Henderson Wholesale, part of the locally owned Henderson Group in Northern Ireland, has dramatically increased its enjoy local own-brand range, giving local bakeries here a huge opportunity for growth with a further £1.3 million sales projected.

Twenty new bakery products make up the Enjoy Local bakery line, all produced collaboratively with local and family run businesses across Northern Ireland who will now enjoy the benefits of Henderson’s huge distribution network to over 360 company owned and independent stores.

Enjoy local was launched in 2015 with a £25 million investment alongside 20 local suppliers, and local Dromore family bakery Graham’s have been added to the roster to help expand the enjoy local bakery line.

Graham’s joins Daily Bake in Armagh and Scott’s Bakery in Fivemiletown to produce the line, with all companies investing in their team and facilities to deliver the enjoy local range which includes salted caramel, coffee and carrot cakes, chocolate orange as well as raspberry muffins and mini cupcakes, Viennese Whirls, Coconut Jam Delights and a cupcake platter.

These new Bakery products join 125 other fresh products under the enjoy local brand, which have been independently taste tested by over 2,000 people in collaboration with the Food and Consumer Testing Suite at Ulster University.

Eamon Taggart, Trading Manager at Henderson Group commented; “At Henderson Wholesale, we have a great relationship with many local food producers, including local artisan suppliers whose growth we can support through our distribution network”

“Therefore, last year, we collaborated with a range of bakers to create a new line of local products that would proudly sit on the shelves of our stores as part of our hugely successful enjoy local range. We’re enabling smaller bakeries to expand their team and distribution throughout the country thanks to our robust distribution network, whereas before they may have only been supplying to their local store.”
Now, through the enjoy local range, the products will be available throughout SPAR and EUROSPAR stores across Northern Ireland.

The expansion will also benefit retailers, enabling them to provide even better value, quality and choice for shoppers, and consumers who are continuing to choose provenance for their food shop in everything from meat and poultry, and now a great new range of bakery goods.

Eamon continued; “to ensure our suppliers and retailers get the most out of enjoy local Bakery, we have made a further investment of over £20,000 towards a comprehensive marketing campaign, which encompasses in-store signage and outdoor advertising and in-store radio.”

Since the launch of the enjoy local brand, the range has experienced a series of developments in the past four years including an exclusive meat range with K&G McAtamney butchers in Ballymena, several Great Taste Awards and a packaging overhaul just last year.

The six-figure investment into the enjoy local brand and packaging in 2018 highlighted local suppliers and importantly, included an official town stamp of where the product was made, baked, bottled, boxed or farmed in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland’s Henderson Wholesale has invested over £100,000 in its fresh produce category, working with 19 local suppliers to create a new brand, The Greengrocer’s.

In September 2018, Henderson Wholesale embarked on a full analysis, review and refresh of their produce offering, looking at every aspect of the business from the suppliers, products and branding through to in-store execution.

The result was the new brand, The Greengrocer’s. Comprising of over 110 products, most of which have been newly developed in Northern Ireland, the range is available in-store now. A wider range of convenience products like prepared sliced and diced vegetables, packaged leaves and salads join a new range of stir fry or microwavable packs which include a crunchy kale mix with tender stem broccoli; rice and quinoa mix; aromatic greens and rice and lentil mix.

Neal Kelly, Henderson Group Fresh Foods director, says the range is central to the Group’s ‘Famous for Fresh’ strategy. “In 2018 we received over 13,000,000 cases into the fresh warehouse, in 2019 we expect over 14,000,000. After a review of our produce offering in 2018, we decided to create a new brand that would represent the collaborative relationships we have with our suppliers and customers.”

The Greengrocer’s range is packed with quality products that have been chosen for their innovation, taste and freshness to help retailers’ sales growth in this category.

One of the key criteria in the development of The Greengrocer’s was the advancement of sustainable, recyclable and compostable packaging for the range.

Neal continues; “We have launched The Greengrocer’s range with 40 loose and naked lines and we have eliminated unrecyclable black plastic on more than 30 lines within the range. In three of our EUROSPAR stores we are trialling the use of compostable bags for loose produce with the plan to roll these out across the wider estate over time.”

The range will continue to communicate Henderson’s fresh message that over 75 percent of their fresh food is sourced locally and will be supported by in-store POS communications and supplier information shelf cards, as well as a full outdoor campaign.

SPAR and EUROSPAR Ambassadors will hold special sampling in stores throughout Northern Ireland and promotional pricing will apply throughout the summer months.

Henderson Group is a local family business achieving 87th place on the latest 2018 Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 100 league table of the UK’s private companies. The Group owns the SPAR, EUROSPAR, VIVO, VIVOXTRA and VIVO Essentials franchises in Northern Ireland.The Group is committed to sourcing local fresh foods from farmers, growers and suppliers, with over 75 percent of fresh products sourced on the island of Ireland.

Taste the City’s Producers Showcase will profile the best of Northern Irish produce that flavours the city centre’s most loved dishes. Alongside the producers’ market, we will have a handpicked selection of the city’s favourite chefs who will be cooking up a storm and showcasing your produce with food demos across the weekend. This free to attend event will include live music between demos as well as family friendly activities.

Belfast Restaurant Week will take place from 23 to 29 September as part of the island-wide Taste the Island initiative which runs from 1 September to 30 November 2019.

 

To express your interest in participating in this event please complete the below form and return to

lesley@theeventor.com by Friday 30th August 2019

 

BRW19 Taste The City Trader_Form

Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council (LCCC) has unveiled a unique programme of food and drink experiences, planned to run from June to December 2019.

With several exciting events, festivals and tasting experiences scheduled to take place across Hillsborough, Moira, Lisburn and Dundonald, food lovers from across Northern Ireland and those travelling from further afield have plenty to look forward to over the coming months.

The 2019 LCCC Food and Drink Programme was officially launched at The StillHouse of Moira and the line-up includes a number of larger scale events happening across the Council area including the popular Hillsborough Farmers’ Markets and Moira’s Speciality Food Fair, which this year is spreading its wings and running for 2 days (17th and 18th August) as part of a newly created Moira Festival.

There will be a series of ticketed intimate events including a ‘Global Cuisine’ themed series of cookery classes, a ‘Winter Drinks Masterclass’ and a ‘Long Table Dining’ experience, hosted over the coming months by chefs, producers and hospitality providers from within the Lisburn Castlereagh area.

Commenting on the exciting Food & Drink Programme, newly elected Chairman of the council’s Development Committee, Alderman Allan Ewart MBE, said,

“We are delighted to be able to coincide the launch our 2019 Food & Drink Programme at the start of the summer season of food markets and festivals. This year we have introduced several smaller, more intimate events and masterclasses across the council area that will give local talented traders the opportunity to showcase their produce. I would encourage you get to your tickets for the ‘meet the maker’ events that tickle your taste buds.

“The Moira Festival will start on Thursday 15th August with a programme that includes a Meet the Producer themed supper in Wine and Brine, designed and cooked by Chef Chris McGowan; a comedy evening in the Distillery at The StillHouse; and a Family Fun and Music Street Party in Moira on Friday 16th August.”

Alderman Ewart added: “The council is delighted that the ever-popular Hillsborough Farmers’ and Christmas Markets, and the Speciality Food Fair will return once again to Dark Walk at Hillsborough Fort and Moira Demesne. It is also excited to be hosting two new food events this autumn: ‘Festival of Food’ in Lisburn and ‘Taste the Harvest’ in Dundonald. Over the coming months we look forward to seeing how our Food & Drink Programme rolls out. We would encourage all families, friends and food enthusiasts from across the country to attend and get a real taste of what Lisburn Castlereagh has to offer.”

Following the official launch of the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council’s Food and Drink Programme, the second Hillsborough Farmers’ Market of the season will take place on Saturday 29th June at the Dark Walk, Hillsborough Fort. With up to 40 stalls, visitors can once again expect a range of seasonal produce with additional offerings including horticulture and handmade organic skincare and crafts. Marketgoers will experience a delicious array of fresh, artisan foods and home-grown favourites from traders such as Indie Fude, Barn and Bread, Castlescreen Farm, among others.

NOW OPEN

Tourism NI’s Taste the Island Tourism Events Scheme for 2019 is now open for applications and will close on 8 July 2019 at 12 noon. Event organisers wishing to apply to the Scheme are encouraged to do so as early as possible to ensure the deadline is not missed. Applications received after this deadline will not be accepted.

It is advised that all applicants refer to Guidelines for Applicants before starting their application.

Apply now at tourismni.com/events.

To be eligible to apply to the Taste the Island Tourism Events Scheme 2019 events must satisfy the below parameters:

• Total visitor numbers greater than 1,000
• Events must have an overall minimum income of £30,000 through ticket sales, private sponsorship, other public sector, merchandise etc (prior to receiving support from Tourism NI)
• Events must have an overall minimum expenditure of £30,000 (prior to receiving support from Tourism NI)
• Demonstrate how the event will showcase the authentic Northern Ireland food and/or drink (new or uplift of existing element/s)
• Demonstrate how the event will support, promote and celebrate Taste the Island initiative
• Sponsorship support available £3,000 (inclusive of VAT) –  £10,000 (inclusive of VAT)
• In-kind support not included in the budget

If you have any queries, please contact Tourism NI Events Team on eventsunit@tourismni.com or call 028 90441656.