Healthier snacking brand ACTI-SNACK is making its debut into the breakfast category with the launch of two new healthy plant-based granolas. It is set to meet the demand for more natural and nutritious breakfast options that deliver on taste in a growing category.

The breakfast category has seen continued momentum +2.9% YoY¹ as consumers spend more time at home. As a nation we are seeking out better choices that deliver on taste and have honest health credentials.

Bronagh Clarke, Marketing Director at Forest Feast, said: “For many people breakfast is the most important meal – a chance to fuel for the day ahead and pack in as much good nutrition as possible. Consumers are always telling us they want more choice – something packed with good honest ingredients and still tasted great to power them through the day.”

Continuing Bronagh says: “We set out to create granolas that were plant based, high in protein and low in sugar without the use of artificial sweeteners. We worked with performance nutritionists and health minded consumers to hit the right mix of nutrients and to deliver a great tasting start to the day.

Our High Protein Peanut Butter Granola is made with 30% Real Peanut Butter, tapping into the explosion in peanut butter as a flavour and protein source. Each bowlful has 23% protein as well as being a source of fibre, iron, magnesium, and potassium.

Our Keto Dark Choc Almond Granola taps into the demand for low sugar and lower carb products. The Keto trend has been steadily gaining momentum amongst those looking to burn fat, improve lean muscle mass or those seeking out low sugar diets. The market is predicted to increase +5.3% CAGR by 2027². Keto products are typically full of sweeteners as well as being at a steep price premium, but we have worked to keep the products natural and the price accessible for everyone.”

We are excited to bring these two products to market and are confident they will deliver for consumers and drive incremental category growth.”

ACTI-SNACK Granolas are all batch-made locally in the companies dedicated granola roasting site in Co. Armagh. The products are launching into Ocado in November with other retailers following.

The range:

• High Protein Peanut Butter Granola. Sweet & Salty crunchy granola clusters made from toasted wholegrain oats, nuts and seeds, with 30% real peanut butter and dark chocolate curls. Packed with protein, iron & fibre.  (Vegan)

350g / RRSP £3.80

• Keto Dark Choc Almond Granola. A grain free granola made from toasted coconut, nuts, seeds and cocoa. With only 2g of sugar per serving, it is rich in good fats, protein & fibre to keep you going for longer. (Vegan)

300g / RRSP £3.80

^1. Kantar 52 w/e 17 May 2021

^2. Insight Partners, November 2020

ACTI-SNACK is owned by Kestrel Foods Ltd, a family run business at the forefront of the market for premium and healthy dried fruit, nuts, seeds, snacks and granolas. The multi-award-winning business handcrafts everything onsite at its Northern Ireland base, exporting to 26 countries worldwide. Kestrel Food Ltd has a customer base which includes retail, foodservice and e-commerce. Kestrel Foods is committed to working with suppliers who share their vision and values for sustainable supply. 

SPAR NI and EUROSPAR NI have revealed their dailyDeli on-the-go Christmas sandwiches for 2021 and this year’s seasonal range has grown with two additional sandwiches and wraps, plus two new treat slices.

The new ham & stuffing and vegetarian brie & cranberry sandwiches will join the turkey, sausage & stuffing sandwich, and turkey, bacon & stuffing wrap in store this year, with 10p from the purchase of each sandwich or wrap donated to Marie Curie and Cancer Fund for Children.

SPAR and EUROSPAR are long-term partners of both charities and in 2021, staff and shoppers have raised an incredible £260,000.

Bronagh Luke, Head of Corporate Marketing at Henderson Group said they are doing everything they can to support their charity partners to help them recover post-lockdown; “All Christmas sandwiches and wraps will feature in our great value meal deal or salad plus selected drinks for just £3.

“We are also bringing a slice of festive cheer to the range with new treat slices retailing at just £1 where shoppers can choose from Spiced Apple Crumble and Chocolate Brownie.”

Newry producers Around Noon supply Henderson Wholesale with the dailyDeli range of sandwiches of which the festive additions will be added for the remainder of the year.

The dailyDeli range of Christmas sandwiches are available in store from 03 November 2021.

Craic Foods in Craigavon, county Armagh, an award winning producer of condiments, has been named Grand Champion in the prestigious Great British Food Awards.

Headed by experienced chef Paul Clarke, Craic Foods, which is based in Craigavon, county Armagh, gained the title for its original Pickled Gooseberries and Apple and Elderflower Vinegar.

Craic’s Pickled Gooseberries was described in the rigorous judging as “a taste sensation. The fruit is plump, picked at perfect ripeness. Steeped and pickled in Bramley apple vinegar, honey, apple juice and elderflower with a sprinkle of sugar. The result is a perfectly balanced, great tasting product. The sharpness of the gooseberry is evident but beautifully complimented by the sweetness and complexity of the pickle. A wonderful addition to any cheeseboard or accompaniment to quality cooked meat; the gooseberries added an extra dimension on the side of roast pork dinner too. Craic pickled gooseberries will definitely impress guests at the dinner table.”

Craic Foods is a Food NI member, as were all the other Northern Ireland winners in the annual competition which attracted entries from across the UK. Craic Foods was also named winner in the Condiments category.

The awards were launched in 2014 to celebrate the country’s finest artisanal produce, as well as the hard-working people behind the scenes. This year, the awards were bigger and better than ever.

The other Northern Ireland winners were: Burren Balsamics of Richhill, county Armagh for its Black Garlic Infused Vinegar of Modena, which the judge said is

“a wonderful vinegar”. Infused balsamics can sometimes flatter to deceive, but Burren Balsamic’s black garlic infused balsamic delivers on every level. It has a pronounced aroma of black garlic that has enticingly rich caramelised notes to it. This continues on the palate where it packs a mighty punch but without being overpowering. It is delightfully intense with great balance and a seductive finish. Makes a fabulous dressing.

The Northern Ireland Regional Award was won by Irish Black Butter of Portrush, county Antrim, a small business formed by Alastair Bell. The judge loved “the almost caramel flavour of the apples in this condiment”. It is rich, warmly spiced and has a touch of acidity. What I love about this condiment is that it can clearly be used to accompany things like cheese and cured meats, as well as being great in both savoury and sweet applications.

Clandeboye Estate’s Greek Style Yoghurt was highly commended in Dairy. Based in Bangor, county Down, Clandeboye is Northern Ireland’s only yoghurt producer. It sources milk for the estate’s own pedigree herd.

The judge said the Clandeboye luxury product was “rich and creamy as Greek style yoghurt should be, you can tell that the thickness of this yoghurt is all natural. This one also has a pleasing and refreshing tartness, which helps to balance out the richness of it.”

Innovation-led Killowen Distillery in Northern Ireland has developed two original rum and malt whiskey products as the latest additions to its portfolio of leading-edge small batch products.

The new products from the small distillery, which is based near Rostrevor, county Down, in the iconic Mourne Mountains, are a Special Single Cask Irish Dark Rum – the first from a peated cask and a Signature Rum & Raisin Single Malt Whiskey.
Fermented on-site at Killowen from 50 percent blackstrap molasses and 50 percent sugar only. The wash is distilled by Killowen’s flame-fed copper pot stills and worm-tubs, the first still uses a copper thumper keg which acts as another half distillation, hence the bottle stating, 2.5 times distilled. 

“As with our other dark rum we used the Solera method of cask ageing using a range of casks,” explains master distiller and founder Brendan Carty. “The distillate was first laid down in heavily charred Cabernet Sauvignon casks, followed by ex-Bourbon firkins, then PX Sherry Casks, and finally this special single-cask release was rested in a single, fresh, Peated Irish Whiskey cask for six months.

“Like all Killowen spirits, this distillate is a cut above all other quality rums. The focus on pot still distillation and cask ageing is evident in a viscous, well-balanced, spicy, heavy, and molasses-led flavour that acknowledges its raw ingredients and cask ageing method,” adds Brendan.

The limited release consists of 54 cases (326 bottles).

For every bottle sold, Killowen Distillery will donate £1 to The Joint Council for The Welfare of Immigrants’ Windrush Justice Fund; paying respect to those who created one of the world’s greatest spirits, recognising Afro-Caribbean people within the rum industry and acknowledging the dark legacy of slavery that bore its creation. Continuing with the discipline of Killowen Distillery, all bottles are at high strength and there has been no chilled filtration or added colouring. The spirit has come straight from the cask to the bottle, and is high in alcohol content. The virgin cask is lightly charred and so the unfiltered spirit is relatively free of char this time.

The distillery’s Signature Rum & Raisin Single Malt Whiskey is another limited edition release. It will be the last of its kind before the distillery moves to a brief six year old edition and then onto a five year old malt of different stock.

“As with what has gone before, we have selected a handful of casks from neighbouring County Louth. Then from its own Killowen Dark Rum cask comes notes of rich molasses and tropical fruits whereas the rich PX casks provide abundant raisin and dried fruits amidst the backdrop of the famous apples and pears often found in the sourced distillate,” Brendan adds.

Dunbia, Northern Ireland’s biggest meat processor which operates throughout Great Britain, has launched Farm Green, a new sustainable farming programme, aiming to transfer knowledge and inspire the farming community to reach shared sustainability goals.

The company is based at Dungannon in county Tyrone and is now part of Dawn Meats.

Working in collaboration with industry bodies, young farmers’ clubs and colleges, key information and resources will be contributed through Dunbia’s social media pages and digital platforms, using the Farm Green logo and hashtag.

Group head of agriculture, Sarah Haire says: “I am delighted that Farm Green is now live. A lot of time and effort has gone on behind the scenes in developing this programme, to ensure relevance and materiality in delivering key knowledge transfer and learning events for our suppliers.

“We appreciate our role in helping suppliers to prepare for the policy changes ahead, and we hope this programme will reach far and wide, in highlighting opportunities for improvement and understanding of key sustainability themes. The first event will see Breedr, an organisation that helps farms develop their farms, host a webinar on the importance of data collection on farm. This webinar will help farmers to understand how recording simple metrics can result in significant benefits for margin improvement and management performance, with a key focus on upcoming policy changes.

Two Northern Ireland food companies have won major awards at the recent International Cheese and Dairy Awards 2021 in Britain, one of the biggest events in the European dairy calendar.

The local winners were:

Burren Balsamics, Richhill, county Armagh was awarded gold for its Grand Reserve Balsamic Vinegar of Modena; and

Dromona Cheese from Dale Farm, Belfast which won the Volac Trophy for the Best Medium Creamery Block Cheddar, the ICDA Champion as the UK Creamery for its block cheddar. Dale Farm, Northern Ireland’s biggest farmers’ dairy co-operative, which produces cheese near Cookstown, county Tyrone, also won two golds for mature and medium cheddar and six silvers for its range of cheddars.

The International Cheese and Dairy awards is now regarded as the world’s largest platforms to champion world class producers.

Held at the Staffordshire Show Ground, Stafford the awards attracted over 5,000 entries from across the world.

Success at the show provides high profile recognition from independents, retailers and food service companies throughout the world.  They support winners through their marketing and social campaign to increase consumer awareness and ultimately sales.

The awards can be traced back to the original cheese show, which was founded in 1897 when the Cheshire Agricultural Society, which had been holding shows for some years at different venues in the county, splitting the county into four shows in their own right, one of which was Nantwich & Northwich, and in 1903 the show was held under its own auspices and with no link to the Cheshire Agricultural Society.

In 2009 the Nantwich Cheese Show was re-branded to the International Cheese Awards. It moved to Stafford this year.

The International Cheese Awards is organised and run by a committee of volunteers contributing expertise from the dairy and cheese industries as well as event management, sponsorship, PR and Marketing industries.

An important aspect of the awards, which has grown rapidly over the past two years has been the Cheese Accompaniment Classes, such as preserves, chutneys, artisan breads, cheese biscuits, olives, wine, beer, Charcuterie (Everything connected with eating great cheese!).

The Cheese Board Awards reflect the growing interest in accompaniments for various types of cheeses.

The organisers say the Cheese Board Awards will become exactly what the ICDA has become but for everything that makes cheese an even better experience.