Lidl Ireland’s €100 million contract with Cavan’s Liffey Meats sees the retailer exporting €25 million worth of Irish beef to Lidl stores around the world.
This includes Croatia where Irish products are available in 109 Lidl stores across the country ahead of St. Patrick’s Day.
Lidl Ireland has been exporting Irish products to Croatia since 2018.
Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail Neale Richmond TD visited a store in Zagreb as part of his St. Patrick’s Day visit to the country to see Liffey Meats in store.
As well as Liffey Meats, it also exports Kildare’s Rye River Irish Stout, Cork’s Irish Bacon Slicer’s medallions and Kerry’s Irish crème liqueur cheesecake.
‘Countless Export Deals’
On his visit, Richmond said, “I am delighted to be with Lidl in Croatia as part of my St. Patrick’s Day visit where Irish goods have been on the shelves since 2018.
“Food is one of Ireland’s biggest exports and thanks to Lidl it is available on supermarket shelves across the world.”
Greeting the minister at the store was the head of retail sales for Liffey Meats Ciaran Beirne.
Beirne said, “Our longstanding partnership with Lidl has allowed us to develop our business significantly over the past number of years, and this opportunity to leverage new international markets is a game changer.
“We are extremely grateful to Lidl for the ongoing support and investment and it’s a real full circle moment to see our Irish beef on the shelves of Lidl stores in Croatia today.
“We look forward to bringing premium Irish beef to Lidl customers across the world for many years to come.”
The chief executive officer of Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland JP Scally said, “Growing our local supplier network has always been a priority for us and we’re proud of the longstanding, sustainable partnership we’ve grown with Liffey Meats.
“We’re delighted to be able to facilitate countless export deals with our best performing Irish suppliers to bring the taste of Ireland to millions of Lidl shoppers across the globe every year.”
In February, Lidl announced a spend exceeding €1.6 billion on Irish goods and services in 2023.
Included in this figure was more than €300 million worth of Irish goods exported to Lidl stores globally in the same period.
Read More: Lidl Ireland Announces €1.6bn Spend On Irish Suppliers In 2023
