Eoghain Mallon, senior national account manager, Euro Food Brands Ireland, tells Checkout about how the company has expanded its operations and expertise into the fast-growing Irish grocery market.
Over the last 30 years, Euro Food Brands have taken on a wide-ranging selection of the world’s finest grocery brands and become the official distributor for them in the UK and Ireland.
“We have always managed the Irish market across various brands from the UK, but now that we have a dedicated Euro Food Brands Ireland office, we look forward to expediting the growth and success of all the brands that we manage,” says Eoghain.
“With a dedicated Irish office in Dublin, an Irish warehouse and distribution partner, an Irish account manager team, and field sales capabilities, we have the resources on the ground to manage our growth ambitions.”
Euro Food Brands current portfolio of brands includes Ainsley Harriot, Aunt Bessie, Loacker, Mars Galaxy Vegan, Campbell’s Soup, Bertolli, and Yogi Tea, to name just a few.
“We work extremely closely with all our brands and support our partners goals and growth strategies with proven routes to market in every grocer channel and online, best-in-class brand management, and sales strategy guidance and expertise,” he says.
Hershey And Reese’s
The Hershey Company is one of the largest brands in Euro Food Brands’ portfolio.
“We have been their official distributor for over ten years, focusing our attention on their key brands – Reese’s and Hershey’s Cookies n Crème,” says Eoghain.
“We recently became the official distribution partner for these brands in the Irish market, which we are very excited about.
"Dunnes Stores, Tesco Ireland, SuperValu, Centra, Daybreak, Musgrave Marketplace, Circle K, Spar, Eurospar, Mace, Londis, XL, Value Centre, Stonehouse, Gala, Costcutter and Applegreen are all currently stocking our Hershey and Reese’s brands.”
Are there plans to launch any NPD later this year or in 2024?
“In March 2023, we launched the new Hershey’s Cookies n Creme Creations 90g block bars in two flavours – Salted Caramel and Flat White,” says Eoghain.
“We have a core portfolio of products that have proven successful across several markets, and we are focusing on aligning those with our retail partners.
"The signature products in this core portfolio would be Reese’s Peanut Butter 2 Cups 42g and Reese’s Minis 90g sharing bags.
"In addition to the core portfolio, we have an exciting range of seasonal products ranging from advent calendars and selection boxes to gifting tins for Christmas and hollow eggs for Easter.”
Sustainable Packaging
Packaging is a key component of delivering safe, high-quality products to consumers.
Hershey recognise that packaging and plastic waste is a global issue that is an increasing concern for its customers and consumers.
“Hershey are reducing unnecessary materials and increasing recyclability across their packaging portfolio, while still ensuring that they have to ability to deliver high-quality and safe, consumable products to customers,” says Eoghain.
Brand Building
Euro Food Brands has worked closely with The Hershey Company to achieve a tenfold increase in sales over the last eight years, with campaigns targeted at millennials, including TV, social media, sampling, events and promotions.
Are they planning any marketing campaigns for the Irish market over the coming months?
“The current and immediate strategy is focused on launching the right portfolio for the grocery channels that the brands operate in, and then supporting that with in-store shopper marketing POS to raise awareness of the brand’s availability at the point of purchase,” he says.
“This could include initiatives such as off-shelf FSDUs and promotional mechanics to drive trial.
"We are working closely with all our retail partners to realise the best opportunities available to build the brands quickly in the Irish marketplace."
Read More: Hershey Looking To 'Eradicate' Lead, Cadmium From Chocolate: CFO
© 2023 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Maev Martin. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
