To meet the growing consumer demand for premium snacks and in-home snacking occasions, Sainsbury’s has brought Forest Feast – the Original Snack Explorers – into its fold, with two of the brand’s new, innovative ranges of nuts now in 480 stores throughout the UK.Forest Feast is a Food NI member company.

The Forest Feast Slow Roasted & Seasoned Nuts range is made using local and artisanal ingredients to season and then slowly roasted in small batches. Three variants from the six-strong range will be stocked in Sainsbury’s stores at RRP £3.00/120g, all of which pack a punch in flavour and are gluten-free:
• Slow Roasted Sea Salt & Black Peppercorn Nut Mix• Slow Roasted Serrano Chilli Honey Almonds & Peanuts• Slow Roasted Heather Honey Peanuts & Cashews

The Forest Feast Signature Chocolate Nuts range marries the nutritional goodness of nuts with the indulgence of Belgian chocolate, offering a clear point of difference in the confectionery category that has seen the brand experience 150-250 percent growth in its chocolate ranges. Handcrafted in-house, each nut is oven-roasted with its skin-on for depth of flavour and combined with a unique flavour twist. One vegan-friendly option of the three innovative variants in the range will join the grocery retailer’s shelves at RRP £3.00/120g:• Sea Salted Dark Chocolate Almonds

Bronagh Clarke, marketing director at Forest Feast, said: “Over the last year the nation has spent more time at home, consumers are looking for snacks that elevate their evenings in and are leaning towards more premium, artisanal products. We’re proud that Forest Feast’s new nut ranges harness innovation and flavour discovery to meet this demand, while showcasing our in-house roasting and seasoning capabilities.”

A spokesperson at Sainsbury’s added: “Over the past year, we’ve seen significant growth in customers looking for great tasting snacks, and there is a clear trend of consumers looking for more special and crafted products too – which makes Forest Feast’s proposition really strong. We look forward to being able to offer shoppers even more options to trade-up and enjoy at home.”

Three Food NI member companies have won top awards in the annual Scottish Retail Food and Drink, the results of which have just been announced. Three of the winners are Food NI member companies.

The local winners in the influential competition which recognises and rewards outstanding branded and own label products in the £14 billion a year Scottish retail food and drink marketplace are: 

Food NI members –

Thompson’s Family Teas of Belfast in the UK Producer category in Teas and Tissanes for its Thompson’s Scottish Blend, a tea crafted specially for this market;

Hellbent Chakalata South African style boerewors sausagesfrom Belfast in the Meat – Burgers and Sausages category from a UK Producer: and

Wilson’s Country, Portadown county Armagh for You Say Potato Fresh Cut Chips in UK Producer in Ready Meals and Accompaniments.

Food NI chief executive Michele Shirlow said: “I am delighted to see Northern Ireland companies achieving such outstanding recognition in a market which is among the most important and successful in Britain for our producers. Their achievements there highlight how vitally important it is to keep the trade channels open and unfettered between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.”

There was also a top award for:

McColgan’s Quality Foods, Strabane, county Tyrone for its goat’s cheese and caramalised red onion tart in UK Producer in Quiches and Pies; and Big Pot in Cookstown had two soups shortlisted.

The successful products, which are subjected by rigorous sampling by a panel of food experts, highlight the importance of the Scottish market to Northern Ireland food companies and also reflect the growing achievements of local food producers there . 

Invest NI, the Northern Ireland business development agency, was among the high profile sponsors of the awards which were organised by a separate company with sponsorship from major manufacturers and other bodies.

The Scottish Retail Food & Drink Awards were open to products available for sale in Scottish retail outlets, from the smallest farm shop or deli through Scotland’s 5,000 convenience and symbol stores to the largest supermarkets and discounters.

The food and drink industry in Scotland accounts for one in five manufacturing jobs with more than 18,850 food and drink businesses operating there, employing more than 115,400 people.

The Echlinville Distillery (Co. Down, Northern Ireland) has won five awards at the 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition – one of the drinks industry’s most prestigious and influential contests. Echlinville is home to the iconic Dunville’s Irish Whiskey portfolio, which scooped four awards including Double Gold Medals for Dunville’s Three Crowns and Dunville’s PX 12 Year Old Single Malt. The Double Gold Medal is awarded only to those spirits rated as exceptional by every member of the competition’s esteemed judging panel. Double Gold Medal winners are considered to be among the finest spirits in the world. Dunville’s Three Crowns Peated and Weavers Gin were both awarded a Gold Medal, meaning they are ‘near the pinnacle of achievement’ and set the standard for spirits in their category. Dunville’s 1808 Blended Irish Whiskey was awarded a Silver Medal reserved for ‘outstanding spirits that show refinement, finesse and complexity’.

Speaking about Echlinville’s latest awards success, distillery owner Shane Braniff said: “The San Francisco World Spirits Competition is held in high esteem throughout the global drinks industry. A San Francisco medal is a recognised indicator of exceptional quality and craftmanship, so to win five medals is a huge honour for all of us here at Echlinville. “We pride ourselves in the quality and integrity of our products and the passion and professionalism of our team, so it is wonderful to see this recognised by the competition’s judging panel, which includes some of the spirits industry’s most respected and experienced experts. “These medals bring our tally of global awards and accolades to 45, which is quite an achievement for an independent family-run distillery. Each award is an indication of the high esteem in which Echlinville is held in the global spirits industry, which has traditionally been dominated by big multi-national brands. “As we seek to increase our international presence – particularly in the Irish Whiskey sector, which is the world’s fastest growing spirits category – these awards will further strengthen our brands at home in Ireland and across key export markets. We are delighted with this latest awards success and hope it will help us to introduce The Echlinville Distillery and Dunville’s Irish Whiskey to new followers and spirits enthusiasts around the world.”

Two vodka products have been distilled and launched by Mourne Dew craft distillery in Northern Ireland, using water sourced from the iconic Mountains of Mourne.

The new products are a Premium Irish Vodka and a unique Wild Mourne Rose Irish Vodka. Both have been distilled six times using the small distillery’s vacuum distillation process for smoother and stronger flavours and have 40 percent ABV.

The new vodkas come as Mourne Dew gained a series of medals for quality at the prestigious London Spirits Competition. The craft distillery picked up silver medals for its two single malt and blended Irish whiskeys, its Kilbroney Gin and Hazelnut Poitin.

They join an existing portfolio of multi-award winning Irish whiskeys, gins and traditional Irish poitins developed by the craft distillery which is based at Warrenpoint in county Down. 

The company is enjoying success in international markets such as France and Germany with its ever expanding product range and is just about to enter the spirits market in the US.

Donal Farrell, the founder and Master Distiller of Mourne Dew, says the new vodkas are the outcome of research over many years to develop premium and richly flavoured spirits from a low temperature distillation process that’s unique in Ireland.

“Our work on the vodkas began before the coronavirus pandemic and was paused for a period due to the lockdowns,” Donal explains. “We completed the vodka recipes earlier in the year and have now launched them. They’ve been influenced by our research into flavour blends from botanicals and vacuum distillation over the past six years. 

“The new Wild Mourne Rose Irish Vodka is another example of this research and is based on wild rose petals sourced from the Mourne Mountains. Our distillation process protects the delicate flavours of botanicals and our plan is to use much of this research in further innovative products which are in the pipeline.” Donal believes the rich and smooth flavour of the Wild Mourne Rose Irish Vodka could have exciting export potential.

“Another important feature of our vodkas is the smooth, soft water sourced from the high Mournes which provides a distinctively fresh and natural taste,” says Donal. “We draw many of our ingredients and inspiration from our setting at the foothills of the Mournes overlooking Carlingford Lough,” he adds.

Mourne Dew has employed an ethnobotanist to scour the mountains, foraging local botanicals. This has enabled the company to build up a library of very special tinctures using the low temperature, vacuum distillation process to gently extract the flavours from the delicate flora.

The new vodkas are now being distributed throughout the UK and the island of Ireland. See the mournedew.com for details of distributors and retailers.

Products from two Food NI member companies have been shortlisted in the influential Scottish Retail Food Awards which recognise and reward outstanding branded and own label products.

The Food NI member companies in the running for major awards in this important UK regional competition are:

Thompson’s Family Tea in Belfast in Teas and Tissanes for its Scottish Blend, a tea crafted specially for this market; and

Wilson’s Country, Portadown, county Armagh in Ready Meals and Accompaniments for You Say Potato Fresh Cut Chips.

Other Northern Ireland companies shortlisted are Big Pot, Cookstown, county Tyrone in the Plant Based category for two original soups – Sweet Potato, Red Lentil and Spinach, and Butternut Squash and Chipotle Bean; and McColgan’s Quality Foods, Strabane, county Tyrone in Quiches, Pasties and Pies for two products – Goat’s Cheese and Carmelised Red Onion Quiche, and Pork and Cranberry Sausage Rolls;

The products shortlisted reflect the importance of the Scottish market to Northern Ireland food producers.  Invest NI, the Northern Ireland business development agency, is among the high profile sponsors of the awards which are organised by a separate company with sponsorship from major manufacturers and other bodies.

The Scottish Retail Food & Drink Awards are open to products available for sale in Scottish retail outlets, from the smallest farm shop or deli through Scotland’s 5,000 convenience and symbol stores to the largest supermarkets and discounters.

Scotland’s food and drink industry is worth around £14 billion a year and is one of the most significant contributors to Scotland’s economy. The impact ofcoronavirus has served only to highlight the vital importance of the industry

The industry accounts for one in five manufacturing jobs with more than 18,850 food and drink businesses operating in Scotland, employing more than 115,400 people.

Food and Drink has been identified by the Scottish Government as a key growth sector in its Economic Strategy.