Aldi has introduced a new Fairtrade private label tea to its 133 stores across Ireland, and expects Fairtrade tea sales across the country to double.
The discount retailer has said that it is targeting sales of 500,000 packs of its new McGrath’s Fairtrade Reserve Tea annually, and added that it expects 20% of its black tea sales to be generated by the new Fairtrade product by the end of 2018.
McGrath's Fairtrade Reserve
McGrath’s Fairtrade Reserve Tea is grown and harvested in Kenya by members of the Kenyan Tea Development Association, which currently has a membership of over half a million small-scale farmers.
The extra premium generated by supplying Aldi’s McGrath’s Fairtrade Reserve will amount to over €50,000 per year, much of which will be invested by small farmers into community development projects.
“We are delighted to introduce McGrath’s Fairtrade Reserve to our stores across Ireland. Fairtrade is hugely important to Aldi as it enables us to deliver great value in a sustainable way that benefits suppliers and their communities,” John Curtin, Aldi’s Group Buying Director said.
“We know that our customers will welcome the addition of McGrath’s Fairtrade Reserve Tea to our shelves. We have been sourcing Fairtrade products for the last number of years and already offer Fairtrade organic bananas, Fairtrade chocolate, Fairtrade coffee and Fairtrade roses at the very best prices possible.”
In 2016 Aldi became the first retailer in Ireland to buy 100% of its bananas from sustainable sources. Aldi has also pledged to buy all cocoa used in its own brand products from sustainable sources by the end of 2018.
Peter Gaynor, Executive Director, Fairtrade Ireland welcomed the announcement, saying that this is a “real breakthrough for Fairtrade in Ireland. We have seen Fairtrade coffee and banana sales grow significantly over the years, but tea sales have stagnated at very low levels.”
“This Aldi initiative shows that big business in Ireland can support small-scale farmers in Africa better, and is a great example for other tea businesses in Ireland to follow.”
The German-based discount retailer recently announced that over 100,000 kids across the country took part in its non-contact rugby initiative, the Aldi Play Rugby programme, for both boys and girls.
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
