Tesco Ireland has invested over €200 million in renewals and expansions, as it redoubles its commitment to multi-year partnerships with Irish suppliers.
Ireland’s number-two retailer has announced that it will reaffirm its commitments to several Irish brands, including Irish Yogurts, Country Crest, Freshways, Silver Pail Dairy, Ballymaguire Foods, Bandon Vale and Crust & Crumb.
As part of this investment, north-west-based dairy co-op Aurivo has also signed a €36 million multi-year agreement to supply Tesco with 28 million litres of milk and cream.
In addition to this, Aurivo will supply branded butter and milkshakes to all 177 Tesco stores across the country.
‘Multi-Year Certainty’
Speaking about the announcement, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue TD, said, “This €200 million investment, announced by Tesco Ireland in Donegal, represents a vote of confidence in the Irish agrifood sector, underlining the performance and value of our quality products and the significant economic contribution of our agrifood producers to our rural and national communities.”
Joe Manning, the commercial director for Tesco Ireland, added, “We are giving multi-year certainty to our partners, so they can further develop and grow with confidence, having already enjoyed long relationships with Tesco over many years.
“We are committed to providing our customers with outstanding quality, choice, and [the] availability of fresh and packaged products.
“Fortunately, the Irish agrifood sector is similarly focused on delivering for our customers, which is why we are investing this €200 million in new and expanded agreements with several Irish agrifood suppliers.”
At the announcement in Donegal, Stephen Blewitt, general manager of dairy at Aurivo, welcomed the news of the investment.
Blewitt said, “With this new multi-year commitment, we are further strengthening our long-standing partnership with Tesco.
“Over 1,000 farming families will benefit from this supply deal, and the fact that Tesco can offer long-term contracts offers great security to our partners [and] farmers.”
Tesco buys €1.6 billion of Irish food and drink annually – more than the value of Irish food and drink exported to any country in the European Union.
As a result, Tesco is the largest retail purchaser of Irish food and drink in the world, as verified by Indecon Economic Consultants.
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