The UK’s top mince pie for Christmas is only available at SPAR stores in Northern Ireland. SPAR’s own label Luxury All Butter Mince Pies have been voted the ‘Best Classic Mince Pie’ for the second time in the BBC Good Food Christmas Taste Awards 2021 and joint winner in the ‘Best Classic Mince Pie’ category in the Olive magazine Christmas supermarket awards 2021.

These two highly prestigious award wins are a testament to the exceptional quality and taste of SPAR’s own label Luxury All Butter Mince Pie. At only £2.00 for a pack of six, the SPAR Luxury All Butter Mince Pies will be customer’s number one staple purchase this Christmas.

On winning the two accolades, Myles Mersh, SPAR UK brand manager, said: “This year our own label SPAR Luxury All Butter Mince Pie is a multi-award winner, winning for two consecutive years ‘Best Classic Mince Pie’ in the BBC Good Food Christmas Taste Awards and for the first time joint winner of the ‘Best Classic Mince Pie’ category in the olive Christmas supermarket awards. This cements SPAR as the go-to retailer for mince pies this year, the foremost Christmas treat.”

BBC Good Food Christmas Taste Award said: “Our judges were impressed by the festive star design, and despite the open top, the mincemeat is golden and not burned. The deep-filled pies have buttery pastry and jammy, well-spiced mincemeat with citrussy notes.”

 SPAR Luxury All Butter Mince Pies will be available in participating SPAR stores across the UK from 4October 2021.

Morelli’s Ice Cream has won the Regional Golden Fork for Northern Ireland in the finals of the UK Great Taste Awards. The company gained the award for its caramelised hazelnut flavour of ice cream.

Based in Coleraine, county Derry, Morelli’s is one of the leading producers of authentic Italian ice cream with sales outside Northern Ireland to multiple retailers in Great Britain, including Morrison’s supermarkets and Tesco Ireland in the Republic of Ireland.

The family business, a Food NI member, has been creating ice cream since 1911 in what was then the north of Ireland, now Northern Ireland.

The business was formed by the Morelli family which moved to the region from Italy in 1911, making it Northern Ireland’s oldest and best known producer of a wide variety of ice cream flavours.

 Many of the enterprising company’s products have won prestigious Ice Cream Alliance industry, UK Great Taste and Blas na hEireann awards.

 Morelli’s double vanilla, for example, was named Best in the UK and Ireland in the Ice Cream Awards in 2019.

In addition to its range of quality ice creams, Morelli’s has also produced frozen yoghurt in collaboration with Clandeboye Estate, Northern Ireland’s only manufacturer of yoghurt. It also has a range of dairy free ice cream.

The Regional Golden Fork is sponsored by business development agency Invest Northern Ireland (INI). The award was presented by Michelle Charrington, INI’s business development director in Britain, as part of the Speciality Fine Food Show in Harrogate.

Collecting the award at a gala presentation for food and drink industry leaders including chefs and food writers were Naldo Morelli, the managing director, and Daniella Morelli-Kerr, the marketing director.

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Naldo Morelli, right, and Daniella Morelli-Kerr, second right, pictured with Michelle Charrington, Invest Northern Ireland

Specialist in vegetable and convenience foods, Mash Direct has been named regional winner of the Best Rural Food and Drink Business of the Year in Wales and Northern Ireland at the 2021 Rural Business Awards, sponsored by Amazon.

The Rural Business Awards (RBA) recognise businesses operating right across the rural sector, acknowledging the breadth and depth of opportunity presented by the country side, and celebrating the achievements of rural businesses.

 Clare Forster, Head of Marketing at Mash Direct, said: “It is a great honour to have won this award. The Rural Business Awards highlight businesses that value their rural roots and it is an amazing achievement for all our team to have won this regional award.”

 The awards reward businesses who value their rural roots, contribute to employment, infrastructure, and train young people.  RBA encourages entrepreneurial spirit in the rural sector and give recognition to excellence in business set-up, operation, and management.

Based on the Hamilton family farm near Comber in county Down, Mash Direct is now a successful supplier of innovative plant-based foods to supermarkets in Great Britain, the Republic of Ireland, the US, Middle East and Asia.

The awards were established in late 2014 by Jemma Clifford and Anna Price – two business owners who work in rural Leicestershire. The first awards were presented in October 2015.

The Rural Business Awards (RBAs) work with partner organisations large and small, Amazon is the headline partner for the third year running. Amongst other organisations to lend their support to the RBAs have been Openreach, Prysm Group via Farm Business Innovation, HSBC, DEFRA, the CLA, Fisher German, Avantigas, the FSB, and the IFB as well as many niche rural organisations and charities.

The aim of the awards is to celebrate the achievements of rural businesses, from engineering through to artisan food producers and professional services organisations.

The awards are decided by an independent panel of judges drawn from the rural business sector, official agencies and rural charitable organisations. The aim is to grow RBA to become the UK’s most prestigious and respected awards for rural businesses and to develop a strong network and community of rural business owners.

A novel turkey sandwich sauce for Christmas has been created by PEPPUP, the Northern Ireland producer of authentic Italian sauces, peppers and dressings.

The small company, which is based at Newtownards, has just launched the sauce for the Christmas season in 190g jars, available soon from your local delis and butchers.

The new PEPPUP Turkey Sandwich Sauce is a blend of roasted peppers and tomatoes with aubergine and ginger.

Dr Luca Montorio, the founder and managing director of PEPPUP in 2015, explains: “The new sauce offers a richly flavoured sauce to enhance turkey particularly after the Christmas dinner. Ginger works really well with turkey. While it’s aimed initially at the Christmas season, the new sauce can be used throughout the year for instance on chicken. Our strategic focus is on offering shoppers and especially the growing numbers of home cooks due to the coronavirus pandemic different flavours.

The artisan business, a leading supplier to delis, farm shops and family butchers in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, now offers a range of around 15roasted pepper sauces and salad dressing for various seasons including Christmas. As well as the Special Selection range, which includes roasted red and yellow peppers, mild baby green peppers and hot chilli peppers.

The quality and range of PEPPUP’s products have led to significant sales growth since Dr Montorio launched the business with wife Liz in 2015. “Our sales have grown by around 30 percent in the last three years,” adds Dr Montorio, originally from Turin. “Among our most successful products are our unique bolognese sauces.”

The company is rebranding its products to strengthen its image on the shelves with shoppers. A key feature of the sharp, new look is the inclusion of essential nutritional information on the front of the label. “This is a direct response to shoppers increasingly seeking information about content and especially sugar and fat. It made good business sense to switch this information to the label front,” adds Dr Montorio, who develops all the recipes for the products and is a registered nutritionist.

The PEPPUP range includes vegan, dairy free, gluten free options and without any added sugar or fat.  The products are 100 percent plant based and suitable for vegetarians and vegans. The products have also won UK Great Taste Awards for his products.

Leading porridge and oat cereal producer, White’s Oats in Tandragee, county Armagh has partnered with Tesco to announce the relaunch of three of its porridge oat cereals into a more sustainable recyclable paper bag. Speedicook Porridge Oats, Jumbo Organic Oats and Organic Oat Flakes are now available in a larger 1kg bag, removing over 500kgs of packaging annually.

White’s, as part of its wider sustainability strategy, has pledged to deliver 100 percent recyclable packaging across all its products by the end of 2022 and to make it easier for consumers to choose products produced in a sustainable way. Positive gains have already been made with 93% of its packaging already recyclable and 100 percent FSC accredited.

As major stockists of White’s Oats since 1996, Tesco is one of the first retailers in Northern Ireland to supply the new 1kg bags to consumers. Tesco has been working continuously with suppliers to help them reduce packaging and plastic waste and White’s has developed its sustainability packaging credentials to ensure it aligns with Tesco and meets all the credentials for the green standard.

White’s business development manager Stuart Best said: “Through our long-standing relationship with Tesco, we know consumer behaviours have shifted and we are continually looking at innovative ways to address customer concerns around provenance, the environment and sustainability.

‘’White’s has taken a proactive approach on its sustainability journey to promoting more environmentally friendly packaging ensuring its products are not just recyclable but also align with Tesco’s reduction and waste strategy. As well as the move to a larger pack, our Speedicook and organic porridge oats are packed into block bottom bags to remove any excess packaging and to help maximise transport loads to reduce overall carbon footprint.’’

Commenting on the partnership Michael Crealey, Tesco buying manager said: ‘’Tesco Northern Ireland is committed to promoting healthy sustainable products and encouraging more sustainable buying choices by shoppers. The provenance of food and how it is packaged and disposed of are now key drivers in consumer’s purchasing decisions.

‘’As a local company, White’s is fully committed to keeping its carbon footprint low, supporting local farmers within a 60-mile radius of the mill and promoting a short supply chain from farm to pack. We welcome the positive steps White’s has taken in the packaging and marketing of its products, providing greater clarity and trust around what’s recyclable and how to recycle so shoppers can make better informed environmental decisions’.”

Michael Crealey Tesco buying manager, left, with Stuart Best of White’s Oats

Dram in a Can from Two Stacks Whiskey in Northern Ireland is among 12 high-class finalists named for The QDF Factor, an extraordinary industry competition to encourage innovation and creativity among brands which will offer the winner a six-month listing at Qatar Duty Free’s award-winning retail offer at Hamad International Airport in Doha.

The winner will also win a free six-month US$50,000 multi-media advertising campaign with The Moodie Davitt Report, an influential business to business publication and digital information channel with a global readership.

Dram in Can by Two Stacks was selected by the expert judges as “a young company, determined to lead the new renaissance revival of Irish whiskey. Dram in a Can is an intriguingly disruptive new product”. Launched in the US in March, Dram in a Can is the first Irish whiskey in a can. It uses 86-proof whiskey produced by Killowen Distillery in the picturesque Mourne Mountains near Newry in county Down. The whiskey is described as “a complex blend of light and dark grain, pot still whiskey, and peated malt”.

The competition is a joint initiative between Qatar Duty Free and The Moodie Davitt Report, which attracted a rich and diverse array of entries, saw the short-list was announced at the Virtual Travel Retail Expo, in advance of a ceremony on Friday that will reveal the ultimate winner.

Qatar Duty Free vice president Operations Thabet Musleh and The Moodie Davitt founder and chairman Martin Moodie announced the 12 exceptional brands and concepts during the final Knowledge Hub session at the Virtual Expo.

Shane McCarthy, managing director of Two Stacks, says: “We are excited to have made the shortlist with Dram in a Can in such a prestigious competition in the Middle East, highlighting innovation and creativity in the international travel retail space. It will help to increase awareness of the unique product and our range of whiskeys,” he adds.

Other listed products include premium tea, a single malt Scotch whiskey, gin, skincare, Belgian premium chocolate, fine wines

Commenting, Martin Moodie said that he and Thabet Musleh were delighted with the number and quality of The QDF Factor entrants.

“A common theme,” he added, “was Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), in particular around sustainability and giving back to society and we were very encouraged by that.

“Our final line-up stood out by the way they specifically addressed the judging criteria, tailored their entries to the needs of Qatar Duty Free, and for their overall quality, point of difference and commercial viability in what is a unique travel retail location.”

The Moodie Davitt Report has introduced complementary advertising and editorial exposure for every nominee, another important boost for Dram in a Can.

Thabet Musleh also noted the great number of entries across a range of categories. “Once again we have been really impressed with the quality and innovation of all the concepts that have been submitted,” he said.

“This year the entries have reflected the increased focus in travel retail on CSR at the moment with many products being vegan, sustainably sourced or supporting charitable causes and the environment. We had a very tough time shortlisting our finalists.”

The QDF Factor was first hosted in 2020 at the Virtual Travel Retail Expo. It is open to all brands, both within and outside the travel retail channel.

The entrants were assessed on a series of qualitative criteria, including:

• Innovation: What does this product or concept offer that is unique, stands out from its competitors, and creates a talking point for retailer and consumer alike? What is its USP?
• CSR: What additional social credentials does the product offer?
• Presentation: What is compelling about the packaging? What makes it stand out on shelf? What consideration has been given to people and the planet?
• Commercial viability: Who the product is targeted at? What makes it a winner? What is the pricing policy and (going forward) marketing approach?
• Overall quality: Information about the R&D that went into the product, the quality of its ingredients/components.