Darlene McCormick, the founder of That Protein in Belfast, a leader in innovative plant-based super powders and an award-winning high protein porridge, has been named ‘Best Plant Based UK Business Strategist’ by a global food and drink magazine.

Darlene, a clinical nutritionist, gained the impressive accolade from the influential LUXlife magazine in its annual food and drink awards. LUXlife, a premium lifestyle publication, circulates worldwide to almost 250,000 readers.

The recognition comes as That Protein was also successful in the annual Nourish Awards. The Belfast-based company gained a silver medal for a unique high protein organic porridge in the annual Nourish Awards for the UK’s best health foods. The innovative product has recently achieved low FODMAP certification for its porridge as suitable for sufferers of IBS and other digestion issues.

The important certification for That Protein for its natural oat-based porridge product follows rigorous independent testing by FODMAP dietary experts.

The low FODMAP certification for the organic porridge is the third achieved by the small Northern Ireland business for its products. It became the first in the UK last year to gain FODMAP approval for its award winning Blissful Raw Cacao Organic Super Protein.  The company’s Chirpy Chirpy Choca Mocha Super Protein product subsequently gained the accreditation.

Darlene says: “I am thrilled by this recognition from such an influential magazine, coming so soon after our new high protein porridge gained silver in the Nourish Awards less than a year after we introduced it to the marketplace.

 “The double choc protein porridge is a specially developed blend of organic oats, plant protein, raw cacao, cacao nibs and the sweet superfood palmyra nectar and boasts a raft of health benefits including helping build and maintain muscle mass. It also reduces tiredness and fatigue and is high in fibre which is important as the daily fibre target is 30g a day,” Darlene, who studied plant-based nutrition at Cornell University in the US, adds.

Darlene set up That Protein in 2014 on the back of a long-time dedication to a vegetarian diet.  She has created the recipes for all her product range.

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 Darlene: Darlene McCormick of That Protein in Belfast named by a global food magazine as the UK’s Best Plant-Based Business Strategic.

A substantial investment in technology has enabled Glastry Farm Ice Cream, a Food NI member, to grow sales for luxury ice cream and healthy sorbets in Northern Ireland and especially in the Irish Republic.

The small company, based on a family farm near Kircubbin in Co Down, has used the technology and market knowledge to expand its range of healthier and delicious sorbets which are lower in fat and high in fibre. The first of the new sorbets, mango and passionfruit, was launched successfully in the Food NI Food Pavilion at the recent RUAS show in Balmoral Park.

The new sorbets join flavours such as apple schnapps, pear, zesty lemon, raspberry ruffle, blackcurrant, and prosecco and raspberry.  They are, in addition, gluten, dairy and egg-free, and suitable for vegetarian and vegan diets. Additional health benefits include enhanced levels of antioxidants and Omega 3. The business also offers around 20 ice cream flavours.

Glastry Farm ice cream and sorbets are the brainchild of experienced dairy farmer Will Taylor, a former president of the Ulster Farmers’ Union, who set up the business in 2017 as part of diversification strategy to ensure the long-term sustainability of the 250-acre farm on the Ards Peninsula.

Mr Taylor continues: “Our sorbets are influenced by our experience in producing ice cream and also have the highest fruit content within the sector. Using advanced technology has resulted in our range becoming a market leader on the island of Ireland.”

The sorbets, which have already led to new business with hotels in the Republic, are the outcome of extensive market research by the company particularly into consumer buying attitudes in the UK and Ireland. Indeed, the small company’s growing success has been based on knowledge from expert market research since its launch. As a result, Glastry Farm has become market-focused and innovation-led.

“The low sugar/high fibre formulation of our sorbet range moves the product from being a palate cleanser between courses, especially in the hospitality sector, to a delicious dessert option,” Will explains.

“The additional higher levels of antioxidants and Omega 3 are a clear trend from our market research and the latest Mintel report on consumer trends 2025,” he adds. “Our new technology kit at Glastry and the technical expertise of our team have meant that it is difficult to distinguish the sorbets from our ice cream especially in terms of mouth feel and smoothness,” he says.

The new products are the latest outcome of a longstanding innovation project with the Food Technology Centre at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) at Loughry Campus, near Cookstown. The link-up with CAFRE technical experts has been assisted by Innovation Vouchers from Invest NI.

The new products extend the application of the sorbets particularly in restaurants and cafes throughout Ireland, a key marketplace for the Kircubbin enterprise. New business has already been secured with a leading network of 11 boutique hotels there. “We have been supplying them since the Republic came out of lockdown through La Rousse Foods, the leading food distributor to hotels, cafes and other outlets there,” Will says.

Glastry Farm has been the home of the Taylor family for 150 years, and of a 300-strong pedigree Friesian/Holstein dairy herd that produces some of the richest and highest quality milk anywhere in Ireland from clover-rich pastures.

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Will continues: “To high quality raw materials from our herd we add the best flavour ingredients we can source. These include 70 percent single origin Callebaut chocolate, real Madagascar Bourbon vanilla bean, real fruit pieces from Griffin Foods. The milk is transferred from the dairy plant to our processing facility on the farm daily and processed into dessert ice creams sold all over Ireland.

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The enterprising business is also the outcome Nuffield Scholarship for Will to explore opportunities for the UK Agri-food. The study shaped the family’s thinking about its future, moving it from a milk production unit to a consumer focused farm business.

“A market research survey in 2005 – supported by the University of Ulster – pointed the way forward for us. Health and wellbeing became a priority, which meant natural foods rather than highly processed food with artificial ingredients. It also pointed towards fresh foods produced locally,” he adds. Research pinpointed developing opportunities among consumers for healthier products that offered reduced sugar, added vitamins and minerals from superfood, and featured “futuristic ingredients and rich flavour profiles”.

The ambitious company’s approach was also shaped by sustainability, the lowest food miles in the frozen sector, and assurance and control over its own farm milk.

As a result of its strategic focus, Glastry Farm now supplies many of the leading retailers and foodservice organisations on the island. In Northern Ireland, these include Henderson Wholesale SPAR and EUROSPAR grocery stores, and the Hastings Hotel Group.

A number of prestigious awards have also been secured from the UK Guild of Fine Food’s Great Taste and Blas na hEireann, the Irish National Food Awards.

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Will: Will Taylor of Glastry Farm in Kircubbin with a prestigious Blas na hEireann award for one of his healthy and tasty sorbets

Henderson Retail, Northern Ireland’s biggest food retailer and wholesaler, have been named Independent Retail Chain of the Year in the coveted Grocer Gold Awards 2021.

The company, which is headquartered in Newtownabbey, county Antrim, just outside Belfast, was the only winner from Northern Ireland in the annual awards which covered more than 30 separate categories.

The Grocer Gold Awards are regarded as the blue riband event of the £200bn UK grocery retail and wholesale sector. The awards are hosted and produced by The Grocer, the multi award-winning bible of the grocery trade.

 The awards are organised by William Reed, a UK-based publishing, events, conferences, exhibitions and market research business with offices in the UK, US and Singapore.

Henderson Retail, part of the family-owned and managed Henderson Group, owns and operates around 100 SPAR and EUROSPAR stores across Northern Ireland.

Many of these are petrol forecourt sites, affiliated with major oil brands. Henderson Group also supplies independently owned EUROSPAR, SPAR, VIVO and VIVOEXTRA stores across Northern Ireland

Henderson Retail is now one of the top players in the UK independent market and Northern Ireland’s largest independent fuel site operator

Northern Ireland’s Woodlab Distillery, producer of the award-winning Symphonia spirits especially craft gins and an Irish apple rum, has been shortlisted for the final stage of the influential 2021 Footprint Drinks Sustainability Awards.

The annual awards are seen as “the barometer for sustainability and responsible business practice for the drinks industry and represents the annual celebration of businesses and individuals making a difference to sustainability in the industry and its supply chain”.

Dr Ulrich Dyer, the founder and managing director of Woodlab Distillery, says: “We are delighted that we, a small Northern Irish company, has been shortlisted alongside the biggest drinks companies in the world and it is fantastic recognition of the innovative approach we have taken to spirits production.”

Other shortlisted companies include global producers such as Budweiser, Coca Cola, Fever Tree, Innocent Drinks, Molton Coors and Pernod Ricard

Symphonia producer Woodlab, which is based in a small distillery at Moy in county Tyrone, was shortlisted “because unusually, its founder and distiller Dr Dyer is also an organic chemist and had enjoyed an impressive career in the pharmaceutical industry”.

The organisers were also impressed by his focus on creating successful spirits while remaining consistently mindful about how to reduce the company’s impact on energy and the earth’s natural resources. It meant harnessing science with nature to create the best tasting spirits possible, capturing the wonderful flavours and fragrances of botanicals in the most eco-efficient way.”

The aim was to make spirits that reflect the glory of the Northern Irish countryside.

Dr Dyer continues “Our commitment to the region is deep: embracing the ‘giant spirit’, we live, work and create in the Orchard County of Ireland. It is a rural landscape of rustic natural beauty, rugged coastlines, rolling green hills – and the wildest botanicals and herbs.”

Symphonia’s ethos also meant giving something back to the country. The company features a scientific approach to the developing flavours. Ingredients were also sourced as ethically and locally wherever possible –“this helps the environment by reducing carbon emissions due to transport and supports the local economy”. 

The distillery, in addition, was different in its use recycled glass in the stills, which are not only more environmentally friendly than copper, but they have also been scientifically proven to give a cleaner taste.

The distillery created a unique process combining three techniques: cold distillation, hydrodistillation, and molecular analysis.  These ground-breaking innovations ensured the rich, delicate, flavours of the botanicals are extracted with the maximum efficiency and preserve their taste quality. They also hugely reduce energy consumption using only two percent of the energyrequired for traditional distilling. These techniques brought additional space efficiency.  The distillery has a reduced physical footprint compared to others. It is the only distillery in the world using these combined processes.

The company, in addition, worked with stakeholders – suppliers, customers, and community 

 partners committed to best sustainable practise with business relationships that are respectful and enduring.  Symphonia was committed to producing gin in the most environmentally friendly way possible.

A new book which is helping primary school children better understand the science behind local farming and food production has been endorsed by Asda NI.

Visitors to the Asda stand at this year’s Balmoral Show were among the first to meet the author and receive their own signed copy of ‘Northern Ireland: Our Food, Our Story’.

Written by Dr Vanessa Woods, the fully illustrated book uses poetry to explain otherwise complex topics such as sustainability, traceability, food nutrition, and biodiversity, in an age-appropriate way.

Available to every primary school in Northern Ireland, Asda has fully supported the regional launch of the educational resource.

Joe McDonald, Snr Manager Asda NI said: “What better platform to engage with young consumers and help them understand NI’s unique food and farming offering, than the Balmoral Show.

“We were delighted to welcome Vanessa to our stand and ensure as many of our young visitors as possible went home with this great educational resource.  With hundreds of Asda’s top quality, locally sourced products also being sampled on our stand, it was the ideal way to connect and communicate the farm to fork message to our future generations.”

Poots:  Agriculture minister Edwin Poots is pictured showing the book to the Snijder family from Lisburn at Balmoral Show

Armagh family firm, Troughtons, a specialist in ciders, juices and minerals and a Food NI member, now have products included in the prestigious Craft Gin Club box in Britain.

Craft Gin Club is the UK’s number one subscription club for gin lovers, introducing artisan gins, mixers and foodie treats to their 100,000 subscribers each month. The Premium Indian Tonic from Troughtons ‘Raising Spirits’ range of tonics and mixers was the perfect pairing for the gin in the ‘frightfully good Craft Gin Club Halloween Box’.

Director Mark Troughton said: “This is a first for us – a wonderful opportunity to raise our profile UK wide and see our products enjoyed by thousands of Craft Gin Club’s members, which includes television’s Philip Schofield, who is a huge gin fan.”

Mark added: “The Craft Gin Club October boxes have only just been sent out and in less than one week we have seen a major growth in online sales already with people taking their drinks to a new level with our “Raising Spirits” range of tonics and mixers.  It has been an amazing journey and Craft Gin Club has been great to work with.” 

Using County Armagh spring water from their estate at Ballinteggart and the finest naturally soured ingredients, Troughtons has quality craftsmanship and sustainability at the forefront of everything they do.  Mark said: “We pride ourselves on honouring tradition whilst pushing boundaries. It is exciting and a privilege for us, as passionate artisans, to be part of this vibrant and exciting special box.”