Did You Know... Irish confectionery company Lir Chocolates has entered into a contract to supply Tesco stores across the UK and Ireland with ‘Tesco Finest’ branded products for the Christmas market, said to be worth almost €5 million? The company already supplies Lir-branded confectionery, along with other Tesco-labelled products, to the supermarket chain.
Did You Know... Northern Irish brand White’s Oats has been recognised with an award by the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ireland (CIMI) for excellence for the integrated marketing and communications campaign for its new branding? The White’s range of porridge, granola and snacks has also recently won numerous awards, including Best New Product Launch at the Ulster Grocer Awards, and Blas Na hEireann gold and silver awards.
Did You Know... International Trade Specialist and Exclusive Label Brand Ambassador for Alcohol at the Barry Group, Linda Sheehan has been named as the London-based Beer Academy’s 100th Beer Sommelier, after completing the final stage of assessment? To achieve Beer Sommelier accreditation, candidates must first submit a written application with a portfolio to demonstrate their work in promoting beer. They can then go on to an assessment with Beer Academy director of training Alex Barlow to discuss their work before being asked to identify a number of beer styles and flavours, and to recommend beer matches for different dishes.
Did You Know... Pepsi in China is attempting to ‘crowdfund’ and launch a new budget smartphone, which it is calling the P1? The device itself is a standard android smartphone, but features a Pepsi logo engraving. Pepsi is taking pre-orders through Chinese crowdfunding website JD+, and plans to raise 3 million yuan (roughly €440,000) by December 3rd.
Did You Know... Dom Pérignon has been awarded 98 out of 100 for its Dom Pérignon Vintage 2006 from the editors of the Wine Spectator? The wine champagne is described as having a great intensity “that brings together the ripeness of 2002 with the greater sense of verve and overall freshness that is such a signature of 2004”.
Did You Know... Aldi has announced it will stock a range of Christmas jumpers from December 3rd, with designs for men and women starting at €12.99, and children’s from €8.99 each? Also coming up for Aldi is its ‘Tech Thursday’ event, in which from the 26th, Aldi stores will offer home entertainment systems, from Bluetooth headphones for €29.99, to 48” HD TVs for €499.99.
Did You Know... Christmas FM returns to Irish airwaves on this year on November 28th with new sponsors, An Post and Lidl Ireland, to raise funds for Make-A-Wish Ireland, which grants wished to children living with life-threatening medical conditions? Christmas FM will once again broadcast from the Ballsbridge Hotel in Dublin, which has given the studio space for free, and will play round-the-clock Christmas music. Since 2008, Christmas FM has raised more than €600,000 for charities including ISPCC, Barnardos, Simon, Focus Ireland, Age Action and Aware.
Did You Know... The former John Player factory on Dublin’s South Circular Road has been announced as the home of this year’s Dublin Christmas Flea Market, as new businesses in its old home in Block B in Smithfield have left it with less space? The market will run from December 11th for three days.
© 2015 - Checkout Magazine by Stephen Wynne-Jones
