Fresh, the Good Food market has teamed up with Italian Chef, Nico Oliveri to launch a range of ‘Artisan Kitchen’ Irish-made gourmet meals. The range includes Cinnamon-Infused Chilli con Carne, Vibrant Vegetarian Paella, amongst others. The new ‘Artisan Kitchen’ range features an extensive list of colourful recipes and healthy ingredients aiming to offer a modern twist on classic cuisine. Nico has created the range to reflect the Irish supermarket’s core values of using fresh, traceable and natural produce, sourced from trusted suppliers. The range is produced and stocked exclusively in-store at each of the three Fresh supermarkets in Grand Canal, Camden Street and Smithfield, County Dublin and aims to give consumers a gourmet alternative to eating out. Noel Smith, founder and managing director of Fresh supermarkets, said: ‘The launch of our new ‘Artisan Kitchen’ range showcases a fusion of gourmet influences and contemporary cooking; featuring eight healthy meals and four complimentary side dishes. Our aim is to produce a unique selection of high-end ‘eat in’ meals, which reflect the high-quality range of artisan produce available at your local Fresh supermarket.”
Aramark Ireland, the country’s leading integrated services company, has released its annual Corporate Responsibility Report for the past year, highlighting the initiatives and contributions made by the company’s employees to environmental awareness and sustainability. The report highlights the initiatives and contributions made by the company’s employees to environmental awareness and sustainability. Speaking at the launch of the CSR Report, Donal O’Brien, Chief Executive of Aramark Ireland said, “We are at a critical point in our planet’s history and the actions we take, or do not take, will have serious implications for generations to come. It is our responsibility to maximise the resources we possess and minimise our contribution and impact on climate change. Aramark is well placed to drive environmental awareness across a wide range of areas given our expertise in the areas of Food, Environmental Services, Property and Facilities Management.” In addition to the report, Aramark is encouraging people to commit to walking, cycling or taking public transport to work, not leaving office IT on standby mode, considering green sources of energy both at home and at work and learning how to apply them.
Exxon Mobil may be selling its petrol station business, Esso Ireland, for €70 million. Esso Ireland has a retail network of around 100 branded service stations and supplies about 10% of all the petroleum products in Ireland. It is the third leading service station in the Irish market, just behind Topaz, which holds 25% of the market, and Texaco. The Irish service station market has undergone major changes in recent years with the expansion of Topaz and Applegreen as well as the rise of the independent operator. Statoil and Shell have both been sold in recent years and reportedly Esso are to be next. Exxon Mobil has sold around $1 billion in non-core assets recently and is reducing capital expenditure by $2.7 billion this year in a bid to cut costs.
The Irish Dairy Board (IDB) has opened a new $12 million cheese manufacturing facility in Wisconsin, which is the final phase of an $80 million investment programme in the US. The IDB said the facility would boost its manufacturing capacity in the US by around 40% and would provide an “important route to market” for its protein product casein. The board hopes the investment will open up further opportunities for Irish dairy products. The US market is worth over €500 million to Irish agri-food exports.
Tobacco company Philip Morris International, has cut its 2014 earnings forecast as a result of it proving to be a “complex and truly atypical” year for the company. The Marlboro cigarettes producer now expects to earn $4.87-$4.97 per share, lower than the $5.09-$5.19 per share it expected earlier. “We continue to face significant currency headwinds, an improving but weak macro-economic environment in the European Union and known challenges in Asia,” chief executive Andre Calantzopoulos said in a statement. However, the company expects adjusted profit in 2014 to rise 6-8% from the $5.40 it reported last year.
Keogh’s Farm has announced their newest addition to the Keogh’s Gluten Free range - Roast Beef and Irish Stout flavoured crisp. Due to launch next month, the new flavour comes after months of testing to help the North Dublin-based business to fine-tune its latest offering, removing all traces of gluten in the process. “We are delighted to bring to market our unique taste of Ireland, now gluten free,’ said Keogh’s Crisp’s managing director Tom Keogh. “We understand the sacrifices made by people who need to follow a strict gluten free diet and who sometimes miss out on enjoying their favourite snacks, so that’s why we have created our award-winning Roast Beef and Irish Stout flavour – minus the gluten!” Keogh’s have highlighted the product’s gluten free status by lightening the colour of their bag from brown to red and including a heart shaped gluten free logo on the front of the pack.
CPM, Ireland’s leading Field Sales company was rewarded at the 2014 Irish Sales Awards, held last week at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, for the fourth consecutive year. The company was recognised for Champion Field Sales Manager 2014 in the FMCG category. The award went to Paul Purcell, rewarded for his commitment, passion and drive for results as the National Sales Manager for CPM’s Britvic account. In previous years, CPM has been recognized in the areas of Field Sales Champion and Field Sales Manager, Best use of Sales Technology and Best Sales Support Technology.
AIB has said it will support exporting companies in Ireland with a new €200 million loan fund, as announced alongside the release of the bank’s latest Exports Outlook Report for SMEs. Produced in association with the Irish Exports Association, Bord Bia and IPSOS MRBI, the report predicts and upbeat future for small and medium Irish businesses. Of the 200 SMEs surveyed for the report, 65% say they expect stronger export sales in 2014 and 30% plan to export to new markets, notably the US, Germany, France, Spain and China. Almost half of those surveyed (46%) expect their export level to increase in 2014 on last year. Meanwhile, almost 40% say their staff levels will increase this year. According to the Outlook Report, of the SMEs that expect to see an increase in their export turnover this year, almost 72% will use existing resources from retained earnings to fund this growth, while another 25% believe they will require new finance.
The SPAR annual international supplier ‘speed dating’ expo was held in Dublin last week. Trading directors from SPAR International as well as representatives from each of the attending countries who make up the Buying International Group SPAR (BIGS) were there to hear pitches from hopeful food suppliers. The BIGS attendees came to source new products for the brand’s growing private label range and individual markets are free to do deals with suppliers independently of the group. SPAR International have a collective buying power that exceeds €20 billion and both suppliers are hoping to capitalise on this. By the end of April 2014, SPAR Ireland stores experienced double digit growth in own brand volume and customers are promised savings of up to 33% by choosing own brand products.
Rowntree has expanded its range with the new Fruit Pastilles Froosions. The product will be available in both a single tube (RRP 0.78c) and a sharing bag (RRP €1.82). Each will be filled with sweets that combine two tasty flavours together, such as blackcurrant and apple, lemon and lime, and pineapple and orange.Available from the end of June and aimed at 25-44 year olds, Froosions has the same target audience as Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles so the new launch will no doubt benefit the brand’s popularity.
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