart collection and waste management system at European level, empowering consumers with the knowledge about the recycling system and building back trust in that system is the missing piece of the puzzle.”

For more information, visit www.petcore-europe.org.

Only 40% of batteries recycled in Ireland ALMOST six million batteries were recycled through five supermarkets last year as more people used their grocery shop to do their bit for the planet.

WEEE Ireland collected half of the huge haul from Aldi stores, which led the charge on 3.2m, double that of its German rival Lidl on 1.6m. The e-waste recycling scheme also picked up 850,000 used batteries from Tesco and 224,000 from SuperValu, while Dunnes Stores prevented over 97,000 ending up in landfill.

In total, the equivalent of 21m AA batteries were recycled by householders in 2020 through retailers and civic amenity sites – an average of four for everyone in Ireland.

Despite the encouraging data, for every 10 AA batteries sold on the market, only four are returned for recycling, with 20% in a recent survey admitting to dumping used batteries in general waste bins.

“Recycling batteries is as easy as taking them to your nearest supermarket or recycling centre and plays a huge part in helping protect the environment,” said Leo Donovan, CEO of WEEE Ireland. “Rolling lockdowns saw people use more home grooming devices such as electric shavers, games consoles, remote controls, kids’ toys, power tools and fitness equipment, resulting in more batteries being used and many of these ended up in drawers.

“For the millions of batteries not recycled properly every year, we lose precious elements and important resources that could be used again in manufacturing. The hazardous material they release also has an impact on human health and our environment.”

For every battery recycled, WEEE Ireland makes a contribution towards Laura Lynn - and it has confirmed a further €40,000 donation to the children’s hospice.

Leo Donovan, CEO of WEEE Ireland.

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News

FTA Ireland launches academic qualification for commercial driving WITH 30,000 new logistics workers needed over the next few years to keep supply chain operations afloat in the Republic of Ireland, FTA Ireland (FTAI), the business group representing the haulage sector, has announced the nation’s first academic qualification for commercial driving, funded by the government’s Higher Education Authority (HEA), in a bid to attract new entrants into the profession.

“The haulage industry plays a vital role in supporting the nation’s economy and society, but it is suffering from a severe shortage of commercial drivers,” reveals Aidan Flynn, General Manager of FTAI. “Attracting new talent into the sector – particularly younger recruits, as the average age of an HGV driver is over

45 – and raising the profile of the job opportunities available is key. We are so pleased the HEA, supported by Solas, has provided the funding we need to launch this apprenticeship programme, which will become the first academic qualification in the profession of commercial driving to be on the national framework.”

The Institute of Technology Sligo, working as the co-ordinating provider, along with a consortium of key industry stakeholders and employers, will be working alongside FTAI to develop the programme in readiness for the first group of apprentices, who will be undertaking a two-year, level six course, starting in January 2022.

WIT launches ‘Supplement Certified’ standard IN a bid to assist and offer transparency to the €2 billion nutritional supplement industry, Professor John Nolan and Dr Alfonso Prado-Cabrero and their colleagues at WIT have established Supplement Certified, an independent scientific certification for assessing product label claims.

The scientists and researchers at Pictured are Dr Alfonso Prado-Cabrero Supplement Certified and Professor John Nolan. hold over 20 years of academic credibility in the area of assessing nutrition for human function, having built up a unique skillset at WIT’s Nutrition Research Centre.

Research carried out to date by the team at Supplement Certified on commercially available nutritional health supplements that are promoted for human function has found that up to 65% do not match label claim.

“Our mission is to help consumers have positive outcomes by supporting nutraceutical companies that produce supplements aimed at enhancing human function,” revealed Professor Nolan. “A basic requirement for this is that the claimed active ingredients are actually present in the supplements, which are sold and promoted for eye and brain health. The more products we analyse, the more astonishing the findings. Our independent analysis of products and the opportunity to apply a Supplement Certified stamp of approval to a product will not only offer consumers peace of mind but also those nutraceutical companies who are working hard to ensure that their products are fit for purpose.”

For more information, visit www.supplementcertified.ie.

Aidan Flynn, General Manager of FTAI.

New alcohol policy research network launched A NEW network for alcohol policy researchers in Ireland and the UK has officially launched, led by Trinity College Dublin’s Professor Joe Barry and the University of Stirling’s Professor Niamh Fitzgerald.

The Alcohol Research Network UK-Ireland (ACORN) will act as a forum and stimulus for an interdisciplinary approach to the cultural, social, political and economic challenges faced by Ireland and the UK in attempting to implement effective policies to reduce the harm caused by alcohol consumption.

The Irish Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council in the UK has provided seed funding for ACORN activities for 2021-22. The network aims to build capacity and drive innovation in alcohol policy research to support effective policy development, enactment, implementation and evaluation.

By harnessing the knowledge and expertise of a wide range of academics through the network, researchers hope to find synergies, create new collaborations and benefit from shared learning and capacity.

The group has identified four cross-cutting themes: the first three, alcohol availability, pricing, and marketing, reflect the most effective approaches to reducing alcohol harms at a population level. The fourth theme focuses on the politics of alcohol policymaking.

Niamh Fitzgerald, Professor of Alcohol Policy at Stirling’s Institute for Social Marketing and Health, said, “Despite historically being the domain of clinicians, alcohol is embedded in and affected by a range of cultural, social and societal influences that need to be considered if we’re to successfully reduce its harms among populations. This new network will be open to researchers from all disciplines, working across Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

“By developing new partnerships between areas of research and different countries, sharing ideas and identifying common priorities, we will be able to effectively grow and diversify the strength of the vital research in this area.”

For more information visit www.alcoholresearch-uk-irl.net.

8|Retail News|May 2021|www.retailnews.ie

Industry News Gala Retail continue to support Special Olympics Ireland BUILDING on the success of its Let’s Run programme for athletes in 2020, Special Olympics Ireland platinum sponsor Gala Retail has launched Let’s Run supported by Gala Retail for 2021.

It’s a 12-week running challenge that encourages Special Olympics athletes to take up running at a level that suits them, training at home, in a park, on local roads, in the garden or on a treadmill - anywhere that is safe to run, and in line with Covid-19 restrictions. Emily Hurley (pictured) is one of hundreds of athletes taking part in the challenge after she completed the training in 2020, along with 425 other Special Olympics athletes. In 2020, Emily built up to running 3km and this year Emily hopes to reach her goal distance of 5km. “Special Olympics Ireland is a truly special organisation that does incredible work on behalf of its 10,000 athletes in Ireland,” said Gary Desmond, Chief Executive of Gala Retail. “Like all of our businesses and organisations, Special Olympics Ireland faced its own challenges when the pandemic hit in 2020. The success of the Let’s Run initiative demonstrated the organisation’s determination to support its athletes and we’re proud to play a role in Let’s Run 2021.”

Oats of energy at team Flahavan’s

IN celebration of National Workplace Wellbeing Day on April 30, all at Flahavan’s donned their striking green and red tracksuit tops, and 64 members of the company individually headed out into the stunning Waterford countryside for their Team Step Challenge, which ultimately saw them clocking up over six million steps over the May bank holiday weekend, in support of the South Eastern Mountain Rescue Association. An added feature of the activity saw participants capture and share stunning photos of the West Waterford landscape as they went along their way, encouraging each other to keep it going. The Flahavan’s company has pledged to match the final amount raised by staff before making their donation to this very worthwhile local charity. The event was organised by Flahavan’s Health & Safety Manager, Noel Toomey, who is pictured in a forest of bluebells during his Team Step Challenge.

New Country Manager for Coca-Cola Ireland AGNESE Filippi has been appointed as Country Manager of Coca-Cola Ireland. The announcement comes as the Coca-Cola Company continues on its transformation journey, announcing the creation of a new European Operating Unit, bringing together the former Western Europe and Central & Eastern Europe organisations. Agnese replaces Petre Sandru, following his appointment as Vice-President of Operations for Coca-Cola’s business in China. Agnese joins the Irish business from Coca-Cola Italy and Albania where, as Franchise Manager, she played an important role in creating new business opportunities among different departments and regions. “I’m delighted to take up the role of General Manager at a pivotal time for Coca-Cola in Ireland,” she said. “As we continue to navigate an uncertain path out of the pandemic we’ve all lived through, Coca-Cola together with our bottling partner, Coca-Cola HBC, are focused on continuing to support our customers.”

Appointment at SHS Group ALAN Neill has been appointed as Commercial Director with SHS Sales & Marketing Ireland. Leading the SHS Sales & Marketing Ireland division, Alan will be responsible for planning and implementing commercial strategies for some of Ireland’s and the UK’s biggest brand owners and SHS Group’s owned brands. Alan joined SHS Group in 2003 and has over 18 years of experience in different aspects of the business and its management. He has held a variety of finance business partnering roles in SHS Sales & Marketing GB and SHS Drinks. More recently, Alan led the design, implementation and delivery of the SHS Group’s Business Transformation Project - Gazelle.

Simply Fit Food secures major Dunnes deal SIMPLY Fit Food, a supplier of convenience meals made from wholesome, natural ingredients, has secured a major deal to supply almost 70 Dunnes Stores nationwide with a range of healthy meals. “Dunnes Stores will be the first retailer to stock our new healthy meal options, which is a massive endorsement of our range,” noted Evelyn Garland, who co-founded Simply Fit Food with Luke Judge in 2016, before the Drogheda-based business was acquired by Around Noon, the Newry-headquartered food-to-go manufacturer, late last year. Dunnes Stores will be the first major brand to stock Simply Fit Food’s new range of healthy meals, including its Veggie Chilli, Pasta Arrabbiata and Thai Red Curry, and Evelyn described the partnership with Dunnes as “a huge opportunity to introduce the refreshed brand to a significant customer base and a major step forward for the Simply Fit Food brand”.

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Industry News Fruitful season for strawberry suppliers PICTURED is BWG Foods’ Chief Operations Officer Simon Marriott at the group’s National Distribution Centre in Kilcarbery, taking delivery of the first of the early season Irish strawberries to hit supermarket and convenience store shelves as the business announces a projected sales increase of over 20% on last year for the queen of the berries. In 2020, BWG Foods sold almost 4m strawberries. This year, BWG Foods expects to sell up to 4.5 million strawberries through its Spar, Eurospar, Mace, Londis and XL retail networks, amounting to 100 tonnes. Partnering with a number of growers from Meath, Dublin and Wexford, BWG Foods is the first retailer to market with Irish strawberries, four weeks earlier than last year. The business anticipates sales of the iconic homegrown fruit to reach record breaking heights this summer due to a particularly strong harvest, resulting in higher quality produce with a fresher, more flavoursome taste.

Keelings launch Great Rewilding initiative

KEELINGS have announced the launch of their Great Rewilding initiative in an effort to address the reduction of Ireland’s bee and pollinator population.

As a first step in this campaign, Keelings will be giving away 100,000,000 wildflower seeds. To get involved, people can pick up their free wildflower seeds by redeeming promotional codes online from their special berry punnets. Each seed pack has a blend of 30 different species which have been expertly mixed

by Sandro Cafolla, a wildflower grower in Carlow who has worked with Keelings for many years and has helped them to create their wildflower meadow in St Margarets, Co. Dublin. Diarmuid Gavin, garden designer and Keelings Great Rewilding ambassador, is pictured with Sophia Condron (aged 2) at the launch of the Keelings Great Rewilding initiative.

Ornua partner with Rethink Ireland on €200k fund ORNUA, one of Ireland’s leading dairy companies, are proud to announce their partnership with the Irish social innovation fund, Rethink Ireland. Ornua have pledged €100,000 to Rethink Ireland projects to drive innovative and ambitious thinking in the key areas of sustainability and rural development. The Department of Rural and Community Development will match the funding by Ornua, equating to €200,000. To celebrate the partnership, Ornua and Rethink Ireland have launched the Glas Communities Fund, which looks to support projects achieving an impact in climate action education, increasing efforts in recycling, the circular economy, community and rural development, and waste awareness. The fund will award five high-performing projects from the Rethink Ireland programme, helping them expand with a clear focus on scale, growth and driving positive impact. Pictured are Pádraic Vallely, Business Development and Political Engagement Manager, Rethink Ireland, and Yvonne Cooney, Head of Sustainability, Ornua.

Cork’s Silver Pail selected as Tesco ownlabel ice cream partner TESCO Ireland have entered into a new €1.4m contract with Cork company Silver Pail Dairy to supply their Tesco own-label ice cream. Made with locally sourced milk, Silver Pail Dairy will supply a range of tub, block and pint-sized ice-cream products to Tesco stores nationwide, and through its market-leading online shopping service. “This new partnership with Silver Pail reflects our focus on supporting Irish suppliers, Irish agrifood and the Irish economy. We are committed to our 490 Irish suppliers, of which many are local, familyrun businesses like Silver Pail, and which in turn benefits almost 14,000 farming families nationwide,” noted Joe Manning, Commercial Director, Tesco Ireland, pictured with Thea Murphy, Managing Director at Silver Pail Dairy in Tesco Extra in Naas, Co. Kildare.

Lidl receives local authority go-ahead for Limerick store LIDL Ireland have announced that they have received a grant of planning from the local authority relating to a site on Dock Road, Limerick. The retailer’s intention is to proceed with the development as soon as possible, if neither of the two observations on file result in an appeal to An Bord Pleanála. The Dock Road store would create much needed 30 permanent jobs as well as many more temporary ones during the construction phase. Lidl worked with architects and planners to ensure that the new development would contribute positively and add a vibrancy to the Limerick Docklands area. The grant of planning approves a store that incorporates a range of sustainability features, including an ISO 50001 certified Energy Management System, electric vehicle charger spaces and a solar panel system.

The Irish Grocers Benevolent Fund in conjunction with Today’s Women in Grocery are delighted to invite you to:

Online Event

Friday 17th September 2021 Time: Price:

1pm - 2.30pm €250 per person (Includes Goody Box!*)

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All ticket queries to Michelle at Hotel Solutions DMC Email: michelle@hotel-solutions.ie Phone: 01 6309211.

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Gráinne Wafer Global Brand Director Guinness, Diageo

Róisín Hennerty Managing Director Global Foods Division Ornua

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Sinead Bryan Managing Director Vodafone Business

Chupi Sweetman CEO Chupi

Sharon Buckley Commercial Director Musgrave Group President of Appeals IGBF for 2021

12|Retail News|May 2021|www.retailnews.ie

Industry News SuperValu launch new ‘Freshly Prepared By’ range

JUST in time for the easing of some lockdown measures giving the nation a little more freedom, SuperValu have launched their ‘Freshly Prepared By’ range of over 90 quality convenient meals and side dishes to ease the burden of cooking meals at home and to give back those additional two hours daily that are spent at the stove. “Our new range of meals and side dishes gives time back to people to enjoy family activities with guaranteed high quality, tasty and freshly prepared food that they enjoy, without any hassle,” noted Shane Lynch, SuperValu Marketing Manager. “This range of over 90 ‘pop-in-the-oven’ meals and sides are real game changers as they give the convenient option without compromising on taste and quality and have been developed by our trading team, following strong consumer insights along with input from some top chefs and local suppliers.”

Centra sees increased demand for Moo’d ice cream CENTRA have revealed a significant increase in demand for Moo’d Ice Cream products, with the brand generating €1.6m as of week 16 in 2021. Retail sales for products in Centra’s ice cream offering have rebounded significantly in 2021 after Covid-19 lockdowns forced the closure of Moo’d counters for a number of weeks during 2020, with sales now up 120% year-to-date in 2021. Figures for 2020 show the humble ice cream cone remained Ireland’s favourite form of ice cream, with the range accounting for 47% of the Moo’d take-home ice cream offering, amounting to €2.8m in sales. This was closely followed by sales of Moo’d Whirlies, which accounted for 34% of overall sales last year. Separately, sweet treats like milkshakes, gelato and slushies brought in €1.9m in sales in 2020. “Centra have been a massive part of our business. When we started out with Moo’d, we had three members of staff and we now have 10 full time members,” said Lisa Clarke, Business Development Manager of Moo’d Ice Cream Treats.

“We are delighted to be in partnership with Centra across all of Ireland and be able to deliver fantastic products to customers and make their day.”

Ferrero helping to end deforestation in cocoa FERRERO have published their second annual report on activities implemented during 2019/20 under the Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI), a partnership between the governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana and leading cocoa and chocolate companies. Ferrero have continued to make strong progress on their contribution to ending deforestation and preserving forests in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.

Despite the disruption created by the Covid-19 pandemic, the company has already met or exceeded over 50% of its 2022 targets. “Through the Cocoa & Forests Initiative, we are working to ensure that forests are protected and preserved. We have also implemented extensive activities to support farmers and communities economically and socially,” said Marco Gonçalves, Chief Procurement & Hazelnut Company Officer at Ferrero. “A critical component to enable us to do this is having full visibility of our supply chain. This is why we are proud of our strong progress on tracing our cocoa and mapping the farms we source from, ensuring that our cocoa does not come from protected areas.” For more information, visit www.ferrerosustainability.com/int/en/our-approach.

Flahavan’s teams up with Good4U FLAHAVAN’S have teamed up with Good4U to create four summer inspired recipes, including: Lemon, Poppyseed And Blueberry Overnight Oats; Mixed Berry And Oats Breakfast Bowl; Chocolate Chilli Energy Balls; and Savoury Oaty Muffins. The two Irish family brands, have joined forces to bring consumers a ‘Spring into Summer’ recipe series, with lots of gorgeous foodie inspiration to help people prepare for those picnicsin-the-park in style! Each recipe contains Flahavan’s Organic Oats & Good4U’s Breakfast Boost goodies so consumers can feel great on the inside while enjoying the outside!

Kinetic partners with TU Dublin for student competition KINETIC, the specialists in innovative Out of Home (OOH) communications for brands, have teamed up with Technological University Dublin for the eighth consecutive year for their annual advertising competition. Marketing and advertising students were asked to devise an OOH campaign for Yop, the drinkable yogurt from Yoplait Ireland. The panel of judges, which included representatives from TU Dublin, Kinetic, Wavemaker and the marketing team at Yoplait Ireland, found that the winning team of Zarah O Brien, Luke Murnaghan and Kelsey Hand successfully incorporated the full brief and created an engaging campaign that effectively utilised OOH formats and promoted the Yop brand to its target audience.

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14|Retail News|May 2021|www.retailnews.ie

ECR Heroes Awards 2021

Awards recognise grocery heroes

The ECR Heroes Awards recognised and celebrated those individuals and organisations in the Irish grocery sector who have stepped up to the plate and delivered above and beyond the call of duty during the difficult months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

THE ECR Heroes Awards 2021 celebrated people and organisations in the Irish grocery sector who have gone above and beyond during these most turbulent times. All the people and organisations nominated demonstrated tremendous commitment to their colleagues and community and helped us all get through these extremely difficult months.

“We are here to celebrate the amazing efforts undertaken by those in the grocery sector over the last 12 months,” explained Damien English TD, Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, in his keynote address. “It has been an extremely difficult 12 months, but the grocery sector has adapted and met many challenges.”

The Minister acknowledged that many grocery retailers have developed or greatly increased their delivery options, as well as expanding their online presence. “Although very challenging, the last 12 months has seen a massive acceleration of development of the digital economy in grocery retail and the Government will look to support that development further in the future,” Minister English insisted.

“The Government also very much wants to see a recovery in the bricks-and-mortar elements of the sector as well,” the Minister noted, highlighting how grocery retail is the largest private employer in the country and its success goes hand in hand with the success of the nation. He stressed the Government’s plans for Ireland as a nation to be more resource efficient in how we develop as we transition to a low carbon economy. “We want to support the grocery sector to come back stronger and more efficient than you were before this pandemic and help you to build a better tomorrow,” the Minister said.

He concluded by thanking everyone working in the grocery sector for all their hard work over the past 12 months: “You have been a key partner for the Government in guiding our nation through this crisis, and you have provided your communities, especially the most vulnerable, with the support they have needed in these extremely challenging times. All the people and organisations nominated really are winners and we thank you all for your efforts.”

Heroes for Shoppers Musgrave’s Human Resources department was nominated in the Heroes for Shoppers category for how it adapted to the urgent need for new personnel that the group experienced following the huge spike in demand at the start of the pandemic.

Donnybrook Fair’s Naomi Turner and Signe Ryan, Overall Winners, are pictured with Declan Carolan, General Manager, ECR Ireland.

Also nominated in this category was the customer service team in Tesco’s head office for its work on dedicated shopping hours. The plan needed to be developed quickly, be easy to follow and practical to implement quickly across all Tesco stores in Ireland. Tesco’s supply chain team were also nominated for the way they adapted to massive changes over the course of the last 12 months, including panic buying spikes, as well as longer term impacts.

However, Kerry Foods’ field operations team were named as the winners of the Heroes for Shoppers Award. The Kerry Foods field operations team has worked tirelessly over the past 12 months with a variety of large and small retailers, supporting shops on the ground, making sure food and vital supplies were available around the country. This meant that the sales team worked long and hard to ensure shop-keepers nationwide could keep meeting the urgent needs of their customers.

Retail News|May 2021|www.retailnews.ie|15

ECR Heroes Awards 2021 Fair were worthy winners in the Heroes in Your Workplace category.

The duo supported their colleagues in Morehampton Road and across the organisation’s outlets to work safely through an incredibly challenging 12 month period. Naomi and Signe were an ever present source of support and inspiration, working closely with all their colleagues and ensuring they were safe, secure and capable of working through this pandemic to ensure that Donnybrook Fair could continue to play its part in supporting its customers and community.

Kerry Foods’ field operations team were named as the winners of the Heroes for Shoppers Award.

Heroes in Your Workplace Nominations in the Heroes in Your Workplace category included Robbie Kelly and the team at Tesco Liffey Valley, who were nominated for their hard work and ability to adapt to the huge changes in work practices experienced over the last 12 months. Their commitment to each other allowed them to help a huge number of customers looking to the Liffey Valley Store to fulfil their needs.

Diageo’s National Field Sales Manager Brian McKeever was also nominated for his sterling efforts in helping to redeploy over 100 staff members during the past year as the organisation moved to support extremely busy off-trade during a time when on-trade and tourism-related activities shrank to almost zero.

Sean Leahy and David Hoey of Hilton Foods were also singled out for their work in keeping colleagues safe and capable of executing their expanded

activities, as well as fulfilling a vital role in the supply chain.

Naomi Ryan and Signe Turner from the HR department of Donnybrook

Heroes for the Community The Heroes for the Community category saw Musgrave Retail Partners’ Ireland’s Gordon Adair and Liam McCabe nominated for the Christmas Toy Appeal, which saw families in need provided with surprises for their kids over the holiday period.

Other nominations included Clare Riddle and Gary May from Tesco’s

Gary Costello from Centra Kilmessan: Gary and his team won the Heroes for the Community Award for the fun and fantasy that their drive-through Hallowe’en event created in a year where normal trick or treating was not a possibility. supply chain team, whose hard work and commitment helped Tesco stores to support communities all around the island. The staff of Tesco Balbriggan also made the shortlist for all the work they have done supporting their local community with everything from supplying hundreds of cupcakes to thank frontline workers to thousands of children fed as a result of their food donation programme.

The award went to Gary Costello and the team at Centra Kilmessan for the fun and fantasy that their drivethrough Hallowe’en event created for kids in the community in a year where normal trick or treating was not a possibility. The event created a wonderful community feeling in a year John Lennon, Production Manager at Carty Meats, winners of the Heroes for where moments of fun were few and Trading Partners Award. far between.

16|Retail News|May 2021|www.retailnews.ie

ECR Heroes Awards 2021 Heroes for Trading Partners The Heroes for Trading Partners Award was decided by the ECR Ireland Steering Group and it was presented to Oliver Carty Meats. The company has worked very hard under difficult circumstances over the past 12 months. Despite this, it managed to adapt and deliver a 99%-plus service level with its main trading partner. The organisation worked extremely hard to supply the needs of its customers and help feed the people of Ireland during this pandemic.

Overall Winner The overall winners were announced as Naomi Turner and Signe Ryan from Donnybrook Fair, whose compassion and commitment to their colleagues is a touchstone for how we have managed to survive these difficult times.

A humbling experience “Retailers, manufacturers, distributors and service providers in the Irish grocery sector have performed heroics during the pandemic,” summed up Declan Carolan, General Manager, ECR

Ireland. “The grocery sector has provided a safe place to shop and work; product availability has been amazing and those who work on the front line in the sector have performed with distinction and kindness in challenging circumstances. Ireland is deeply appreciative and these awards are a recognition of the hard work and effort that has been expended by the sector during the pandemic.

“Watching all the videos throughout the ECR Heroes Awards was a humbling experience as it became apparent how personal the videos were, how selfless so many people have been, and how well the Irish grocery sector worked together to provide a shopping service for Irish shoppers.”

Declan thanked the ECR Ireland Co-Chairs (Anne Scullion, Diageo, and John Brennan, Tesco), the ECR Steering Group and the ECR judging panel for proposing and supporting this initiative: “Ultimately, I would like to acknowledge the heroics from all retailers, manufacturers and service providers for getting us through the pandemic. As a participant in the Irish and international grocery sector, I was very proud.”

The ECR Heroes Awards paid tribute to the retailers, manufacturers, distributors and service providers in the Irish grocery sector who performed heroics during the pandemic.

Retail News|May 2021|www.retailnews.ie|17

Smarties

Smarties switches to recyclable paper packaging Smarties becomes the first global confectionery brand to switch to recyclable paper packaging.

NESTLÉ’S much loved Smarties brand will shortly be using recyclable paper packaging for its confectionery products worldwide. This represents a transition of 90% of the Smarties range, as 10% was already packed in recyclable paper packaging.

The roll-out of the new material makes Smarties the first global confectionery brand to move to paper packaging, removing approximately 250m plastic packs sold worldwide every year. The innovative new designs, which are being rolled out in Ireland this month, include sharing formats made from coated paper, paper labels or carton board, all produced from sustainably sourced and recyclable material.

Key sustainable packaging initiative “Moving Smarties packaging to recyclable paper is one of our key sustainable packaging initiatives in the confectionery category,” explained Alexander von Maillot, Global Head of Confectionery at Nestlé. “It is a further step in realising Nestlé’s ambition to make all of our packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025 and to reduce our use of virgin plastics by one third in the same period.”

Louise Barrett, Head of the Nestlé Confectionery Product

Smarties blocks have been relaunched with a brand new, playful mould, featuring mini Smarties enveloped in delicious smooth milk or orangeflavoured chocolate.

Smarties’ move to paper packaging will remove approximately 250m plastic packs sold worldwide every year.

Technology Centre in York, said: “Developing safe and convenient paper-based solutions for Smarties has required the pioneering of new materials and testing by Nestlé packaging experts at our R&D centre for confectionery in York and at the Swiss-based Institute of Packaging Sciences. We adapted our existing manufacturing lines to allow for the careful handling that is required for paper, while also ensuring recyclability across all new formats.”

An important step Maria McKenna, Confectionery Marketing Manager, Nestlé Ireland, said: “We’re delighted to be rolling out this innovative packaging across our Smarties range in Ireland. The launch of the Smarties sharing block in a recyclable paper wrapper last year was an important step forward in the overall packaging transition.

Now Smarties blocks have also been relaunched with a brand new, playful mould. Available in milk chocolate featuring mini Smarties enveloped in delicious smooth milk or orange-flavoured chocolate, it’s Smarties reimagined!”

A new advertising campaign for Smarties will also see the brand supported across TV, digital & social media with a full suite of POS material available to support in-store displays.

Other recent actions Nestlé have announced to introduce alternative and recyclable packaging materials include: • Investing up to CHF 2 billion (€1.8 billion) to lead the shift from virgin plastics to food-grade recycled plastics and to accelerate the development of sustainable packaging solutions.

• Signing up to the European Plastics Pact. The Pact will help Nestlé achieve 100% recyclable or reusable packaging and reduce the use of virgin plastics by one third by 2025.

• Creating an Institute of Packaging Sciences to evaluate and develop various sustainable packaging materials and to collaborate with industrial partners to develop new packaging materials and solutions.

• The whole range of Buxton Natural Mineral Water will be made from 100% recycled plastic (rPET), while remaining 100% recyclable, by the end of 2021.

Launched in 1937, Smarties contain no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. Sales of Smarties in the UK and Ireland totalled €81m in the past year.

18|Retail News|May 2021|www.retailnews.ie

Shop Profile

Expanding in a pandemic Taking over a grocery store in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic and then revamping the shop may be a daunting prospect, but for experienced retailer Damian Osbourne, it has proved a winning decision, and his new Daybreak in Ferns, Co. Wexford, is already reaping the rewards.

DAMIAN Osbourne has worked in retail all his life, having grown up in a family involved in the sector and has ran his own shop for 19 years, but even this experienced retailer, like the rest of the country, was taken aback by the events of 2020.

“The impact of Covid-19 was huge last year,” he tells Retail News. “At the beginning of the year, it was something we were hearing about in China, then in Europe and then it arrived here.

We had to adapt in order to continue serving customers and keep them and our staff safe. It really was like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

However, the support from Daybreak and the wider Musgrave Group was instrumental in helping retailers like Damian to keep shelves stocked and trade through the pandemic, ensuring local customers had access to essential food and drink products: “Daybreak and Musgrave have been fantastic throughout this last year. Initially it was an evolving situation; we did not know what to do, how to keep people safe. The Daybreak team provided us with extremely valuable advice and support, keeping us up to date with all the latest developments and instructing us on how to adapt.”

Superb working relationship One might think that taking over a new shop in the middle of a global pandemic would be a challenge too far, but not for Damian. The busy retailer already operated two Daybreak stores, as well as a Centra shop, and when he became aware that the lease on the Daybreak shop in Ferns, Co. Wexford, was coming up, it piqued his interest. Damian has been working with Daybreak since he opened his first shop in 2002 and being local to Ferns meant that he knew the town and the shop extremely well. He enjoys a superb working relationship with Daybreak and Musgrave, and felt the Ferns store was ripe for revitalisation, while the Daybreak team were also very enthusiastic about keeping the site trading as a Daybreak shop.

Damian secured the lease on the shop in Ferns at the start of this year and immediately set about giving the store a facelift. With lockdown restrictions making construction projects difficult, the revamp process was more challenging

than normal, but according to the retailer, everything moved as smoothly as it could have: “The team from Daybreak were great throughout the process. They provided a huge amount of support and advice. I have two other Daybreak stores but this was going to be the first one to incorporate all the elements of the latest image, including the Munch & Co deli, the Lickety Split ice cream offering and the 9 Grams coffee dock. The team that worked on this did everything they could to complete the project in a timely fashion, even though at times it was a long and hard slog. It was a very difficult time to engage in such a project but the team were fantastic.”

Pictured outside Daybreak, Ferns, Co. Wexford, are (l-r): Paul Mullen, Business Development Manager, Daybreak, and store owner Damian Osbourne.

Retail News|May 2021|www.retailnews.ie|19

Shop Profile Fact File: Owner: Damian Osbourne Location: Ferns, Co. Wexford Size: 2,000 square feet retail space No. of Staff: 14, full time & part time Opening Hours: 07:00-22:00, Monday - Sunday

The installation of the 9 Grams coffee dock has proved a popular draw at the Ferns store.

ddddDamian is absolutely delighted with the results of all the hard work.

“I absolutely love the new format,” he stresses. “The image is clean, fresh and modern. All the new elements have performed extremely well since we opened the doors again. The biggest endorsement of the new look is that my customers love it too. For many of our customers, the trip to the shops has been their only weekly outing for the last year. Many were excited to see the new look of the shop and they appreciated the fact that we had kept their local shop open, meaning they still had a safe place to shop for necessities. The Munch & Co deli, Lickety Split and 9 Grams have also been a big hit with customers.

Those three elements alone account for significant percentage of the shop turnover already.”

Outstanding support Damian admits that all of his shops were impacted “very significantly” by the Covid-19 pandemic, having to adapt quickly and adopt entirely new work practices as public health advice changed, as well as introducing new services for customers like home delivery and click-and-collect.

“It was a difficult year for the businesses, but not a bad one,” he reveals. “While our margins were put under pressure over the year, overall trade was up significantly. In purely financial terms, it was not a bad year for the business. That fact reflects the tremendous efforts undertaken by all the people involved. Musgrave was outstanding in coming up with ways and means to ensure that the supply chain was not disrupted too much by

the seismic changes it experienced.

The Daybreak team was also incredible in terms of providing constant support and advice; Paul Mullen (Business Development Manager), along with Thomas Maher (Daybreak Fresh Food Advisor), Darren Meaney (Daybreak Project Coordinator), and all the Daybreak team played a vital role in making sure we could continue to meet the needs of our community last year and now during 2021 as well.”

Loyal and hard-working staff The other vital ingredient in Damian’s success is his loyal and hard-working staff: “My staff have been brilliant across all my shops, but in particular, I’d like to highlight the staff in the new shop, as

they had the challenge of getting used to a new shop, while also continuing to employ best practices to keep themselves and our customers safe.

“Staff are always absolutely critical to the success of a shop,” Damian concludes. “The shop could look incredible and have amazing deals on the shelves, but if staff give customers a bad impression, they will not be back. I have put together an extremely good team; my brother William has been a great support and Marian Kinsella, who runs the deli in Ferns, has an extremely professional approach, reflected by her team. In fact, all the people involved with the new shop this year and my other shops over the last year have played a vital role in keeping the businesses working smoothly during these most challenging times and I would like to thank them all.”

While we hope the Irish social and retail landscape gets back to some kind of normality in the coming months, Damian’s vast retailing experience, business acumen and the support of both his loyal staff and the Daybreak team mean that his stores will be prepared for whatever the future holds.

The Ferns store underwent an extensive revamp, with huge support and advice from the Daybreak team.

Reusable Packaging Brings Cost Savings and

Throughout every part of the grocery retail process, every to overall cost savings.

industry, four main areas in which waste can be a consistent problem are in product waste, labour, storage, and packaging.

Fortunately, reusable packaging is uniquely positioned to help reduce waste in all of these categories.

Reusable packaging protects product, reducing product waste Reusable packaging is stronger than single-use alternatives, reusable packaging is designed to withstand many trips, created with more consideration for functionality.

In nearly all cases, this consideration for ideal design is also applied to the way that the product inside reusable packaging fares throughout the trip. Reusable packages have reinforced walls, stronger bases, more complex latches, and end, the ability to protect your products allows you to sell more of what you order, at a higher quality. This ultimately

Reusable packaging saves valuable time, reducing labour waste Reusable packaging is also designed to be easier to use, ultimately saving workers time and reducing your labour costs. Single-use packaging such as corrugated often breaks down, causing labourers to pick up the slack. Reusable packaging stays strong and does not have to be maintained, cleaned up, re-taped, broken down to be disposed of after prevent added together, it is easy to see how much time they can save your labour force.

Reusable packaging eliminates wasted space box sizes. This can lead to mismatched boxes being stacked

clumsily on top of each other, creating disorganisation and messes. Reusable packaging, on the other hand, often comes in consistent sizes and is designed with nested footprints so crates can stack neatly and securely on top of each other. Most reusable products are foldable as well, allowing workers to neatly store empty crates out of the way. packaging promotes a cleaner backroom and reduces wasted space.

Reusable packaging eliminates packaging waste, promoting a more sustainable operation Single use packaging is unsustainable. Reusable products need to be disposed of and can be reused hundreds of times. do break down after many uses. These recycled products usually go into the creation of more reusable packaging, continuing the sustainable cycle.

Why Choose Tosca Understanding your unique supply chain challenges and providing reusable packaging solutions to create more efficient supply chains, is what Tosca has been doing for more than 100 combined years. Tosca acquired Polymer Logistics in December 2019 and Contraload in August 2020, joining three major players in the global food supply chain space into one stronger partner. Together as one brand, Tosca is ready to serve customers with top-of-theline customer service, a more robust portfolio of products, a growing and global network, and nimble and innovative R&D and manufacturing capability. Tosca’s products, including crates, pallets, bulk containers, displays, and more, are designed to be individually powerful, and together unbeatable.

Tosca enables a future of sustainable solutions for packaging and transport and helps to make disposable packaging a thing of the past. As one stronger partner, Tosca is revolutionising grocery supply chains all over the world. Choose Tosca to help you reduce unnecessary waste in your supply chain and increase product quality, labour efficiency, space efficiency, and sustainability.

A stronger partner for higher performing supply chains: Tosca Polymer Logistics and Contraload are joining Tosca—forming one global partner with 100+ years of combined reusable packaging experience and new ability to serve your entire supply chain from the first mile to the last mile

Solutions mindset

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Robust product portfolio

© Tosca Services. All Rights Reserved

Global network

Financial scalability

22|Retail News|May 2021|www.retailnews.ie

Love Irish Food

Irish food SMEs optimistic for the year ahead 75% of Irish food SMEs expect revenue growth in the year ahead, according to new research from Love Irish Food and PwC. THREE quarters of Irish food SMEs are optimistic that they will see revenue growth in the coming year despite Covid-19 and Brexit challenges, according to the Irish SME Food Barometer from Love Irish Food and PwC.

The 2021 Irish SME Food Barometer reveals that this optimism is echoed by a favourable outlook for the Irish economy, with 65% of companies confident the economy will improve over the next 12 months, despite challenges related to Covid-19 and Brexit, up from just 16% in late 2019. However, some caution is in the air as these positive economic growth forecasts are tempered by 22% of companies who believe economic growth will decline in the year ahead.

“With the prospects of the re-opening for our economy over the coming months, the research reveals cautious optimism for business prospects for Irish food SMEs,” stated Owen McFeely, Director, PwC Retail & Consumer Practice. “These organisations have seen major disruption in their businesses for more than a year and, with plans for investment, they are

now looking forward to turning a corner.”

Highlights include: 69% of those surveyed do not intend delaying investment in the year ahead, compared to 62% who did delay investment over the last 12 months due to pandemic uncertainty. The same figure (69%) scored the domestic market as their most important territory for growth, while just over a quarter (26%) considered the UK as their most important market.

Key concerns going forward Economic optimism, positive investment intentions, the continued importance of the UK market, the impact of Covid-19 and volatile commodity prices are key concerns, and sustainability is a key focus, with 60% of respondents believing that the importance of environmental sustainability has increased in 2021.

“Notwithstanding a difficult trading environment, it is encouraging to see evidence of optimism amongst food

Pictured launching the Love Irish Food/PwC 2021 Irish SME Food Barometer, revealing a positive sectoral outlook, are (lr): Kieran Rumley, Executive Director, Love Irish Food; Owen McFeely, Director, PwC Ireland Retail & Consumer Practice; and Emily MacDonnell, Senior Associate, PwC Ireland Retail & Consumer Practice.

Retail News|May 2021|www.retailnews.ie|23

Love Irish Food sector SMEs regarding the potential for their own company’s performance in the sector, reflecting factors they feel a greater degree of control over,” noted Kieran Rumley, Executive Director, Love Irish Food. “As anticipated, Covid-19 related issues remain the greatest concern for companies operating in the food and drinks industry.

“However, volatile commodity prices now clearly pose a new and significant threat to companies, especially in the context of Covid-19 related costs imposed on such businesses more recently. It is unlikely that SMEs will be able to shoulder the burden of these additional costs for long and may eventually be forced to pass these on as consumer price increases.

Love Irish Food is working to increase the support offered to companies throughout 2021, with greater retailer support in the interface with the retail grocery sector, as part of its mission to advance the future of Irish food and drink brands.”

Investment to ramp-up Separately, the positive sentiment expressed in the new research findings from one of Ireland’s largest and most important indigenous industries indicates that there will be a significant uplift in the levels of capital investment made by food and beverage companies, following a significant stall during the pandemic. Underlining the growth agenda for Irish Food SMEs, 69% of respondents stated that they will not delay investment over the coming 12 months, compared to 62% who said they did delay such investment in the last 12 months, representing a dramatic turnaround.

Furthermore, 20% of respondents confirmed that they are planning to launch new products or services to drive business growth in 2021. A total of 11% will enter new markets. Other activities to drive business growth include implementing operational efficiencies (19%), with a further 11% aiming to achieve growth by investing in digital strategies.

The number of companies seeking price increases over the coming year is 8%, up from 6% last year, highlighting the ongoing challenge for many Irish companies who are grappling with tight margins and cost competitiveness. The growth of volume at the expense of value continues to place huge pressure on the food manufacturing sector.

Covid-19 and volatile commodity prices key threats The impact of Covid-19 (58%) is the greatest threat for the food and beverage sector, according to the SMEs surveyed, fuelled by economic uncertainty and associated labour issues.

Volatile commodity prices (43%) are also a significant threat for food and drink SMEs. This is likely a reflection of uncertainties in global and local supply chains.

Almost one in four (24%) are concerned about Brexit. However, despite the varied challenges posed to the sector by the UK leaving the European Union, the UK remains the most important export market for Irish food SMEs, followed by the European Union. 26% of respondents said that the UK continues to be their most important market. Notably, almost a quarter (24%) stated that more than one-fifth of their company’s revenues in 2021 will come from trade with the UK, compared to 19% in 2019. 69% consider the Republic of Ireland their most important territory for growth.

Increased spotlight on sustainability Environmental sustainability remains high on the agenda for Irish food and drink SMEs, with 60% of those surveyed stating that the importance of having an environmental sustainability strategy in place has increased this year. In addition, over half (57%) of companies confirmed that they have a sustainability plan in place to make improvements throughout 2021. Key areas of investment include energy consumption (22%),

packaging reduction (18%) and water usage (16%).

Developing a sustainability strategy is critical as consumers have clearly indicated their willingness to engage with brands that promote their sustainable credentials. This is in line with recent PwC global research, indicating that 55% of consumers agreed that they buy from companies that are conscious of protecting the planet, and 54% agreed that they buy products with eco-friendly packaging. For grocery shopping in particular, consumers across the board say that they’re willing to pay a price premium for healthier options (55%), local produce (50%) and sustainable packaging (46%), regardless of shopping online or in-store.

“A key opportunity for the sector is the area of sustainability,” stressed Owen McFeely. “Consumers have become far more sophisticated when it comes to sustainable choices. Irish Food SMEs are and will be dealing with customers who want to know what they are doing to play their part to protect our environment. Building a sustainable business is not a passing fad. Knowing what consumers now value and changing the business model will define their longterm sustainability and growth.”

The survey was carried out between February 22 and March 26 amongst the member firms of Love Irish Food, with 68 Irish food SMEs participating.

24|Retail News|May 2021|www.retailnews.ie

Retail Ireland: Monthly Update

NEW WRC BULLYING CODE NOW IN FORCE THE Industrial Relations Act 1990 (Code of Practice for Employers and Employees on the Prevention and Resolution of Bullying at Work) Order 2020 (the “Code”) was jointly published recently by the Health and Safety Authority (“HSA”) and the Workplace Relations Commission (“WRC”). The Code is effective from December 23, 2020. It replaces the two previous codes that had established employers’ obligations in relation to workplace bullying (namely, the “Code of Practice for Employers and Employees on the Prevention and Resolution of Bullying at Work” issued by the HSA in 2007; and the “Code of Practice Detailing Procedures for Addressing Bullying in the Workplace” issued by the then Labour Relations Commission in 2002).

Now, employers and employees’ obligations in relation to the prevention and resolution of workplace bullying under both health and safety legislation and workplace relations legislation are contained in the Code. The Code stresses that “bullying” and “harassment” remain two distinct concepts and the Code solely addresses the question of workplace bullying. That stated, the Code notes that an employer can have one policy document containing its policy and procedures in relation to both bullying and harassment.

The areas of Employer Relations and Industrial Relations are going through a major reshaping at present, with initiatives like

the right to disconnect being launched, and the Zielinski case in the courts recently. It is more vital than ever that retailers are up to speed with the latest changes, including the WRC Bullying Code. Ibec has a dedicated Knowledge Hub for members to get detailed expert guidance on all aspects of workplace relations, more info can be found at ibec.ie.

CONSUMER PRICES REMAIN STAGNANT IN the latest series of data from the CSO which tracks consumer prices and inflation, the figure for March remains relatively stagnant at 0% in comparison with 2020. Upward movement in prices was mainly focused around services such as housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, due to an increase in

the cost of electricity, higher mortgage interest repayments and a rise in the price of home heating oil. There was also a rise in prices for health services, which increased primarily due to a rise in the cost of dental and medical services; this increase was partially offset by lower prices for pharmaceutical products.

Tel: 01-6051558 |

As with most recent metrics of the market, the effects of lockdown can be seen starkly, with large dips in clothing and footwear of 6.5% in the year, home entertainment declining by 4.6%, while personal articles such as jewellery dropped by 10.3%. Food and nonalcoholic beverages decreased due to lower prices across a range of products such as meat, chocolate and jams, marmalades and honey.

Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance fell primarily due to the reduced cost of non-durable household goods, household textiles and furniture and furnishings. This reduction was partially offset by an increase in the cost of major household appliances.

With inflation running so flat and with the majority of the sector remaining closed, we do not envisage much movement of these metrics in the short term. Retail Ireland monitors and produces a monthly series of facts and figures, which can be found at retailireland.ie.

www.retailireland.ie

Need more?

For more information about what we do and how your retail business can benefit from our unique services and supports, please visit us at www.retailireland.ie.

PRIDE FROM THE GROUND UP

Irish dairy. It’s not just part of your everyday life, your family’s breakfast, your mid-walk latte.

It’s part of your heritage.

For 5,000 years we’ve been producing outstanding dairy right here in Ireland.

Fifty centuries of caring for the land, the animals, the people.

A tradition that, today, as ever, delivers a product both nutritious and sustainable.

That’s a tradition we can all be proud of.

ndc.ie

Milk is a source of calcium, protein, vitamins B2 and B12, iodine and potassium. Irish cows are predominantly grass-fed and 99% of the water used to produce milk is supplied by natural rainfall.

26|Retail News|May 2021|www.retailnews.ie

Dairy

New NDC campaign to connect with consumers The National Dairy Council’s new campaign, From the Ground Up, has been created to fortify consumer trust in Irish dairy farming.

THE National Dairy Council (NDC) have recently unveiled a new marketing campaign bringing the story of Irish dairy farming to the consumer. As consumer trust in food origin and production methods becomes more crucial, the NDC are moving back to the foundations of why Irish dairy produce is some of the best in the world.

The NDC’s first campaign aims to highlight the importance of Irish dairy farmers to our everyday lives. It’s not something that many consumers spend a lot of time thinking about but every drop of milk, spoonful of yogurt or crumb of cheese has been lovingly guided on its way to your plate. From The Ground Up is a recognition of the connectedness inherent in a natural product: from the soil, to the pasture, to the herd and finally to the consumer.

That connectedness is something that Irish dairy farmers are justifiably proud of. The campaign calls into focus the rich heritage and tradition of those farmers, with print executions featuring real farmers and their families, linking the journey from farm to fork, with the television and radio strengthening and building on the story that connects us all through the best dairy produce the world has to offer. It’s a strong and confident approach to highlighting the importance of dairy in the country, an approach that echoes the attitude of Ireland’s dairy farmers.

Connecting the consumer to the land The widening gap between parlour and plate has resulted in a loss of consumer connection to the land. NDC’s new campaign, From The Ground Up, aims to tell the story of Ireland’s dairy production system and the modern farming practices that protect the land and support a sustainable farming system for future generations. Research carried out by NDC last April showed that 71% of Irish people believe that Ireland’s climate is suitable for dairy production and 77% believe outdoor grazing is more climate friendly.

“Our focus now needs to shift to

the production system,” explains Zoe Kavanagh, CEO of the NDC. “This is where the knowledge gap is today. In 2020, we took the opportunity to capture the ‘Voice of the Farmer’, in addition to our regular consumer sentiment research. We learned that growing consumer concern with the environment and climate change, combined with extensive media reporting of emissions targets, is putting increasing pressure on our dairy farmers. More than ever, we need to get back to the building blocks of production and tell that story to the consumer through the voice of the farmer.”

From The Ground Up aims tell to the story of Ireland’s dairy production system and the modern farming practices that protect the land and support a sustainable farming system for future generations.

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Dairy to consumers at home and abroad. This is a truly authentic representation of Irish dairy’s hardworking, efficient production system and high-quality product portfolio.

The From The Ground Up campaign will highlight the importance of Irish dairy farmers to our everyday lives.

Building trust in our production system While Irish dairy’s nutritional and taste credentials is held in high regard, we need to build trust in our production system, according to the NDC. Leveraging their consumer insights and their learnings from previous consumer-facing product campaigns, the NDC will now tell the stories of Irish dairy farmers, ensuring that they have the support of the nation, the ‘social licence’ to produce this globally renowned product in a sustainable manner here in Ireland.

“Ireland was made for dairy production – our climate lends itself perfectly – and our ability to produce

dairy sustainably here is second to none.

We want to ensure that everybody knows this,” explains Zoe. The NDC’s new TV ad will be going out on all major TV stations at primetime slots for Irish viewers, while the heavyweight campaign will also feature on radio, digital and in print media.

The NDC have also created a series of Billboard executions which will appear in the summer months in line with easing of restrictions and more movement around the country.

From The Ground Up provides a visual representation of the people, the animals and the land which together deliver unrivalled quality milk and dairy products

Celebrating excellence in dairy farming “This is an important time to celebrate excellence in dairy farming,” Zoe reveals, speaking about the campaign direction. “Irish dairy has one of the lowest carbon footprints internationally, primarily due to the unique grass fed, family based Irish farming system, which is extremely efficient and involves less intensive farming. During challenging times, people need to have trust in what they know. Irish dairy is recognised as a vital part of people’s diet and general health across the life stages, indispensable to Ireland’s social and economic well-being now more than ever!”

While the positive credentials of Irish dairy are longstanding and plentiful, the gap between food origin and the consumer is growing. At the same time, consumers are demanding natural sustainably produced food, and are looking for transparency, authenticity, and are very concerned about taking responsibility for their health and their environmental impact. The National Dairy Council recognises the opportunity to reconnect consumers with natural food production and showcase that our unique grass-based system, coupled with our family farming system, is what really sets Ireland apart.

From The Ground Up provides a visual representation of the people, the animals and the land which together deliver unrivalled quality milk and dairy products to consumers at home and abroad.

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Dairy New Kerrygold Spreadable and Kerrygold Unsalted Irish Butter are making a splash in the dairy market.

Vincent Cleary, Glenisk Managing Director, Kathryn Thomas, campaign ambassador, and Ray Jordan, Self Help Africa CEO, are pictured at the replanting of Glenisk Wood in Co. Offaly, part of the One Million Trees campaign.

Glenisk Glenisk, Ireland’s number one yogurt (Source: Nielsen), are celebrating the planting of One Million Trees in partnership with Self Help Africa by committing to plant another million trees in the year ahead. Native trees have been planted in Malawi, Kenya, Uganda and Burkina Faso to date, making a real difference to both communities and climate.

Closer to home, Glenisk have begun an ambitious project to plant one hundred acres with native trees in lands adjacent to the original farmhouse just outside Tullamore in Co. Offaly. Over 100,000 trees will be planted this year, encouraging biodiversity and capturing carbon.

Glenisk have also just unveiled new climate neutral packaging for their range of Bio Organic Yogurts, now 100% recyclable and made from 100% renewable materials, including a paper pot and outer lid, and aluminum foil inner lid. This follows on from the removal of plastic from Glenisk’s range of Organic and Goats’ Milk products in 2020 in place of a paper carton, and marks another step in Glenisk’s plan to become a carbon negative business.

Glenisk’s long term commitments to sustainability also include major investment in renewable energy at the business’s manufacturing facility, located outside Tullamore, Co. Offaly. For more information, visit www.glenisk.com.

Glenisk have unveiled new climate neutral packaging for their range of Bio Organic Yogurts, now 100% recyclable and made from 100% renewable materials, including a paper pot and outer lid, and aluminum foil inner lid.

Kerrygold Ornua, the owner of Kerrygold, Ireland’s only €1 billion food brand, have launched two new products in Ireland.

Kerrygold Spreadable targets consumers who trust the great taste of Kerrygold products and are looking for the convenience of being spreadable straight from the fridge.

Kerrygold Unsalted Irish Butter is expertly churned to offer a premium quality option for home baking enthusiasts.

Kerrygold Spreadable is made from Irish creamery butter blended with rapeseed oil to ensure a rich,

buttery taste, with the added convenience of being spreadable straight from the fridge. Kerrygold Unsalted Irish Butter is made from the milk of Irish grass-fed cows and is expertly churned to offer a premium option for bakers, while also catering for consumers who monitor salt intake but do not want to compromise on quality or taste.

The launch is supported with a fully integrated marketing campaign, including TV, digital, social, print, out-of-home advertising and shopper marketing.

Dairygold Dairygold have recently revealed a host of innovations, including a new and improved recipe with significant salt reduction, the introduction of 100% recyclable packaging and a new brand positioning and platform.

As part of Kerry Food’s commitment to improve the nutritional composition of its product range by reducing sugar, fat and salt content across its portfolio, Dairygold has reduced its sodium levels by 27% in line with nutritional benchmarks for the industry.

The new formulation has achieved outstanding results, testing above the original recipe in taste and functionality, for both loyal and new Dairygold consumers.

Giving the Dairygold brand notable shelf stand-out with refreshed packaging allows it to break through the clutter and be noticed at the busy fixture. The new packaging uses strong colour to differentiate the range, while also bringing more personality and brand identity to Dairygold.

Dairygold have also transitioned the range to 100% recyclable packaging, which is now on-shelf nationwide.

Dairygold have also launched a heavyweight new campaign, entitled ‘Spread the Goodness, including TV, radio, sponsoring ‘National Toast Day’, and supported by online media partnerships and a strong digital and social media presence.

Dairygold’s new packaging uses strong colour to differentiate the range, while also bringing more personality and brand identity to the Dairygold brand.

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IGBF

A big thank you from us to you!

Leonard Hegarty, Chairman of the Irish Grocers Benevolent Fund, highlights the individuals and companies whose hard work and effort means that the charity can continue to help over 200 families in need despite a tough 2020.

WE are all very aware of the unprecedented times we are living through, due to the advent of Covid-19 and the difficulties experienced by many during 2020 /21. As you know, the Irish Grocers Benevolent Fund was set up almost 60 years ago to provide assistance to our colleagues in the FMCG sector who, due to circumstances, are in need of a helping hand.

In normal times, IGBF funds are raised through a variety of events, which are arranged by our Voluntary Regional Committee Members (too many individuals to mention in this article) and run throughout the year. The Cork and Limerick Committees under the stewardship of Kevin Flynn and James Johnson /Kevin Ronan respectively, usually start the year off with their Gala Balls and, along with your support, run very enjoyable evenings and make a considerable contribution to the Fund.

For spring/summer, the Regional Committees turn their fundraising attention to outdoor events. Joe Wogan gets the season started with the Annual Grocers Fun Run and Joe also helps organise the South East golf event with Cathal Ryan and Shane Dawson.

Thanks to Brian McNeill, Redmond Gavin and the Galway team, we continue to run our Western Region golf event. Gearoid Surliss and Liam Campion, our men in the North West, run a wonderful golf day.

Along with Gus O‘Gorman and Peter O Connor, the volunteers in the North East arrange the very successful North East golf outing. The Dublin golf event, organised by myself and Richard Boland, is a very important day in the IGBF fund raising calendar.

In addition to these events, the IGBF TWIG Committee, led by Sharon Yourell Lawlor and Frances Higgins, arrange the very popular TWIG Networking Lunch, and Eoin Kellett ‘s team organise the Sporting Legends Lunch. We conclude our IGBF fundraising events with the renowned Christmas Lunch.

Limited to the virtual world During 2020, the voluntary Committees were lucky to host some of these events. However, due to public health regulations, we were limited to the virtual world for most of our events. This did not discourage our Regional Committees or indeed our supporters.

Thankfully with your help, the IGBF fundraisers delivered enough funds in 2020 under very difficult circumstances to allow us to continue supporting our 200 families for 2021. If you are aware of an individual from our community who may be in need of a helping hand, please contact any of our regional volunteers or our Executive Secretary Gus O’Reilly (086 2444442). Each case is treated with complete discretion and in strict confidence.

The National Executive of the Irish Grocers Benevolent Fund wish to thank all our Regional / Event Committee Members for the wonderful work and commitment of effort our volunteers put into our charity every year and to all the businesses, friends and colleagues who continue to support us. We anticipate a very challenging 2021 for the Fund and we thank you in advance for your support. We look

IGBF Regional Committee Chairs

Joe Wogan, BWG Foods, is a member of the Executive Committee: Joe organises the Annual Grocers Fun Run and helps to run the South East golf event. Email: jwogan@ bwg.ie. Tel: 087 2908530.

Kevin Flynn, Centra Little Island, Co. Cork, Chair of the Cork IGBF Committee. Email: centralittleisl@gmail.com.

Tel: 087 2598797.

Mid-West Committee Chair, James Johnson from Dunnes Stores in Tipperary Town.

Email: Jamesejohnson@live. ie. Tel: 087 2257492.

Galway Committee Chair, Brian Mc Neill, from Musgrave Ltd Tuam Road Galway. Email: brianmc2@musgrave.ie.

Tel: 085 7777588.

Gus O Gorman, Chair of the North East Committee, from Gorman’s SuperValu, Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan.

Email: gusogorman@ marketsquarecentre.com. Tel: 087 6778843.

Gearoid Surlis, North West Committee Chair, from SuperValu Tubbercurry, Co. Sligo. Email: 395-owner@ supervalu.ie. Tel: 087 2502284.

forward to getting together again soon in 2021.

The IGBF website showing our Events Calendar for 2021 is regularly updated to reflect changes brought about by public health guidelines.

Thank you.

Leonard Hegarty, Chairman, IGBF

30|Retail News|May 2021|www.retailnews.ie

Supporting Local

Joyce’s increases support for local suppliers Galway independent supermarket group, Joyce’s, have increased their commitment to home-grown suppliers, spending €20m on Irish products in the last year.

Pat Joyce, Managing Director of Joyce’s Supermarkets

GALWAY-based independent grocer Joyce’s Supermarkets have spent €20m on Irish product lines in the past year, in a continued effort to support local producers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Over this period, Joyce’s Supermarkets have supported over 140 Irish producers in total, including 10 new producers in the past six months, adding over 60 new product lines to their 10 stores across County Galway.

NutShed, Irish made peanut butter.

Organic Farm, Harvest Moon Foods and Glenilen Farm.

“We have worked with over one hundred Irish businesses in the past year, with new and existing producers, and we look forward to continuing this throughout 2021 and beyond,” Pat added. “Supporting other Irish businesses is a key priority for Joyce’s Supermarkets. This has been more important than ever over the past 12 months, which has been a difficult period for so many home-grown businesses.”

Family business Patrick C. Joyce started the family business in Headford in 1951 with a small grocery store and followed this with a travelling shop. This subsequently developed into a general supermarket and building materials provider on the site of the current Headford supermarket. After Pat Joyce took over the family business, the building materials side of the business moved to the Galway Road, a few kilometres outside Headford, and the supermarket was expanded. Since then, nine more supermarkets have been opened in Knocknacarra, Athenry, Tuam, Inverin, Ballybane, Father Griffin Road, Doughiska, Oranmore and Oughterard, and the group now employs over 500 people.

The Circle of Light green coffee range.

Expanding Irish product offering “Over the past year, we have worked closely with local and Irish producers to continue to deliver high quality products for our customers, and have spent €20m securing Irish produce for our 10 stores,” noted Pat Joyce, Managing Director of Joyce’s Supermarkets. “Our new Irish suppliers have been carefully chosen by our buying team with the needs of our customers in mind and with the aim of expanding our Irish product offering.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have received a positive response from customers to the new products, as consumers have made an increased effort to support local.”

Among the new suppliers are: NutShed, Irish made peanut butter; White Mausu peanut, sesame and chilli sauces; and Circle of Light green coffee range. Existing Irish suppliers to Joyce’s Supermarkets include Butlers Bakery, Beechlawn

White Mausu peanut, sesame and chilli sauces.

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KitKat

Ireland’s KitKat to be carbon neutral by 2025 The iconic KitKat brand has pledged to become carbon neutral in just four years’ time.

KITKAT, one of Ireland’s and the world’s most popular chocolate brands, has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2025. It aims to reduce the emissions generated through the sourcing of its ingredients, the manufacturing of the product and its distribution by more than 50% as part of the plan.

Most emissions occur when producing KitKat’s ingredients like cocoa and milk. The brand will reduce these emissions as much as possible through initiatives like restoring forests and supporting a transition to regenerative agriculture.

For any emissions that cannot be eliminated, the brand will invest in high quality offsetting based on natural climate solutions.

KitKat is working with The Carbon Trust, a global climate change and sustainability consultancy, to measure the brand’s current carbon footprint and will complete this process later in 2021.

Protecting and restoring forests Deforestation is one of the main global drivers of carbon emissions in the agricultural supply chain. Nestlé have used a variety of tools for the last 10 years, including certification, supply chain mapping and satellite imagery, to achieve their no-deforestation commitment.

Furthermore, Nestlé are focusing on forest conservation and restoration. For example, they published an action plan in 2019 to help protect and restore forests in their cocoa supply chain. Earlier this month, Nestlé joined forces with other organisations to launch the Rimba Collective.

This initiative supports the protection and restoration of more than 500,000 hectares of tropical forest landscapes in

KitKat has a history of improving the sustainability of its supply chain that dates back more than a decade.

KitKat is working with The Carbon Trust to measure the brand’s current carbon footprint and will complete this process later in 2021.

Southeast Asia, where the company sources its ingredients.

Expanding regenerative agriculture KitKat will expand its work with cocoa, palm oil, cereals, sugar and dairy farmers to implement regenerative practices. Farming methods such as reducing synthetic inputs, better management of soils and tree planting can help draw down carbon from the atmosphere, enhance biodiversity and boost on-farm productivity. To support this, KitKat will help farmers plant five million shade trees where it sources its cocoa by 2025.

Accelerating the transition to renewable electricity KitKat is working to improve the environmental footprint of its factories. It has already reduced the energy required to produce KitKat by more than 40% per tonne of product since 2000.

Nestlé are using renewable electricity at some KitKat manufacturing sites and will continue to find new ways to end dependency on fossil fuels and use 100% renewable electricity for all KitKat factories before the end of 2025.

Building on more than a decade of action KitKat has a history of improving the sustainability of its supply chain that dates back more than a decade. In 2009, Nestlé launched the Nestlé Cocoa Plan and by 2016, KitKat sourced 100% of its cocoa from the programme. Under the Plan, Nestlé have planted more than 15m cocoa trees and invested CHF 300m (€272m) in cocoa sustainability.

The new KitKat carbon neutral pledge complements the company’s ongoing efforts to reduce its environmental footprint further. Nestlé are committed to reaching net zero emissions everywhere by no later than 2050, throughout their value chain.

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Moy Park

NPD fuelling demand for Moy Park bought products which would not only allow them to cook from scratch but, in many cases, would allow them to batch cook. Therefore, our brand focus in 2021 has been all about proactively responding to these changing consumer eating and shopping habits, with the kitchen as the new hub for many households, multitasking mums and dads, and even first-time cooks, moving almost overnight from ready meals to a whole new culinary world.

“We have also continued to further develop our commercial capabilities through areas such as innovative food development, consumer insight and effective customer and category marketing. The Moy Park brand remains very much focused on value, convenience, and of course, taste; product integrity is extremely important as is our commitment to quality and excellence in the creation of new ranges.”

Suzie Edwards, Director of Marketing and Insight at Moy Park.

Suzie Edwards, Director of Marketing and Insight at Moy Park, explains what retailers and consumers can expect from the Moy Park brand in 2021, with a host of new products guaranteed to capture consumer interest and help to grow the poultry category.

THE poultry category has continued to grow in recent years, and 2020 was actually a good year for poultry sales, as more and more consumers across the country cooked from scratch, with poultry, and chicken in particular, proving an extremely popular and versatile choice.

Moy Park’s Director of Marketing and Insight, Suzie Edwards, explains the continued growth of the category in Ireland, why Moy Park remains one of the leading brands in the market, and reveals just what this progressive brand has up its sleeve for the rest of 2021.

How has 2021 been for the Moy Park brand so far?

“This year, our focus remains on delivering high quality, great value products to our customers and consumers. 2020 saw ongoing strong growth for the poultry category, continuing the trend of year-on-year increases we have seen over the past number of years.

“Lockdown has also driven a big change in consumer habits, and one of the things our market insights have revealed is a sharp rise in scratch cooking. There was a marked increase in sales across all meat and poultry, as consumers

BBQ Mango Lime & Coconut Mini Fillets, part of the new BBQ range from Moy Park.

What is Moy Park’s marketing strategy for the brand this year?

“In 2021, the focus of our strategy is to continue to build brand awareness and increase product visibility through a sustained marketing campaign, which aims to celebrate the ‘everyday yay’ and help bring back some normality to everyday living.

“During the summer months, we will embark on our community Chicken Run initiative, which rolled out successfully in Northern Ireland and the East Midlands last year. At Moy Park, we recognise our role in contributing to the wellbeing of those in the local areas in which we operate, and through our Chicken Run initiative, it was our hope that each food box would help a household and remind us all how kind and neighbourly we are in local communities.

“We are very excited to be expanding our campaign this time around, so watch this space!”

New product development is a key driver of market growth.

How important is NPD to Moy Park?

“As a market leading brand, we recognise the importance of developing new products in line with consumer trends. At

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Moy Park BBQ season. This period helps drive consumption of chicken and introduces consumers to new flavours and cuts of chicken. There is no doubt many consumers actively seek something a little different from their food these days, and BBQ products are no exception.

We have seen a growing awareness of global cuisine, flavours and regional authenticity fuelling a desire for new and exciting flavours.

With travelling abroad out of the question for many during the past year, more consumers are exploring and experimenting with different herbs and spices at home.

“This has informed the development of our new four-strong BBQ range - Cajun Chicken Sizzlers, Sweet Chilli Chicken Drums and Thighs, Mango Lime and Coconut Chicken Mini Fillets, and Yakitori Chicken Kebabs - which are now available to retailers.”

New Mediterranean Chicken Meatball & Tomato Traybake offers a quick and easy mealtime solution for busy families.

Moy Park, we are committed to a culture of continual innovation, planning, adapting and anticipating customer and consumer needs, while also addressing environmental and sustainability issues. Herein lies the opportunity to innovate - a challenge our colleagues, farming and supply chain partners continue to embrace.

“We pride ourselves on our heritage and expertise, operating a fully integrated farm-to-fork supply chain, and as a result are a trusted supplier for the retailers we work with. We have industry leading marketing and innovation teams, who work closely together to identify key trends and develop our innovative Moy Park branded product ranges.”

Peri Peri Chicken Wings are extremely flavoursome and popular.

Pre-cooked skinless fillets are proving extremely popular with Irish consumers.

What new branded products are planned for 2021?

“For summer 2021, we have developed a range of new Moy Park branded products across three categories - Ready to Cook, Added Value and BBQ - all of which have been carefully crafted to bring consumers something different when it comes to chicken.

“With the added value lines, we are really showcasing different parts of the chicken, which have been paired with a selection of our chefs’ marinades, including Peri Peri and Sweet Chilli. Our new Ready to Cook products, such as Mediterranean Chicken Meatball Traybake, offer quick and easy mealtime solutions for busy families.

“Particularly important at this time of the year is the start of

Is there any retailer-specific activity planned for the rest of the year?

“We will support our product launches through an integrated marketing campaign, which will come to life through out-ofhome advertising, PR, digital marketing, and engaging with social media influencers. With video continuing to grow in popularity and importance, video-on-demand and digital display advertising will play an integral role in our retailer strategy.

“The end of May will see the launch of our summer campaign, when we will hopefully see more lockdown restrictions begin to ease across Ireland. As we step outdoors and come together again, we want to show how Moy Park will be an integral part of that experience.

“Whether it’s bringing people together around a table, a BBQ, or a picnic basket, we would love to see Moy Park products playing a part in creating new memorable and meaningful moments.

“With shoppers, in particular parents, increasingly seeking nutritious and convenient meal solutions, our ready-to-eat range, which is listed with Dunnes and Tesco, is ideal as it delivers for consumers in a variety of ways: as a sandwich filling, an ingredient for a quick dinner or on its own as a snack. In a very competitive marketplace, our Moy Park branded packaging ensures maximum shelf impact with bright colours and impactful use of our brand to engage consumers.”

FOR more information on Moy Park branded products and distribution, please contact Estelle Robinson on +44 (0) 7876063318 or email: estelle.robinson@moypark.com.

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Summer Stocking – Essentials

That summer feeling…

With the entire nation set to celebrate the warmer weather outdoors and barbecues high on the agenda, now is the time to stock up on summer essentials, from salads to sun-creams..

THE winter just past may feel like the longest one ever thanks to a combination of cold weather and Government restrictions – let’s be honest, the presence of sleet and hail in early May didn’t help – but temperatures are finally starting to creep up towards ‘no jacket’ weather and even towards a time when we might dare to wear short sleeves outside.

There is no doubt that there’s a real appetite among Irish people to enjoy this summer, as we have never felt so cooped up in all our lives. With that in mind, as a nation we will embrace the outdoors like never before, with barbecues, picnics and al fresco gettogethers set to be top of the consumer agenda like never before, as restrictions ease in the weeks and months ahead.

A new study by Circle K reveals that 27% of Irish people are more excited for this summer than any other in recent memory and 51% are planning to holiday in Ireland over the next few months. Many are planning to seize the opportunity to travel around Ireland this year with intercounty restrictions now eased. Over a quarter (29%) have a greater appreciation for the Emerald Isle since the Covid-19 pandemic began and just under half (45%) are taking a few weekend breaks to see more of it.

It appears that lots of people are replacing their lockdown blues with feelings of nostalgia, as fond memories of childhood holidays have been flooding the minds of those planning a getaway.

The fondest childhood holiday memory for respondents is trips to the beach (42%), followed by weekend drives (12%) and day trips (11%). Wining and dining outdoors are also high on the summer agenda for 12% of those polled.

Consumers across the country have already started dusting off the barbecues, taking the outdoor furniture out of sheds and getting ready for a

summer of outside living, to hell with the weather! There will be a huge emphasis on the barbecue sector, with many of the biggest meat brands in the country creating tasty new ranges to excite consumer taste buds. Salads too will come to the fore, as consumers generally embrace lighter eating for the summer season, with attendant growth in sauces and condiments.

Indeed, the rise in home cooking over the last 15 months has led to a growth in the sauces, dressings and condiments market in general, according to the latest report into the sector by Euromonitor International, with a real impact on retail sales orf chilli and soy sauces. The same report reveals that standard sauces, like ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard are also in growth, as many consumers stockpiled

these products at the initial stage of the lockdown.

Florette Salads As consumer demand for leafy prepared salads increases in the warmer summer months, it presents a profit-boosting opportunity for retailers to promote them as a key ‘side of plate’ offering, and retailers need to act now.

“Spring and summer are an ideal time to include bagged salads as part of a meal solution or cross category meal deal as consumers place more importance on a healthy diet and lifestyle, both from a seasonal perspective but also this year in light of the pandemic,” says Polly Davies, Florette Category Controller.

With the brand’s market share in 42% growth year-on-year (Source:

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Summer Stocking – Essentials Nielsen Scantrack, Total Ireland (Exc Discounters & Dunnes) ROI 52 w/e February 28, 2021), Florette continues to inspire and motivate shoppers towards great-tasting, healthier food choices with the launch of a new flavourful bagged salad, bursting with colour and crunch.

The categoryboosting NPD, Rainbow Crunchy, brings standout to the fixture with a colourful crunchy assortment of mild leaves, including escarole and radicchio, and vibrant crunchy vegetables such as The category-boosting NPD, Rainbow Crunchy, brings standout carrot and candy to the fixture with a colourful crunchy assortment of mild leaves, striped beetroot. including escarole and radicchio, and vibrant crunchy vegetables

“Even the such as carrot and candy striped beetroot. most enthusiastic salad eaters

The hugely popular Florette range includes best sellers Florette Duo Lambs Lettuce & Ruby Chard Salad, Florette Baby Leaf Salad, Florette Bistro Salad and Florette Classic Crispy Salad.

Circle K launches K-Freeze

get stuck in a rut on occasions and make do with basic salads, which, whilst nice enough, aren’t exciting. They need help and inspiration to create food that they will love to eat,” Polly notes. “We put flavour, taste and insight at the heart of every innovation and this product is no exception, bringing high purchase intent among ABC1 shoppers, all backed by our freshness guarantee.”

Summer is the time when salads really do come into their own, Polly explains: “Now’s the time for retailers to assess how a beacon brand like Florette, which is synonymous with freshness, taste and inspiration, can add interest and attract more shoppers to their fresh and chilled fixture.”

Florette Rainbow Crunchy joins the brand’s range of pre-packed, pre-washed salads, including best sellers Florette Duo Lambs Lettuce & Ruby Chard Salad, Florette Baby Leaf Salad, Florette Bistro Salad and Florette Classic Crispy Salad.

Sicín Sásta Irish-produced chicken, Sicín Sásta launched in all retailers nationwide last month. Sicín Sásta are all about embodying Irishness; the great taste, new reduced smart packaging with sustainability at the forefront, and also the welfare of their chickens. Sicín Sásta believe that great tasting chicken doesn’t happen by accident, which is why their chickens are born and raised on the same family farm, and are a slow growing breed, looked after by farmers with generations of experience.

With two new tiers of Sicín Sásta, Free Range and Farmers’ Own, the socially conscious consumer has the opportunity to support an Irish business with welfare front and centre. Quality assurance influences purchase of almost 50% of consumers and Sicín Sásta

A QUARTER of Irish people (25%) say drinking an iced beverage is their favourite way to cool down, according to a new Circle K study. The survey was carried out to celebrate the reveal of Circle K’s new name for its Froster range, K-Freeze.

Circle K’s K-Freeze range is now available in all stores nationwide, excluding Circle K Express. For an icy-cold refreshment, Circle K’s K-Freeze range, which comes in flavours such as Coca-Cola, Fanta Blue Raspberry and Fanta Strawberry, is the perfect treat on any day.

“It’s great to see that so many people are planning to staycation this summer, with some exciting trips and destinations on the cards,” noted Joanne D’Arcy, Director of Market Development at Circle K Ireland. “We’re looking forward to welcoming holidaymakers to our network of stores across Ireland and encourage them to pick up a refreshing K-Freeze at one of our stores on their travels. Myself and my colleagues are excited to reveal a brand new, exciting look and name for the summer months with K-Freeze. Even with a fresh name and look, it’s the same great, refreshing product and delicious flavours that the Irish public have come to love.”

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Summer Stocking – Essentials

There are two new tiers of Sicín Sásta, Free Range and Farmers’ Own, giving the socially conscious consumer the opportunity to support an Irish business with welfare front and centre.

includes plenty for those who love the classic BBQ burger, including Luxury Extra Tasty Burger and Spicy Double Cheeseburger four-packs, as well as Hoisin Duck Burger, Doner Kebab Quarter Pounder and Luxury Halloumi Burger. There are Burger Dogs, Richmond Barbecue Sausages and fiery Richmond Mexican Sausages, as well as a huge range of chicken skewers in BBQ Ranch, Tikka & Tandoori, Teriyaki and Spicy flavours, and a host of kebabs. There’s also a bumper BBQ pack including eight chicken drumsticks, beef burgers and pork sausages, as well as a chicken selection pack.

Iceland have also launched a range of retro ice creams for summer, including amazing classics transformed into ice-lolly treats like the Barratts Wham Bar Ice Lollies, Barratts Foam Banana Ice Lollies, Barratts Nougat Ice Lollies and Barratts Milk Bottle Ice Lollies, as well as a range of Swizzels ice lollies for the little ones.

are proud to have the Bord Bia quality assurance mark and are a Love Irish Food affiliated brand.

With quality, provenance, and value for money guiding most chicken consumers’ decision-making, Sicín Sásta ticks all the boxes. Sicín Sásta Free Range chicken offers a 1.5kg whole bird and 500g chicken breast fillets. The Farmers’ Own chicken offers a 1.5kg whole bird, 500g chicken breast fillets, 420g chicken thigh fillets, and 380g diced fillets. To find out more, visit sicinsasta.ie.

Iceland’s BBQ range Iceland Ireland recently launched their largest ever BBQ range for the Irish market, crafted by resident Chef Dave Lennox and the team, frozen to lock in juices, taste and freshness.

The range

Iceland have launched their largest ever BBQ range for the Irish market, available across their 27 shops.

Lacura sun care from Aldi

ALDI’S Lacura sun care range has returned to stores for summer, with prices ranging from €1.99 to €4.29, meaning fantastic value and providing 5-star skin protection without breaking the bank.

“The Aldi Creams have been a staple summer product in my house for years,” noted Aldi beauty ambassador Sinead Kavanagh, The Beautiful Truth. “I find the kids’ sun creams in particular absolutely fantastic! They apply smoothly and soak in so fast, so they’re perfect for my wriggly kids!

The protection on these sun creams also gives me great peace of mind! Now all we need is a good summer!” Aldi’s Lacura range is Leaping Bunny certified, confirming that no own brand Lacura beauty products are tested on animals.

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Summer Drinks – Wines

Wines of the times Jean Smullen advises on must-stock wines for the summer months ahead.

WINE was definitely the beneficiary in terms of the rise of eCommerce during 2020. Big changes in consumer behaviour as a result of lockdown and the huge advances in smart technology drove the demand for online and retail wine sales. Irish importing companies adapted significantly to the distribution challenges and in 2020 the retail sector saw remarkable growth in both volume and value sales for wine.

A recent report commissioned by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) and written by Dr Tony Foley, Professor of Economics at DCU Business School, highlights the alcohol consumption figures in Ireland for 2020. The report is based on the Revenue Commissioners’ alcohol clearances figures for the previous year, which they released in March 2021. It highlights the impact the closure of the on-trade has had on the sale of alcohol in the last year; it should come as no surprise that during 2020, off-licence sales and home consumption increased.

According to the DIGI report, the average adult alcohol consumption figure decreased by -6.6% in 2020 compared to 2019. Since 2001, alcohol consumption in Ireland has decreased significantly, showing a decline of -29.8%. Per capita consumption of wine on the Irish market now stands at 12 litres. Figures from 2001, produced by the World Drinks Trend Report, show that 20 years ago, per capita consumption of wine in Ireland was 17 litres.

According to Dr Foley’s report, from 2019 to 2020, sales of wine by volume increased by +12.0%. During the same period, total spirits consumption by volume also increased by +0.7%.

However, the figures show the impact on-trade closures had on beer and cider sales. Volume sales of beer fell by -17.3% and sales of cider decreased by -11.4%. Wine now accounts for

32.2% of total alcohol consumption compared to 27.2% in 2019 and 13.2% in 2000. In 2000, Beer accounted for 56.6% of total alcohol consumption, today it is 38.9% (Source: DIGI Report 2020).

In the last year, the Irish retail trade has seen a rise in consumer demand for mid-priced and premium wines and certainly the figures bear this out. Value sales of wine in the retail sector on a MAT basis to December 2020 was up +21.2%, with volume sales increasing by +16.4% for the same period.

However, a note of caution, while the increased sales in the retail sector are encouraging, the almost total loss of ontrade sales mean that overall, the growth market for wine in Ireland remains flat (Source: Nielsen Scantrack, December 2020).

While the current demand for more premium wines from the wine buying consumer is heartening to see, it is envisaged that once the on-trade re-opens later this year, that spend will revert back. For the moment, this year’s Summer Wines feature will focus on the superb quality wine offers currently available to the retail sector.

Barry & Fitzwilliam Look out for the Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Riesling & Chardonnay on offer at €11. Graham Norton Sauvignon Blanc & Rosé are on offer at €12. Graham Norton Frizzante and Frizzante Rosé are also available at the special price of €11. Martin Codax Albarino is on offer at €15, and Tio Pepe Fino Sherry is available at just €13. The hugely popular Kylie Minogue Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Rosé are also on offer at €12, while the Sarah Jessica Parker Sauvignon Blanc and Rosé are available for €15.

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Summer Drinks – Wines Bibendum Ireland Provençal Rosé is one of the wine trends to change the face of the global wine market in recent years. To put it in perspective, in 2007 the region exported 5m litres of their Rosé wines globally; by 2017 that figure was over 30m litres.

This summer, Bibendum Ireland will be offering the 2019 Château des Bertrand’s Rosé, a premium rosé wine with exceptional balance and complexity.

For summer drinking, look out too for Piccini’s 2019 Mario Primo Chianti DOCG, made from a blend of 80% Sangiovese, 10% Canaiolo and 10% Malvasia e Trebbiano Toscano. This lighter style of red wine has only 12% alcohol and can be served chilled.

For Champagne lovers, Bibendum Ireland have the award winning Champagne Palmer & Co Brut Reserve and Blanc des Blancs, both winners at the 2020 Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships. Winning Best Blanc de Blanc NV and The World’s Best Brut NV. Cassidy Wines Since May 1, 2021, Cassidy Wines are the official distributor of Maison Louis Jadot; from the tip of Chablis to the toe of Beaujolais, this range of premium wines come from one of France’s most famous regions, Bourgogne.

Cassidy Wines will distribute the entire Jadot range and the portfolio will include some of the new regional appellations. Look out for the Louis

Kylie Minogue Wines sell 1m bottles

Jadot Macon Lugny, the Louis Jadot Bourgogne Chardonnay Couvent des Jacobins and Bourgogne Pinot Noir Couvent de Jacobins, as well as the Louis Jadot Beaujolais Village wines.

The AOP wines in the Louis Jadot range include wines from Beaujolais, the Louis Jadot Beaujolais Cru wines produced in the AOP’s Fleurie & Morgon. Always in great demand are wines from the AOP Chablis, with the Louis Jadot Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume and Louis Jadot Chablis Grand Cru Vaudesir highly recommended. Cassidy will also distribute the Louis Jadot Cru de Mâconnais Pouilly Fuisse. From the Côte d’Or they will have the complete range of village wines, as well as the Louis Jadot Ladoix Le Clou d’Orge, Meursault and Chassagne-Montrachet.

All the premium wines from the Louis Jadot range, including their 1er and Grand Cru range from the Côte du Beaune and Côte du Nuit will be available. Cassidy will also distribute the Louis Jadot Oregon Estate wines, produced in the Willamette Valley under the Resonance label.

Comans Beverages This summer, Comans will be flying the Tricolour with their McKenna Collection, a Chilean wine with a strong Irish heritage. Captain John (Juan) McKenna, who was born in County Monaghan, played an important role in the struggle for Chilean independence from the

The McKenna Collection is made exclusively for the Irish market

by Undurraga, one of Chile’s top producers, and includes two very well made, good quality varietal wines.

Spanish crown in 1810. The McKenna Collection first launched here in 2009, the year before Chile’s Bicentennial, and has gained a significant following. The McKenna Collection is made exclusively for the Irish market by Undurraga, one of

IN under a year Kylie Minogue Wines have sold over one million bottles of wine, making it one of the most successful wine brands ever to launch. The first female artist to have number one albums across five consecutive decades officially launches her new Rosé Sparkling Prosecco.

“I am unbelievably humbled and thrilled by the global response to Kylie Minogue Wines,” said Kylie. “To sell over a million bottles in less than a year has been incredible, and testimony to the amazing producers and winemakers Kylie Minogue Wines have been lucky enough to work alongside. I have been incredibly touched by the joy our wines have brought to so many people in the last year, and I am excited this month to release our new 2020 Rosé vintages, including a very special Sparkling Prosecco Rosé - enjoy!”

Kylie Minogue Wines is an exquisite, elegant portfolio of bespoke wines, crafted with passion and integrity. Launched in 2020 in Ireland on Kylie’s birthday, May 28, the rosé quickly become one of the most successful launches in its category ever. This signature range comprises of three wines from France: a delicate and pale dry rosé made from Cabernet and Carignan grapes, a light and zesty Sauvignon Blanc from Gascony and a smooth and juicy Merlot from the Pays d’Oc. Kylie has an amazing Côtes de Provence Rosé, a blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Rolle, and the latest addition, the Kylie Minogue Sparkling Prosecco Rosé is an elegant sparkling Prosecco Rosé with notes of fresh strawberries, raspberries and blossom, which is vegan friendly. The Sparkling Prosecco Rosé comes from the prestigious Zonin estate, a family-owned winery spanning seven generations who are the pioneers of premium D.O.C. New Kylie Minogue Sparkling Prosecco Rosé is an Prosecco and who celebrate in their 200th anniversary this year. This elegant sparkling Prosecco Rosé, which comes summer will also seee the Kylie Minogue Vino Frizzante Rosé available in from the prestigious Zonin estate, a family-owned Ireland. Kylie Minogue Wines are distributed by Barry & Fitzwilliam. winery spanning seven generations.

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Summer Drinks – Wines Chile’s top producers. It was created as a tribute to this intrepid Irishman and the range includes two very well made, good quality varietal wines.

The 2019 McKenna Reserva Sauvignon Blanc delivers ripe citrus aromas and a crisp finish with lots of lemon fruit flavours. The 2018 McKenna Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, has jammy fruit with notes of vanilla, chocolate, tobacco and soft approachable tannin.

The McKenna range is on offer this summer with an RRP of €10.

With the demand for Rosé at an all-time high, look out for Comans’ new rosé from Boutinot, 2019 Le Cerisiers Cotes Du Rhone Rosé (RRP €15). Made from fruit sourced from vineyards near Tavel and also further north around Valréas, this wine is made from Grenache and Cinsault and the fermentation is started using wild yeast. With tons of raspberry fruit and a lovely balanced acidity, this is a wine guaranteed to be in great demand this summer.

Comans are also highlighting their Australian Barramundi range, made from fruit sourced in the Murray Darling Region of Victoria. First launched globally to great acclaim in 1990, the varietal range includes Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Shiraz, Petit Verdot/ Shiraz, and Chardonnay/Viognier; all available here and priced very competitively with an RRP of €10.

Finally, with wine from Argentina very much in vogue, particularly as we come into barbeque season, look out for Comans premium offering from Trapiche. Trapiche winery was voted New World Winery of the Year at the 2019 Wine Enthusiast Wine Star awards. Look out for the Trapiche Reserva range this summer with an RRP of €13-15.

Findlater & Co. Champagne Ayala recently held an online tasting presented by its Chef de Cave, Caroline Latrive. One of the few female Chef de Caves in Champagne, Caroline was born there and is the daughter of a wine maker. She told us there are only five women currently working as a Chef de Cave in the larger Champagne houses. Caroline completed her internship at Champagne Pommery and worked for Bollinger as a consultant before joining Ayala in 2007 after Bollinger bought it in 2005. The focus at Ayala is on Chardonnay; there is never less than 40% of it in the blend and the fresh elegant wines they make at Ayala are the result of low dosage. No more than seven grams of sugar are used to keep the wines bone dry.

The range includes the Ayala Brut Majeur NV, made from 55% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir and 20% Meunier. It is quite brioche on the nose but is a very elegant champagne with good balance. It spent 15 months on its lees which is what gives that complexity.

2006 Perle d’Ayala Rosé is made from 52% Chardonnay, is bone dry and made using the Saignée method; they add 5% Pinot Noir. This is a perfect Rosé Champagne for summer drinking, elegant with notes of rhubarb. The 2006 Ayala Brut Majur Vintage is a prestige cuvee made from fruit only grown in Grand Cru vineyards.

It is 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir. With only six grams of residual sugar used in the dosage, this is bone dry but very big Champagne. With fine bubbles, this is so elegant and delicate, but with layers of complexity.

Champagne Ayala Brut Majeur NV is a very elegant champagne with good balance.

Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard Campo Viejo Tempranillo is crafted from 100% premium Tempranillo and a passionate winemaking philosophy. The result is a fresh and lively fruit expression of the variety, that is undeniably Campo Viejo. A bold and fresh wine that showcases the vibrancy of Campo Viejo and its home, Rioja.

On the nose, this wine is rich in aromas and pronounced in intensity. One is struck by the ripe red fruit, followed by wood nuances with gently sweet notes of vanilla to finish with other sweet spices. On the palate, it is perfumed, soft and fresh, with a long finish that leaves memories of red fruit, vanilla and cocoa. For more information visit www.campoviejo.com.

Campo Viejo Tempranillo is a fresh and lively wine, that showcases the vibrancy of its home, Rioja.

Edward Dillon & Co This summer, why not celebrate Ireland’s favourite grape by stocking the iconic 2020 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc.

The growing season of 2019/2020 was good and the fruit that came into the winery was as close to perfect as could be imagined. Speaking about the wine, Jim White, Cloudy Bay’s Technical Director said, “The 2020 vintage release is everything a Cloudy Bay Sauvignon should be, concentrated and vibrant, with beautiful citrus and stone fruit The iconic Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2020: “everything a Cloudy Bay Sauvignon should be”. character, but also that certain subtlety and poise that has built its worldwide reputation” The wine is now available from Edward Dillon with an RRP of €35.60.

If the Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc put Marlborough on the map, let me assure you their Chardonnay is equally good. New Zealand Chardonnay is very under-rated but once tried, impossible to forget. The 2019 Cloudy Bay Chardonnay has gorgeous flavours of apple and pear, balanced by gentle vanilla spice, hazelnut and a subtle saline note (RRP €42.70).

Sacha Lichine of Château d’Esclans is the man responsible for global pink wine revolution with his Whispering Angel wine.

The wine is a blend of 77% Grenache, 13% Rolle (Vermentino), 4% Cinsault, 3% Syrah and 3% Tibouren.

The key to its success lies in the fact that there are less than four grams of sugar, with sugar levels of 0.54, which is about as dry as a rosé is going to get. A modern marketing phenomenon, its success was achieved by high visibility

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Summer Drinks – Wines at events where celebrities such as Victoria Beckham, Reese Witherspoon, Lady Gaga and Heidi Klum were pictured with glass in hand. The upward trajectory that is Whispering Angel isn’t going to slow down any time soon. This summer Edward Dillon has available the 2020 Whispering Angel Rosé with an RRP of €25.

Château d’Esclans famous offspring also includes Rock Angel, which is partially barrel fermented in large oak barrels and also made from Grenache, Cinsault and Rolle (Vermentino).

This rosé bears a more complex and structured taste profile than Whispering Angel, giving rosé lovers a bigger and richer wine that is fabulous as an aperitif or paired with a broad range of fine cuisine.

Whispering Angel, from Edward Dillon & Co., is growing from strength to strength.

Rock Angel gives rosé lovers a bigger and richer wine that is fabulous as an aperitif or paired with a broad range of fine cuisine.

H2G Wines H2G Wines focus on importing from family run wineries and their range includes wines from Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Portugal and Spain.

Very much on trend at the moment are lighter red wines from Austria. H2G have Erwin Tinhof’s red wines from Burgenland, produced in the Leithaberg DAC. The 2017 Tinhof Blaufränkisch (RRP €23.50) is a powerful wine with great depth and structure and a lovely balancing acidity with a surprisingly spiciness, backed by black cherry fruit.

Look out too for the 2017 Tinhof Sankt Laurent (€23.50). Made from 100% Saint Laurent, this is a delicious mix of red fruit and savoury aromas. Both are organic and vegan with an ABV of 12%.

Solera Wine Merchants With Champagne sales performing well during lockdown, this summer may well see a greater demand for premium Champagne. Solera Wine Merchants have just been appointed Irish distributor for Champagne Jacquart.

This young Champagne House has a modern outlook and an emphasis on Chardonnay in their blends; they are also known for the extended ageing of their Champagne. This premium Champagne house originally founded in 1964 is best known for its Mosaïque range.

Classic Drinks Nothing says summer like Pinot Grigio and Classic Drinks have an organic wine from Sicily on offer this summer. The 2019 Tavern Ello Grecanico Pinot Grigio IGT is currently available with an RRP of €13-14. Made by one of Italy’s largest co-operative wineries they also have an organic red in the range at the same price point, made from Syrah.

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Summer Drinks – Beer & Cider

Cold comforts

Off-trade beer and cider sales are expected to soar this summer as temperatures rise and restrictions loosen.

THE Covid-19 pandemic and the closure of the on-trade for much of 2020-21 has had a huge impact on the volume and value of beer and cider sales, but the off-trade has benefitted and continues to do so, and the summer ahead is expected to be no different, as consumers treat themselves to their favourite tipples for drinking at-home, at barbecues and other outdoor settings, once regulations allow.

The growth in craft beer sales in recent years has been well documented, as Irish consumers continue to embrace new tastes and flavours, and this trend shows no signs of abating any time soon.

Cider sales, meanwhile, traditionally peak during the summer period, with consumers all over the country reaching for a cold glass of apple-fuelled refreshment.

With restrictions starting to ease, consumers right across

the country are looking forward to socialising safely again, with off-trade sales of beers and ciders expected to surge as temperatures rise.

Howling Gale Irish Pale Ale from Eight Degrees Brewing has been wowing consumers since April 2011.

Bohemian Pilsner Lager, a popular choice from Eight Degrees Brewing.

Eight Degrees Brewing Award-winning Irish microbrewery Eight Degrees Brewing was established at the foot of the majestic Galtee mountains by Kiwi Scott and Aussie Cam in 2011. Renowned for innovation and experimentation, the crew at Eight Degrees are passionate about producing exciting and adventurous beers using only natural ingredients. Launching with Howling Gale Irish Pale Ale in April 2011, they have now brewed more than 85 naturally adventurous original beers. The team take inspiration from beer styles around the world, bringing it all back home by using locally grown and malted barley and the finest water from the

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Summer Drinks – Beer & Cider with BrewDog’s pledge to become a carbon negative company, the brand will plant a tree in their forest for every four pack claimed. As part of their ‘Buy one, get one tree’ initiative, The brand has launched a 12,000+ hectare ‘Lost Forest’ where the trees will be planted.

Lost Lager is brewed using surplus bread provided by local businesses, wind power from BrewDog turbines, and the new streamlined process used in the brewing process uses a third less water.

Lost is lager the BrewDog way - craft premium quality that is fuelling an environmental solution. It’s a mind-blowingly delicious lager like it should be, with an extra dose of feel good for the planet.

Lost Lager is is a dryhopped Pilsner made with classic German Saphir hops, giving vibrant citrus and stone fruit notes, and is a carbon negative lager.

Citra Single Hop IPA has proved a real winner for the team at Eight Degrees Brewing.

Galtees to put their own slant on hoppy IPAs and traditional red ales, pilsner lagers and Irish stouts.

Some of their best known beers include the much loved Howling Gale Irish Pale Ale, Sunburnt Irish Red Ale, Bohemian Pilsner Lager, Citra Single Hop IPA and Knockmealdown Irish Stout.

Sunburnt Irish Red Ale, one of the top performers in the Eight Degrees Brewing portfolio.

BrewDog Lost Lager is here. This planet-first German-style Pilsner is a 4.5% lager and one hell of a beer if you make it right. Lost Lager, distributed by Barry & Fitzwilliam, takes back the ground lost over decades by lager monoliths. This is a dryhopped Pilsner made with classic German Saphir hops, giving vibrant citrus and stone fruit notes. Built from Bavarian yeast, it has a crisp clean taste. This is lager like it was, like it should be, like it will be.

This new beer is a carbon negative lager and, in keeping

Paulaner Paulaner is the icon of Weissbier, the number one Weissbier in Germany and one of the world’s favourites. It’s naturally cloudy and shining silkygold in the glass under a really strong head of foam, and beer connoisseurs around the world appreciate the fine note of yeast and the mild but sparkling mix of aromas.

Paulaner Weissbier 0,0% is strictly nonalcoholic, but has a great flavour! Thanks to its balanced combination of Paulaner Weissbier and Paulaner Weissbier 0,0%: the Munich beers are massively popular with Irish beer drinkers.

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Summer Drinks – Beer & Cider fine malt aromas, refreshingly fruity Weissbier flavours and a pleasing hint of sweetness, this non-alcoholic Weissbier 0,0% can be enjoyed on any occasion.

This isotonic thirst-quencher is brewed using the traditional Paulaner Weissbier technique and the alcohol is carefully removed after a thorough maturing process. A complex procedure removes all the alcohol from the beer, without losing any of its refreshing flavour! All these efforts pay off, as you can taste with every drop!

The popularity of Paulaner beer has always extended beyond the city limits of Munich. The special enjoyment of beer, the highly skilled brew-masters and the famous Bavarian way of life are just a few factors contributing to Paulaner’s success, both locally and internationally.

More than two million hectolitres leave the brewery each year, travelling from Munich Langwied to over 70 countries.

“Good, better, Paulaner” is the wellknown slogan of Paulaner Brewery. The name Paulaner has stood for the highest quality and Munich beer culture since 1634. Paulaner beers are distributed by Barry & Fitzwilliam.

of Italy. Now the brand is going a step further with a summer promotion giving shoppers a chance to win one of the most sought after and on-trend items, an Ooni pizza oven.

The pizza oven promotion coincides with Birra Moretti’s new global campaign that celebrates the simple pleasures at the heart of Italian life. The new campaign playfully showcases Italians’ love of the small but important things in life, from family and friends to great food and, of course, great beer. Part of the Heineken Ireland portfolio, Birra Moretti’s mission has always been to get people to enjoy life’s simple pleasures and the promotion will be sure to help make Irish consumers feel part of the authentic stories of Italy, and inspire them to stop and embrace the Italian way of life.

After a testing year, life’s simple pleasures have become more important than ever. Being able to get around the table with friends and family over great food and drinks is something all Irish consumers are looking forward to. This promotion is sure to give people some enjoyment over the summer months and inspiration that good moments are ahead.

Birra Moretti Founded in the Italian city of Udine in 1859, Birra Moretti has long prided itself on giving beer lovers an authentic taste

Orchard Thieves The Orchard Thieves fox came out of his den, just in time for summer.

To complement the roll-out of fresh new packaging in-store, this summer Orchard Thieves is bringing a unique AR experience to Irish consumers through its ‘Scan the Fox’ platform. The Orchard Thieves brand will be inviting consumers across touchpoints to head to ScanTheFox.com and scan any Orchard Thieves fox to win exclusive prizes.

And when they say any fox, they mean it. This innovative platform takes the QR code to the next level. Consumers simply head to ScanTheFox. com and use their phone camera to scan the iconic Orchard Thieves fox on cans, bottles, glasses, packaging, beer mats and merch to unlock prizes.

And to keep things interesting, there’ll be new prizes up for grabs each month, including tickets to Ireland’s hottest festivals and exclusive Orchard Orchard Thieves is rolling out fresh new packaging in-store this Thieves summer summer.

Birra Moretti is giving Irish shoppers a chance to win one of the most sought after and on-trend items, an Ooni pizza oven.

This summer, Orchard Thieves is inviting consumers across touchpoints to head to ScanTheFox.com and scan any Orchard Thieves fox to win exclusive prizes. merch kits. And for consumers who don’t luck out on a prize? They’ll automatically be entered into a draw to become the CEO (Chief Entertainment Officer) of Coppers for an unforgettable night with their mates when it’s safe to do so.

“At Orchard Thieves Cider, we are consistently looking for ways to spark fun with our consumers,” revealed Paula Conlon, Heineken Ireland’s Cider Marketing Manager. “Our iconic fox logo is now more interesting than ever, as we have made him interactive. We have lots of amazing prizes including tickets to festivals, money-can’t-buy experiences and slick merch. We’re so excited to launch this to Irish consumers ahead of summer, who we hope will be keeping a close eye out for our fox!”

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Summer Drinks – Energy Drinks

The energy to succeed New product launches ensure that consumer interest in energy drinks remains high.

NPD is key to creating interest across a wealth of FMCG categories, including energy drinks. Recent years have seen the leading manufacturers in the category introducing lower sugar variants of their most popular brands, but the news doesn’t stop there, with new flavours and innovations fuelling consumer interest and retail sales.

Red Bull Cactus Fruit is set to become the unexpected taste of 2021 as Red Bull unveils its highly anticipated limited edition summer flavour, Red Bull Summer Edition Cactus Fruit.

Inspired by the exotic looking Cactus Fruit, the latest taste sensation joins a line up of legendary summer flavours including Watermelon, Coconut Berry and Tropical. Red Bull Summer Edition Cactus Fruit delivers all the functional benefits of Red Bull Energy Drink, along with an invigorating burst of berry that blooms into exotic fruit and violet flower.

Available for a limited time from May 2021 in 250ml cans, the matte-green packaging will stand out amongst the rainbow of editions in the Red Bull product line. Visit RedBull.ie to learn more.

Red Bull Energy Drink is available in over 170 countries

New Red Bull Summer Edition Cactus Fruit, the highly anticipated limited edition summer flavour from Red Bull.

worldwide and more than 6.7 billion cans of Red Bull were consumed last year. A 250ml can of Red Bull Energy Drink contains 80mg of caffeine, about the same than in a home brewed cup of coffee.

Lucozade Revive Lucozade Revive is a gently sparkling drink that comes in two flavours; Lemon & Lime and Orange & Passionfruit. It is made with natural fruit flavours, and includes vitamins B3, B5, B6 & B12 to help reduce tiredness.

Lucozade Revive launched earlier this year with a campaign aimed at the country’s growing population of home workers. A number of personalities joined Lucozade Revive’s campaign, including Caroline Foran and Jo Linehan from Gaff Interiors, who shared their wealth of knowledge on how to improve people’s working from home game. Lifestyle blogger Louise Cooney brought her fast tips for the perfect home working set-up, and comedian Shane Dan Byrne shared how he stays productive in the home office, while Shannon from Shannon’s Hair Beauty Brows Nails and Dog Grooming on the Lower Kimmage Road shared her tips both as Lucozade Revive is a gently sparkling drink a mother and that comes in two flavours; Lemon & Lime entrepreneur. and Orange & Passionfruit.

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Summer Drinks – Hard Seltzers

No hard sell The hard seltzer phenomenon continues to take the alcoholic drinks market by storm and this summer looks to be the biggest yet for this new drinks category.

WHAT is a hard seltzer and why is it suddenly the drinks category on everybody’s lips? Well, a hard seltzer is basically a ready-to-drink seltzer (carbonated water), with alcohol, and usually with some kind of fruit flavouring and it is enjoying growth that can only be described as meteoric over the last year or so. In fact, in the USA, sales of hard seltzer have outstripped vodka in volume terms, particularly with millennials, although the category is proving popular across genders and age profiles, which makes it really one to watch. The last year has seen a host of hard seltzer brands launch in Ireland, and this summer should see the category really take off, as consumers here embrace the sparkling sensation.

Three Fold Hard Seltzer Molson Coors Beverage Company is introducing a new hard seltzer to Ireland, as the market for the beverage that has taken the United States by storm continues to grow abroad. Hitting

shelves in May, Three Fold Hard Seltzer is light in flavour, bringing together three simple ingredients, Sparkling Spring Water, Natural Alcohol and a touch of Real Fruit. It comes in three fruity varieties: Red Berries, Tropical and Citrus. Each 330ml can contains 4% alcohol by volume and 93 calories. The beverages are naturally vegan and gluten-free. Three Fold comes in single can 330ml format, as well as a variety six-pack.

“Three Fold has been especially crafted for the legalage Generation Z audience, with flavour combinations that we know consumers will love,” says Jim Shearer, Category, Insight and Innovation Director for Molson Coors Europe.

“Creating a hard seltzer of our own with mainstream appeal felt like a natural next step, given the momentum in this space and the inroads we have already made this year into the ready-to-drink category.”

Hard seltzer has proven to be a phenomenon in the United States, with continued triple-digit growth upending the beer industry in a few short years.

The Irish market, although in its infancy is already showing signs of strong growth in this area and that trend looks to continue this year. Three Fold will launch in May and will be readily available in off-licences and retail stores across the summer months.

Pure Piraña comes in three refreshing flavours, Lemon Lime, Red Berries and Grapefruit, in a sleek 33cl can, with a disruptive and impactful TTL marketing plan to support the launch.

Three Fold Hard Seltzer is light in flavour, bringing together three simple ingredients, Sparkling Spring Water, Natural Alcohol and a touch of Real Fruit, in three fruity varieties: Red Berries, Tropical and Citrus.

Pure Piraña Pure Piraña, Heineken’s global hard seltzer brand, is getting ready to expand into Europe. Following the launch in Mexico and New Zealand last year, Pure Piraña is poised to dive into the European summer to meet consumer demand across the region, launching in Ireland, the UK, Austria, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

Pure Piraña is alcohol re-imagined.

‘Pure’ stands for the beautiful simplicity of hard seltzer, crafted with carbonated purified water and a dash of natural flavourings, together with 4.5% alcohol.

Just like its namesake, Pure Piraña is a social animal with a zest for life, which makes it perfect for a modern generation of consumers who swim against the current in their endeavour for change.

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Summer Drinks – Hard Seltzers “Following the launch of Pure Piraña in New Zealand and Mexico with promising results last year, we are excited to be introducing the brand to Ireland,” said Ruth Hankin, Category & Shopper Marketing Controller at Heineken Ireland. “Pure Piraña is a refreshing and tasteful sparkling water with alcohol, at only 92 calories. I’m proud that we are now sharing this taste experience and the fun of Pure Piraña to Irish consumers. We have a disruptive and impactful TTL marketing plan to support the launch.”

The fruity-but-not-sweet alcoholic alternative will be available in three refreshing flavours, Lemon Lime, Red Berries and Grapefruit, in a sleek 33cl can. Pure Piraña is aimed at Millennial and Gen Z consumers who are increasingly conscious of their consumption habits and lifestyle choices.

White Claw Hard Seltzer Mark Anthony Brands International has unveiled a heavyweight campaign for its White Claw Hard Seltzer, developed in Ireland and distributed here by Barry & Fitzwilliam. Let’s White Claw launched on April 1, 2021, in the US, with further rollouts across the year to its growing number of global markets. Let’s White Claw champions creators across the globe to create shareable content, capturing unscripted, in-the-moment occasions, to be flighted in a multi-channel, multi-platform global campaign.

White Claw Hard Seltzer is being supported with a heavyweight campaign, Let’s White Claw, inspired by the brand’s phenomenal engagement with its passionate consumers.

White Claw’s ambitious global expansion plan is underpinned by a leading 60% market share in the US and achieving the category leadership position in Canada, Ireland, Belgium, The Netherlands and the UK, following its launch in 2020. In Australia the brand sold one million cans in its first week of launch.

White Claw Hard Seltzer is made with sparkling water, triple distilled spirit and a hint of natural fruit flavour to deliver a wave of pure refreshment across three refreshing flavours:

Raspberry, Black Cherry and Natural Lime. White Claw Hard Seltzer flavours are available in 330ml sleek cans with an RRP of €3.50.

White Claw has become a cultural phenomenon, with passionate consumers in their millions championing the brand online. Through their social feeds, home-made merchandise, videos, hashtags and memes, fans have generated over four billion impressions, which served as inspiration for the Let’s White Claw campaign.

“Let’s White Claw is the first in a series of milestones for White Claw,” said, Davin Nugent, CEO of Mark Anthony Brands International. “Since its launch in 2016, White Claw has been embraced by our consumers at a level we never imagined. This campaign is designed for them. White Claw fans are some of the most engaged of any brand in the world, creating an entire sub-culture around the product. Having seen the phenomenal engagement globally with the White Claw brand, we’re excited to not only launch our campaign in new markets, but also our brand and our products, in what is set to be our biggest year yet.”

Each 330ml can contains 95 calories, 4.5% ABV and 2g carbs. For more information, visit www.whiteclaw.com.

Seven Summits Bulmers Ireland recently launched Seven Summits, which they described as Ireland’s first premium, naturally produced hard seltzer. Initially available in three flavours, Seven Summits is naturally brewed, providing a unique difference to other hard seltzers available today.

Produced in association with the Whitewater Brewing Company, one of Ireland’s leading craft breweries, Seven Summits draws it inspiration and its pure water, from the breath-taking seven summits of the Mourne Mountains.

Seven Summits is naturally brewed, not blended like many hard seltzers. Seven Summits is produced in small batches using hand crafted alcohol with natural flavourings and sparkle added through a natural brewing process.

Seven Summits was introduced in three flavours: Wild Berry, Lemon and Mango, and the launch is being supported by a significant marketing campaign. Seven Summits is 4.5% ABV. It is created using natural flavours, is low carb and low calorie, gluten free and vegan friendly.

“The low carb alcohol segment is evolving fast and it’s exciting for Bulmers Ireland to now have a premium offering within this space,” said Karl Donnelly, Marketing Director, Bulmers Ireland, at the launch. “Seven Summits is a naturally crafted hard seltzer, offering a distinct and refreshing taste. We are excited to launch a product in the fastest growing beverage category globally and one we believe will capture the imagination Seven Summits, from Bulmers Ireland, is of Irish created using natural flavours, is low carb and consumers low calorie, gluten free and vegan friendly. in 2021.”

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Summer Drinks – Spirits

A cocktail of options Irish consumers have embraced the home cocktail revolution, as they seek to recreate the pub experience at home.

LIKE other sectors of the Irish drinks trade, the spirits category suffered in 2020 as the on-trade remained closed for much of the year. Also in common with other categories, however, consumers moved to the off-trade for their spirits shopping, as they embraced making their favourite long drinks and cocktails at home.

According to Richard Molloy, MD of Molloys Liquor Stores, winners of the NOffLA Off-Licence of the Year 2021 Award for their Francis Street store, this is a trend that was happening pre-Covid but was accelerated by the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, as more consumers than ever sought to recreate the pub experience, stocking up on premium spirits and the associated mixers and mixing paraphernalia to make cocktails in the comfort of their homes.

The growth of Irish whiskey and gin was the big story pre-Covid and these continue to prove popular in the offtrade, as consumers embrace these exciting brands, many of them from new indigenous distilleries.

A new report from Drinks Ireland - Spirits, meanwhile, found that Irish spirits producers lead the way in the EU in providing consumers with energy information on labels, according to the first implementation progress report for the industry wide Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU commits European spirits companies to print energy information on the labels of products and provide online ingredients listings, including raw materials used. It stated that one quarter of spirits bottles sold must display energy information by the end of 2020, rising to half by the end of 2021 and two thirds by the end of 2022. Ireland is the country with the highest level of energy on-pack labels, significantly exceeding the 25% threshold, reaching up to 38% coverage.

Vincent McGovern, Head of Drinks Ireland - Spirits, said: “Ireland’s spirits

industry is committed to providing consumers with clear and concise information, so they can make informed decisions about their purchases.

It’s fantastic to see that the industry here has gone above and beyond the commitments set out in this voluntary MoU and are committed to the continued speedy rollout in the coming years.

The MoU, which is recognised by the European Commission, will ensure consumers across the EU are provided with information in an effective and harmonised manner, helping governments and regulators meet their policy goals, and providing a long-term framework for labelling.”

Tia Maria Tia Maria, distributed by Barry & Fitzwilliam, is the world’s most authentic coffee liqueur, and emanates a strong aroma of coffee on the nose and expands with light notes of chocolate and pipe tobacco. Sweet and soft at first, Tia Maria evolves with harmony to cleanse the palate thanks to the fresh acidity found in 100% Arabica Tia Maria: the world’s most authentic coffee liqueur and a key ingredient in the Espresso Martini cocktail.

coffee beans. Deep flavours of coffee and chocolate come forward and are balanced by notes of cacao, dried fruit, and vanilla. Tia Maria is 26.5% ABV. As we know, at home cocktails are at an all-time high, consumers are sticking to their favourites but also exploring new alternatives. The classic cocktails championed by Tia Maria are simple to make and made with ingredients commonly found at home. Examples include the Tia ‘Espresso Martini’, one of the top trending cocktails in the world, and the Tia ‘Flat White Russian’, one of the top five most searched cocktails online. See TiaMaria.com for more cocktail inspiration.

Jägermeister Jägermeister, distributed by Barry & Fitzwilliam, is made with the highestgrade herbs, blossoms, roots and fruits from around the globe, when 56 herbs & spices are crafted into four distinct macerates and combined together.

Jägermeister is working towards ensuring the perfect serve globally, which sits at a cool -18°C. The herbal liqueur can be enjoyed as an ice-cold shot or it can take your customers’ taste buds on an unforgettable journey by trying a Berlin Mule cocktail, a combination of Jägermeister, ginger beer, lime and cucumber over ice.

Check out Jägermeister.com for more inspirational cocktail solutions.

The Jägermeister Coolpack is an additional type of packaging for Jägermeister. As Jägermeister is best served ice-cold at -18°C, this innovative design acts like a freezer pack. The new packaging doesn’t change what’s inside:

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Summer Drinks – Spirits we still see Jägermeister as an ice-cold shot. This latest design innovation is stackable, compact, and portable. Never lose your cool, with Jägermeister Coolpack.

Disaronno Distributed by Barry & Fitzwilliam, Disaronno is an Amaretto made in Saronno, Italy. The original ‘secret formula’ is unchanged since 1525. Disaronno is amber in colour with an infusion of apricot kernel oil with absolute alcohol, burnt sugar and the pure essence of 17 selected herbs and fruits. Disaronno is popularly served on the rocks and enjoys true style status as the world’s favourite Italian liqueur.

With at home cocktail consumption having somewhat of a renaissance, Disaronno is a key ingredient in a number of creations, including the Disaronno Fizz, an impossibly fresh, zesty aperitif that marries the zing of lemon with the saccharine qualities of sweet almond; and the Disaronno Sour, in which the distinctive notes of Disaronno blend with the scent of freshly-squeezed Lemons.

and invites you to live ‘la dolce vita’ as a true Italian.

Distilled with some of the finest botanicals, including handpicked juniper, Italian lemons, pink grapefruits, oranges and blended with Italian water, Malfy is a truly unique gin, and is part of the Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard family.

Malfy Gins are made at the Torino Distillati distillery in the Piedmont region of North West Italy and bottled at 41% ABV. The full range includes four variants: Malfy Gin con Limone, Malfy Gin Rosa, Malfy Gin con Arancia, and Malfy Gin Originale Check out www.MalfyGin.com for more information and some drinks inspiration.

Monkey 47 Hailing from Germany’s Black Forest, Monkey 47 is an exotic gin from Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard.

The 47 refers to the number of botanicals used, which include such unlikely fruit ingredients as lingonberries, blackberries, and honey pomelo, and the fact it’s bottled at 47% ABV. These are combined with a host of recognisable gin botanicals such as chamomile, sage, angelica, coriander, and a whole array of others. Whether with tonic, as a sling, martini, or gimlet, the unique and complex taste of Monkey 47 is an ideal basis for both classic and more eccentric cocktails: www.monkey47.com.

Monkey 47, an exotic gin from Germany’s Black Forest.

The Disaronno Fizz, an impossibly fresh, zesty aperitif that marries the zing of lemon with the saccharine qualities of sweet almond.

The latest addition to the Disaronno Family is Disaronno Velvet. Disaronno Velvet is a refreshingly smooth texture, a cream liqueur best enjoyed over ice for a unique tasting experience.

Velvet has a lower ABV than the classic Disaronno at 17%, making it an ideal drink to be enjoyed as a treat at home. For more cocktail ideas check out Disaronno.com.

Malfy Nowhere encapsulates the spirit of Italy quite like the Amalfi Coast. In this stylish, sun-soaked enclave, life moves at a different pace… Inspired by this Amalfi lifestyle, Malfy Gin embodies its essence Distilled with some of the finest botanicals, including handpicked juniper, Italian lemons, pink grapefruits, oranges and blended with Italian water, Malfy is a truly unique gin.

Havana Club 7 Años Also part of the Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard portfolio, Havana Club 7 Años was described as “the very essence of Cuban rum” by its creator, the late great Don José Navarro. Havana Club 7 Años perfectly demonstrates the versatility of high-quality Cuban rum, as well as the deep commitment and expertise of the rum masters to a complex ageing process.

Crafted for sipping, to be enjoyed on the rocks and ideal for rich cocktails, Havana Club 7 Años is highly versatile. This dark rum, matured in ex-Bourbon barrels, showcases the rich natural flavours of Cuba.

The liquid unveils the tastes of the Cuban terroir: aromatic tobacco, sweet tropical fruits, molasses, spices, and vanilla from the continuous ageing process, enhanced by the slow release of aromas. See www. havana-club.com for more information.

Havana Club 7 Años perfectly demonstrates the versatility of highquality Cuban rum.

Absolut Vodka Absolut is the world’s leading premium and craft vodka, according to Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard. Every single drop comes from one source, Ahus in Southern Sweden. All products in the Absolut vodka family are made with 100% natural ingredients and contain no added sugar.

Absolut Original is rich, full-bodied and complex, yet smooth and mellow. It has a distinct character of grain, followed by a hint of dried fruit.

Absolut has pioneered the flavoured vodka category for decades and has the most diverse range of flavours on the

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Summer Drinks – Spirits Ireland’s oldest ever whiskey collection.

Midleton Very Rare, renowned as the pinnacle of Irish Whiskey, is produced in Midleton Distillery, Co. Cork, and the Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection is a collection of six releases.

There will be one release annually from 2020 until 2025, ranging in age from 45 to 50 years old, all from the legendary Old Midleton Distillery which operated from 1825-1975.

Chapter Two is an exceptional 46-year-old single pot still Irish whiskey distilled in 1973 in the signature style of Old Midleton and represents the next chapter in a period of reawakening from the silence of the fabled distillery.

Created and matured under the guardianship of four celebrated Master Distillers, Midleton Very

Galvin, using wood up to 200 years old from reclaimed oak whiskey vats in addition to ancient Elm and rare Japanese Tamo.

Jameson Crested Jameson Crested Finished in Devil’s Ladder Belgian Tripel Barrels is the next step in an exciting collaboration between Irish Distillers and its Co. Cork neighbour, Eight Degrees.

Making the most of their close relationship, in 2020 Eight Degrees finished their Belgian Tripel craft beer in Jameson sherry casks. Named Devil’s Ladder after the best-known hiking route up Ireland’s tallest peak, the beer truly takes taste to new heights.

Always seeking an opportunity to innovate, Jameson returned the compliment by selecting a special whiskey to mature in the beer-soaked barrels. After

Absolut Original and Absolut Vanilia, two of the popular products in the Absolut vodka family.

market. Absolut Vanilia is rich, robust, complex and has a distinct character of vanilla, notes of butterscotch and hints of dark chocolate.

Midleton Very Rare May 30, 2021, sees the launch of Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection Chapter Two, the second release in

Jameson Crested Finished in Devil’s Ladder Belgian Tripel Barrels, an exciting collaboration between Irish Distillers and Eight Degrees Brewing.

There will be just 70 bottles of Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection Chapter Two, the second release in Ireland’s oldest ever whiskey collection.

Rare Silent Distillery Collection Chapter Two is a true connoisseur’s dream, with just 70 bottles of this extraordinarily rare Irish whiskey produced.

Staying true to its proud Irish heritage and luxury craftsmanship, Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection Chapter Two has been decanted into handblown and etched crystal decanter bottles, produced by Ireland’s Waterford Crystal, with each of the bottles individually numbered 1-70. The bottle comes displayed in a bespoke wooden cabinet handcrafted

by Irish designer, John

four months of maturation, the result is a stunning evolution of Jameson Crested, with abundant spices, floral hops and sweetness, while the oak and malt work in tandem to add a toasted cereal character.

“It’s no secret that the flavours found in beer and whiskey complement each other,” explains Irish Distillers’ Blender Dave McCabe. “We are delighted that in recent years our relationship and indeed proximity to Eight Degrees Brewing here in Cork has created a canvas for collaboration and experimentation in this space, both as part of the Jameson Caskmates Series and beyond.

“The Belgian Tripel beer finish brings a balanced contribution to Jameson Crested, accentuating elements such as sweetness in the form of vanilla and brown sugar, as well as a roasted malt character and elevated clove notes,” he added.

A limited-edition release of fewer than 6,000 bottles, Jameson Crested Finished in Devil’s Ladder Belgian Tripel Barrels is priced at €50 (70cl).

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NOffLA Awards

NOffLA Off-Licence of the Year award winners announced Molloys Liquor Store in Dublin’s Francis Street was named National Off-Licence of the Year at the 25th edition of the NOffLA industry Awards, which also saw 12 other category winners revealed.

MOLLOYS Liquor Store in Francis Street, Dublin, was named National Off-Licence of the Year at the National Off-Licence Association (NOffLA) Off-Licence of the Year Awards 2021. The Awards, which are now in their twenty-fifth year, are usually held at the Honorable Society of King’s Inns, but were hosted online this year in accordance with Covid-19 restrictions.

“It means a lot to us,” reveals Richard Molloy, Managing Director, Molloys Liquor Stores, who own seven off-licences around the capital. “We are a third generation family business, so we have been around for a while, and we had never won it in our history, so we are all delighted to be named National Off-Licence of the Year. It makes all the hard work worthwhile, especially for the team in the Francis Street shop. This has been a difficult year, with the Covid pandemic, but we didn’t close our doors for even one day, and it’s great to win this award after such a hard year in difficult circumstances.”

Passionate and knowledgeable staff The Francis Street team have been proudly sharing news of their award win through window signage and social media, but they won’t rest on their laurels just yet, as Richard explains: “We are always trying to improve our shops and we realise now that the eyes of the industry will be on us and the Francis Street shop in particular, so we will have to keep improving the shop, in terms of customer service, range and the look and feel of the shop.”

Molloys work extremely hard on ensuring their staff are well-trained, and insist on providing staff access to continual training, including the latest WSET wine courses.

Richard places the credit for the win squarely in the hands of the extremely well-trained, knowledgeable and passionate staff at the Francis Street shop: “You can make your shop look modern and fancy but at the end of the day, it is the staff that set the shop apart from other stores. The staff in Francis Street are really passionate about the job; for example, when it comes to craft beer, it’s not just about work but it’s also what the staff are interested in in their spare time as well. You can’t fake that enthusiasm, and customers respond to that. A friendly smile is so important when customers walk in, and the staff in Francis Street are so friendly, so approachable and so knowledgeable, that it makes for a fantastic atmosphere in the shop.”

Covid and the off-trade Covid has wrought havoc across all aspects of Irish society and business, but the off-trade has probably been the exception to the rule, as the continued closure of pubs and nightclubs meant that more consumers turned to off-licences since the start of the pandemic.

Staff at Molloys Liquor Store, Francis Street, Dublin, celebrate being named NOffLA Off-Licence of the Year 2021.

“It’s been a good year for the off-licence industry,” Richard admits, “but that comes after many tough years. We have always tried through our off-licences to have the range that allows customers to recreate the pub or bar experience at home, offering cocktail mixers, cocktail shakers, premium spirits and a wide range of brands that people might see in bars, as well as a comprehensive range of craft beers. That trend was happening for years but Covid accelerated all that because the pubs and bars were closed, so people who maybe had never thought about making cocktails at home, all of a sudden wanted to do just that. We have seen huge growth in those areas, and because we are an off-licence group who had been studying these trends for a long time, we were able to offer shoppers what they want. I think where independent off-licences like ours succeed is that supermarkets have more of a general range, that isn’t as broad and doesn’t reach the specialist areas of an independent off-licence. I also think that consumers were trying treat themselves during difficult times, to trade up and buy that bottle of wine that was €5 or €10 more than usual and when you are doing that you want advice, you want to be guided, and that is where independent off-licences can shine.”

The Molloy Group also owns some pubs, so while that side of the business was closed, their off-licences performed well: “We had a very tough year on the pub side but luckily we had the off-licences to keep us going, so I think diversification is one of the big lessons from Covid.”

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NOffLA Awards

The Awards, O’Donovan noted, showcase the expertise and high standards of service that are demonstrated by members throughout the year.

As well as Molloys, other winners included O’Donovan’s Off-Licence Group, who were named Responsible Retailer of the Year 2021, and 64 Wine, who won the Food Retailer Off-Licence of the Year 2021 award.

Full list of award winners All 37 finalists were awarded certificates of either Merit or Excellence and a Customer Service Award based on their performance. The full list of winners included: The Champagne Ayala Best First Time Entrant 2021: Carry Out Tramore, Co. Waterford Gary O’Donovan, NOffLA Chairman.

Showcasing excellence The NOffLA Off-Licence of the Year Awards recognise and showcase excellence in the independent off-licence sector, which represents 315 specialist businesses throughout the country. The Awards highlight those retailers that offer exceptional service to customers and demonstrate excellence in retail standards.

“Seeing the commitment of our members to their businesses and customers has made us incredibly proud of the independent off-licence sector, in particular over the last year,” revealed NOffLA Chairman, Gary O’Donovan.

“Their levels of professionalism are to be commended and this is what the NOffLA Awards strive to recognise.”

The Peroni Nastro Food Retailer OffLicence of the Year 2021: 64 Wine, Glasthule, Co. Dublin The El Coto Customer Service Award of the Year 2021: O’Donovan’s Off-Licence, Riversdale Shopping Centre, Midleton, Co. Cork The Redbreast Spirit Specialist of the Year 2021: Jus de Vine, Portmarnock, Co. Dublin

Anthony Robineau, 64 Wine, Peroni Nastro Food Retailer Off-Licence of the Year 2021 The Hennessy Munster Off-Licence of the Year 2021: Carry Out The Reeks, Killarney, Co. Kerry

The Guinness Beer Specialist of the Year 2021: Galvin’s Carry Out, Carrigaline, Co. Cork

The Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin Connacht/Ulster Off-Licence of the Year 2021: Dicey’s Off-Licence, Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal

The Dona Paula Wine Specialist of the Year 2021: McHugh’s Off-Licence Malahide Road, Artane, Dublin 5

The Alpha Zeta Leinster Off-Licence of the Year 2021: Mary B’s, Arklow, Co. Wicklow The Bombay Sapphire Dublin OffLicence of the Year 2021: Blackrock Cellar, Blackrock, Co. Dublin The NOffLA RTC Online Trainee of the Year 2021: Stephen Nugent, Carry Out Kilcullen, Co. Kildare The NOffLA Responsible Retailer of the Year 2021: O’Donovan’s Off-Licence Group The NOffLA National Off-Licence of the Year 2021: Molloys Liquor Store, Francis Street, The Liberties, Dublin 8

Blackrock Cellar, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Bombay Sapphire Dublin Off-Licence of the Year 2021

Judging for the Awards involves an examination of over 100 aspects of each entrant’s business and the process was altered this year to align with Government Covid-19 guidelines. Final awards were allocated following this process.

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Employment Law

WRC survives constitutional challenge The Workplace Relations Commission has survived a constitutional challenge in the Supreme Court, but there were two aspects of its processes found to require immediate change, with implications for employers and employees going forward, write Barry Reynolds and Jenny Wakely, specialists in employment law with DAC Beachcroft.

THE procedures for hearing employment related disputes are undergoing change.

Our highest Court, the Supreme Court, has considered the constitutionality of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and as a consequence, there are both immediate and longer term changes in how employment rights hearings are run by the WRC. In the short term, there are also likely to be delays as these changes are implemented and some of the necessary measures also require legislation which may take some time to introduce. In summary, the Court upheld the WRC system as being compatible with the Irish Constitution for the most part, but it found that a number of changes are necessary, including in order to ensure that the constitutional guarantee of fairness is observed.

These changes have important implications for both employers and employees and, in some cases, will impact upon the strategy adopted in defending and/or resolving such claims.

Background Many readers will recall the claims resolution landscape before the establishment of the WRC in 2015. It was complicated. It involved too many fora.

Often a single claimant employee would have to attend various different hearings to canvass different aspects of his or her complaints. One forum may have been

speedier or less formal than another.

The WRC was established in 2015 with the passing of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 (the 2015 Act). It brought together the roles and functions previously performed by the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA), the Equality Tribunal, the Labour Relations Commission, Rights Commissioners Service, and the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

The 2015 Act was intended, among other things, to streamline the process for determining employment related claims.

It managed to do this to a great extent by simplifying the processes and reducing the number of adjudicating bodies and routes of appeal.

Claims are now heard by adjudication officers in the WRC, with only one avenue of appeal to the Labour Court. There is a limited route of appeal to the High Court, but this is on a point of law only and in practice this has been very much the exception.

Tomasz Zalewski’s challenge and the Supreme Court decision A simplified, cost effective and relatively informal system in determining employment related disputes has much to recommend it. That said, the 2015 Act from the outset was the subject of much commentary on how it could lead to unfair procedures. This, of course, would be a major issue for businesses and

employees alike. It is imperative that the user experience is one of a system which guarantees both sides a fair hearing. This was not the case for Tomasz Zalewski, a retail worker as it happens, who brought a claim for unfair dismissal and for unpaid wages against his former employer, a discount store.

His case came before the WRC in October 2016. It was not conducted fairly.

The adjudication officer received written submissions and certain documentation from the parties, but the hearing did not conclude on that date. In fact, the hearing only lasted a few minutes and was then adjourned to December 13, 2016. Both parties attended the WRC on that date, but were informed that a decision had already been issued. The parties received a decision dated December 16, 2016, which appeared to indicate that a full hearing had taken place. It dismissed Tomasz Zalewski’s claims.

Tomasz Zalewski brought a legal challenge to the Courts premised on various aspects of the 2015 Act and the WRC’s procedures being unfair and unconstitutional, including that (paraphrasing): • there is no requirement for adjudication officers to be legally qualified; • there is no express right to crossexamine witnesses; • there is no mechanism for an

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Employment Law adjudication officer to require evidence to be given under oath or affirmation and there is no criminal sanction for an individual who provides false evidence; • hearings are held in private, which it was contended is inconsistent with the general requirement that justice should be conducted in public.

This legal challenge culminated in a hearing before the Supreme Court, Zalewski v. Adjudication Officer and WRC, Ireland and the Attorney General (2021, IESC 24). Tomasz Zalewski’s challenge in large part hinged on whether or not the 2015 Act was incompatible with the Irish Constitution insofar as it provided for the WRC administering justice. Justice can only be administered by the Courts under the Constitution. The Supreme Court unanimously found that the WRC does indeed administer justice but within limited bounds, which is permitted by the Constitution.

Following detailed analysis, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the WRC system overall. However, two aspects of its processes were found to require immediate change: 1. WRC hearings to be held in public The 2015 Act requires proceedings before an adjudication officer to be conducted in private. The Supreme Court has removed this requirement so that WRC hearings may, but not necessarily must, be heard in public.

2. The absence of provision for requiring evidence to be given under oath There is no provision in the 2015 Act enabling an adjudication officer to require evidence under oath or affirmation nor for sanctions where an individual gives false evidence. The Supreme Court found that this was also contrary to our Constitution. It cannot be changed, however, without amending legislation.

The Supreme Court also made various additional comments on the WRC’s procedures and the above two points are merely a summary of the principal changes which must now be implemented. It may be that legislators will consider making additional changes to the 2015 Act. On April 15, 2021, it was announced by the Minister for Business, Employment and Retail that his department was drafting emergency legislation. It is hoped that appropriate legislation will be introduced as soon as possible (but has not yet at the time of writing).

The current position So what does this mean for businesses with claims currently pending before the WRC? On April 16, 2021, the WRC published a notice regarding changes to its procedures when adjudicating on employment or equality rights (and not applicable to industrial relations complaints).

Firstly, all such WRC hearings will now be heard in public and decisions will for the most part no longer be anonymised. This will apply even if the hearing takes place remotely. All hearings are at present being held remotely.

Secondly, where there is a “serious and direct” conflict of evidence between the parties, adjudication officers will adjourn the hearing until the 2015 Act has been amended. This is for the purpose of empowering the WRC to administer oaths or affirmations. This in practice means that some hearings will be adjourned and others only partially heard, with the remainder being postponed until later in the year. This can, of course, lead to uncertainty and delays.

On a practical note, there are cases which will clearly warrant adjournment on the basis that the facts are seriously contested.

There are, in contrast, cases that can proceed because the evidence is not in dispute. There is an additional category of cases under the

The Department of Business, Employment and Retail is drafting emergency legislation following the Supreme Court findings.

Redundancy Payments Acts which can proceed regardless. This legislation makes provision for evidence to be provided under oath.

Therefore, claims where former staff are claiming an entitlement to a statutory redundancy payment or particular level of payment will proceed and those hearings may even now be expedited.

Implications for employers The procedural changes will have an impact on employers and their approach to defending claims before the WRC. One such impact is the move away from private hearings. This could incentivise many businesses to explore options to resolve complaints in appropriate cases. Mediation is often a possibility. Delays in getting to the hearing of complaints are inevitable in the short term as we await legislation. Employers should consider their strategy on each case and should seek to ascertain if delays could potentially increase levels of exposure in any particular claim.

It is clear that the WRC is here to stay. It must also be said that in the course of its judgment, the Supreme Court commented on some of the advantages of the WRC system, including how it provides the parties with a cheap and relatively informal process for dispute resolution.

If you require any assistance in relation to any of the above, please contact Barry Reynolds or Jenny Wakely.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

FOR specific assistance and advice in respect of any of these or other employment law issues, please contact Barry Reynolds (breynolds@dacbeachcroft.com) or Jenny Wakely (jwakely@dacbeachcroft.com) of DAC Beachcroft (https:// www.dacbeachcroft.com/en/gb/locations/dublin/) or one of their other specialist employment law solicitors.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not comprise legal or professional advice. You should not rely on any of the material in this article without seeking appropriate legal advice.

Twitter: @ dacbeachcroft LinkedIn: DAC Beachcroft Dublin

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What’s New PRESTIGE FOODS LAUNCH PLANTBASED DESSERTS

ALL & More Plant Based Foods are revolutionising the Irish chilled dessert market, with their new range of desserts, developed by chefs and made with 100% plant-based ingredients. Developed by John O’Connor and his team in Listowel, Co. Kerry, this collection of heavenly desserts is carefully crafted from the finest ingredients, capturing the very best that nature has to offer. The range includes: Raspberry and Clementine, Sicilian Lemon, Coconut and Lime, Belgian Chocolate. “We wanted to create something really special” explains John O’Connor. “The plant world produces a vast, naturally occurring palette of flavours, textures and colour that bring all sorts of recipes to life.

When we were developing the All & More dessert range, we aimed to capture that spark of nature and bring a rich, uncompromising touch of luxury to your table.” All & More is now available in store and online at SuperValu and Dunnes Stores nationwide.

YORKIE ORANGE HITTING SHELVES

NATIONWIDE YORKIE fans in Ireland will soon have a deliciously zesty way to enjoy their favourite treat, with the arrival of Yorkie Orange. The orange-flavoured milk chocolate is made with cocoa sustainably sourced under the Nestlé Cocoa Plan. The 46g Limited Edition Yorkie Orange bar and the 72g Yorkie Orange Duo bar will be available in a wide range of supermarkets, wholesale and convenience stores in the coming weeks. “Yorkie has been a consumer favourite for 45 years, and we’re very excited to introduce a brand new twist on this chocolate classic,” said Maria McKenna, Confectionery Marketing Manager for Nestlé Ireland. “Delicious chunks of our signature Yorkie creamy milk chocolate are enlivened with irresistible orange to create a moreish taste sensation that we hope will become a firm favourite.”

AMBER LEAF: ALWAYS AHEAD OF THE TREND DO you remember the first time you heard your favourite band play? Or discovered a new restaurant, before everyone else? That’s how it feels to be ahead of the trend. Amber Leaf has always been a trend-setter. From innovation in pack format to limited edition designs, this brand doesn’t rest on its number one status, with over 70% share of the Roll-Your-Own (RYO) segment (Source: Nielsen extended Scantrack, RYO SOM 70.7% latest 4 weeks data to February 28, 2021). Both Amber Leaf Original and Blonde are available in two formats: 30g Pouch with papers & 30g Box with papers and filters.

KEEP COOL WITH THE LATEST FRANK AND HONEST RANGE FRANK and Honest have introduced their new product range, Cold Brew and Nitro Coffee cans available in three ready-todrink delicious flavours: Black Cold Brew, Nitro Mocha, Nitro Oat Latte. The Cold Brew is made from Colombian arabica coffee, selected and roasted for its natural chocolate and caramel notes. The cold brewing process replaces pressure and heat with time to create a smooth refreshing and natural coffee drink. The Nitro Mocha is crafted from Colombian arabica coffee, and the Nitro Oat Latte uses the house blend arabica coffee; both are roasted and immersed in a bath of cold water for 20 hours to slowly extract the clean and smooth coffee flavours. All are best enjoyed chilled.

O’DONNELLS LAUNCH LIMITED EDITION FLAVOUR O’DONNELLS have created a new limited edition Black Pudding flavour, inspired by this Irish foodie staple. The distinctive subtly spicy taste of black pudding has been enjoyed by generations of Irish people, becoming even more popular in recent years.

“We couldn’t think of a more authentically Irish taste than black pudding and worked long and hard, ensuring we captured the true taste of this delicacy in our premium crisps,” noted Ed and Kate O’Donnell, the brother and sister duo behind the brand.

O’Donnells Black Pudding is exclusively available in 125g share bags for a limited time.

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Forecourt Focus: News

Krispy Kreme expands into Tesco and Circle K KRISPY Kreme is expanding its brand footprint across Ireland, with the brand’s fresh doughnuts now available for the first time in a forecourt store, in the shape of Circle K’s Kill North store on the N7. This is part of a wider expansion plan for the iconic American brand here, with more Circle K outlets expected to stock the brand in the coming months.

The first phase of Krispy Kreme’s introduction to retail stores includes 20 locations, including Tesco Extra stores, along with Circle K Kill North. All Krispy Kreme doughnuts are made in the flagship Blanchardstown store and delivered directly to each store every day, and customers can choose from firm favourites including Original Glazed, Chocolate Dreamcake, Lotus Biscoff and Nutty Chocolatta.

Customers can choose their own from the delicious range of single doughnuts along with Bites and Minis from Krispy Kreme’s state-of-the-art digital display cabinets. The cabinets (which were rolled out in the UK last year) include digital screens with the brand’s Made in Ireland tagline and can

include bespoke messaging throughout the year. Motion-activated digital shelf edge labels offer product information, including full ingredient specifications, which allow customers to check for allergens.

“We are really excited to be expanding our presence in Ireland through select Tesco and Circle K stores and hope to build on the incredible love for the brand that we have seen from our Irish customers to date,” said Declan Foley, Krispy Kreme Country Manager for Ireland. “The investment required in these cabinets represents a significant capital expenditure for our business and helps deliver a magical brand experience.”

Mary McDonald, Senior Category Manager for Food Development at Circle K Ireland, added: “We’re delighted to be the first forecourt retailer in Ireland to partner with Krispy Kreme. At Circle K, we strive to make our customers’ lives easier and now, motorists can refuel at our Kill North facility in more ways than one. We look forward to sharing details of more stores that will be making

Krispy Kreme is underlining its commitment to the Irish market, through expansion of its brand footprint across the country in 2021.

Krispy Kreme’s delicious doughnuts available to customers soon.”

Kilkenny forecourt sells €12.7m winning Lotto ticket A POPULAR service station in Kilkenny City sold the winning ticket for the April 14 Lotto jackpot, where one lucky player won €12,740,043. The winning Normal Play ticket was sold on the day of the draw at the Circle K service station, which is situated on the Waterford Road on the outskirts of Kilkenny City.

“I’d like to congratulate our customer who has won this week’s €12.7m Lotto jackpot,” said Paul Dixon, Senior Director of Retail Sales and Operations at Circle K Ireland. “As the biggest Lotto jackpot win in four years, it is a momentous occasion for us and a life changing moment for the winner. We are delighted for our colleagues at Circle K Waterford Road and congratulate them as well. I wish the winner well as they enter a new and exciting chapter in their life.”

Pictured celebrating selling the winning Lotto ticket are Steve Quinn, Sales Market Manager at Circle K, and Marie Richards, Store Manager, Circle K, Waterford Road, Kilkenny City.

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Forecourt Focus: News

Circle K calls on Irish public to name Irish Olympic mascots CIRCLE K has launched a new competition, which gives the public the opportunity to name the two Team Ireland Olympic mascots for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

The naming competition from Circle K, who are partners of both the Irish Olympic and Paralympic Teams, celebrates the launch of exclusive Official Team Ireland merchandise in select Circle K stores nationwide. The range includes sunglasses, baseball caps, keyrings, drawstring bags, and two very special Team Ireland mascots.

The public can enter the competition and suggest names for the mascots on the Circle K website, with a shortlist of entries being revealed on Circle K’s social media channels on May 21, where the public can then vote for their favourite. The winning entry will become the official names for the Team Ireland Olympic mascots and, on top of that, this exciting prize includes a €250 One4all voucher and a hamper full of

Olympic goodies. Tune into The Late Late Show on May 28 where the mascots will be named.

“I am delighted to announce that Circle K, in partnership with the Olympic Federation of Ireland, has launched a range of limited-edition Team Ireland merchandise which will be available at the end of May in select Circle K stores,” said Joanne D’Arcy, Director of Market Development at Circle K Ireland.

“Our customers have been incredible supporters of Team Ireland throughout our Here for Ireland campaign, and we hope that they will continue that support by purchasing an item of merchandise and either wearing or waving these items with pride as Team Ireland prepares for the Olympic stage in July.

“The range includes two soft toy mascots, and when it came time to naming our new friends, we felt we should leave it in the public’s hands!

We’ve launched a new competition to find the mascots’ names and those

who share their most imaginative suggestions will be entered into a draw to win some fantastic prizes. So, show us what’s in a name and that you’re here for Team Ireland!”

Catherine Tiernan, Commercial Director of the Olympic Federation of Ireland, added: “We are delighted that Circle K is running a national competition to find the best names for the official Team Ireland mascots ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games. This year we are counting on the people of Ireland to support us from home, and we are very fortunate to have a partner like Circle K with stores and forecourts in every community in Ireland and Northern Ireland supporting our local Olympians. Thanks to Circle K’s support, we look forward to finding winning names for our girl and boy mascots! The winning names will be announced on May 28 on the Late Late Show Olympic Special. Our Mascots will be available for purchase in selected Circle K stores from the end of May.”

Pictured are Team Ireland’s Taekwondo athlete, Jack Woolley, alongside Catherine Tiernan, Commercial Director for the Olympic Federation of Ireland (left), Eadaoin Keane, Senior Marketing Manager, Circle K Ireland (right) , and the two yet to be named mascots, at Circle K Greenhills in Tallaght, Dublin.

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Shelf Life ABP Food Group have announced the appointment of John Tuite as Chief Financial Officer. John, a chartered accountant, has 30 years’ experience in senior finance roles and will join ABP Food Group in August from Ryanair, where he is currently Chief Financial Officer for Financial Services.

BARNARDOS children’s charity have welcomed Pipin Pear on board as charity partner for Barnardos Big Toddle 2021. Like Barnardos, Pipin Pear believe in giving children the best possible start in life and provide delicious, organic meals to help busy parents get their little ones on the way. The theme of this year’s Big Toddle is Community Helpers, people who help and support us all in our communities every day. At the very heart of Big Toddle are the children who take part and raise vital funds in communities across Ireland. You can organise your own Big Toddle anytime in May or June by registering at www.barnardos.ie/ bigtoddle, and your support ensures that some of the youngest and most vulnerable children Barnardos works with are given the best possible start in life.

VALEO Snack Foods are announcing an exciting relaunch for two of their core brands. Fox’s Glacier and Poppets are both unveiling fresh new looks, as well as an innovative programme of NPD. Fox’s Glacier will spotlight the iconic Peppy the polar bear on-pack, while Poppets will benefit from an impactful, modern and fun new design. A robust programme of retailer support activity will include TV, print, online and in-store advertising, with consumer sampling taking place in July.

Russell Tanner, Marketing Director at Valeo Snack Foods, said: “As two of our hero brands, Fox’s Glacier and Poppets have many years of heritage combined, but both have stood the test of time and remain relevant to the modern consumer. We hope this investment and redesign will contribute to the continued success of both brands for years to come.”

WITH the pandemic causing disruption within food supply chain systems globally, a Cork based start-up has come to the rescue with an innovative online platform. Kwayga is a new online B2B supply chain solution for mid-sized businesses in the food supply chain, founded by Martin Fitzgerald and Mike McGrath, and developed with Chris Kennedy, a well-known coder of disruptive technology and widely recognised as an online trust and identity expert. Using AI, Kwayga will verify, match and connect international B2B buyers and suppliers, help them establish trust, and communicate in any language through automated translation or video interpreters, breaking down traditional communication barriers, and ultimately enable them to trade successfully.

Pictured are Kwayga’s Mike McGrath, COO, Chris Kennedy, CTO, and Martin Fitzgerald, CEO. For more information, visit www.kwayga.com.

IRISH-owned eCommerce pioneers Magico have facilitated businesses in getting online fast and growing fast, by supporting the applications of 14 retailers in securing over €525,000 of funding to date, through the Covid-19 Online Retail Scheme.

Round Three of the grant, administered by Enterprise Ireland, has been announced, enabling Irish retailers to enhance their digital capabilities and develop a more competitive online offering, helping to increase their customer base and build a more resilient business and trading platform going forward. According to Orla Cooney, General Manager of Magico (pictured), the company’s retail clients in the B2B and B2C spaces have reported a 250% uplift in sales and revenue since the start of the pandemic, with some in the sports and pharmacy sector achieving an impressive 500% increase.

TWO top prize National Lottery winners shared a prize fund of €750,000 after winning top prize amounts in two separate game draws within the same week. A Laois man claimed the €250,000 top prize from the Lotto Plus 2 draw on April 14.

The winning ticket was purchased at the Corrib Oil service station in Fairgreen in Portlaoise. The Midlands winner won their quarter of million euro prize on the same night that the €12.7m jackpot was won in Kilkenny. The next day, a Dublin man officially became half a million euro richer after claiming the top prize of €500,000 from the Daily Million Plus 9pm draw on April 15, with the winning ticket purchased at the Tesco Superstore in Rush, Co. Dublin.

WRITERS’ Tears, one of the Irish whiskeys that has symbolised the category’s global renaissance in the last two decades, is now stocked by Tesco Ireland. Already exported to over 50 countries worldwide, the new Tesco Ireland listing comes after Writers’ Tears – Copper Pot enjoyed a sales increase of over 20% in Ireland during 2020 from across a network which also includes major retailers including Dunnes Stores, O’Brien’s, SuperValu and other good drinks outlets such as The Celtic Whiskey Shop. Writers’ Tears – Copper Pot, the brand’s core expression, is a unique vatting of two premium whiskeys, Single Pot Still & Single Malt.

THE Sunday Times unveiled a new supplement on May 2, which includes top coverage on property, including the market both in Ireland and overseas, plus a range of content on eco and sustainable living, food, and travel. Entitled Home, the 32-page full colour magazine helps readers to buy and sell their home, furnish it, tend to the garden, create the perfect home office, plus advice on working from home, and working out at home. The former Move section in the Sunday Times became part of this new Home supplement. International bestselling Irish author and journalist, Eithne Shortall (pictured) has been appointed editor of Home.

She was previously the arts correspondent for the Sunday Times Ireland Edition and has also worked as a TV and radio presenter.

Meanwhile, The Sunday Times has also announced a significant change to its packaging to reduce waste, switching to using a recyclable paper banding instead of a plastic wrap in its mission to remove all single-use plastic from the newspaper. The paper banding is also available to advertisers as a fresh, new and impactful advertising proposition.

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