Northern Ireland’s Peppup Sauces, an award-winning developer of authentic Italian ketchup and pasta sauces, has won business with Broadway Deli in the Cotswolds.

The first business with the deli, located at Broadway in Worcestershire, followed Peppup’s participation on the FoodNI/InvestNI ‘Taste the Greatness’ presentation at the recent Farm Shop and Deli Show at the NEC in Birmingham.

Based at Portaferry in Co Down, the artisan sauce business was founded by Luca Montorio, originally from Turin, in 2013 and is now selling sauces throughout the UK and Ireland. Peppup is a Food NI member company.

Peppup most recently signed a deal to supply TK Maxx stores in the UK.

The contact which led to the TK Maxx deal was made on the Taste the Greatness stand at Scotland’s Speciality Food Show in Glasgow earlier in the year. The company also supplies Booth’s supermarkets in Lancashire.

Mr Montorio, commenting on the latest business, says: “I was approached by Broadway Deli, among the most successful independent delis in the Cotswolds, at Birmingham to see if I would be interested in supplying them.

“They had tasted the ketchup and pasta sauces and were impressed by the premium quality, branding and, above all, their outstanding taste. I was thrilled by their comments and delighted to supply my original and award-winning sauces to them.

“I am really looking forward to working closely with the Broadway team on initiatives including sampling sessions to ensure the success of this important new business,” he adds.

The new Peppup customer is a stylish independent delicatessen and café established 2002 in the the historic St Patrick’s building in the centre of Broadway in the picturesque Cotswolds.

The café and shop specialises in serving home cooked food with many vegan and gluten free choices.

It works with producers and suppliers from around the world which focus on the quality, integrity and provenance of their produce.

 

Long Meadow Cider has enhanced its business with Sainsbury’s with a deal to launch its Berry Burst cider in the supermarket’s 13 stores across Northern Ireland.

 

Based near Loughgall in Co Armagh at the heart of Northern Ireland’s ‘Orchard Country’, Long Meadow is now among the most enterprising, innovative and successful producers of cider, juice and apple cider vinegar. The family business is a Food NI member company.

 

The latest deal with Sainsbury’s follows Long Meadow’s success in having two products – Medium Blossom Burst and Rhubarb and Honey – launched by the supermarket in Northern Ireland last May.

 

Catherine McKeever, who runs the cider processing business with husband Pat and son Peter, commenting on the new listing, says: “We are immensely encouraged by the decision by Sainsbury’s in Northern Ireland to add a further line from us. It’s a tremendous endorsement of the quality and taste of our award-winning ciders.”

The McKeever family established the cider business in 2012 as a diversification of their apple farm. For three generations the McKeever family has been growing and processing apples at Long Meadow in Armagh.

The company grows and processes a variety of apples including tart Bramleys, which have EU protected status, along with Sweet Katy’s, Worcester and Golden Delicious.

The progressive family business, in addition, won a major marketing competition run by the George Best City Airport which has given the company’s products a substantial profile at the airport.

Sainsbury’s has 13 stores across Northern Ireland and spends around £250 million annually in sourcing a wide range of products from local suppliers.

 

Fortnum and Mason, the iconic London department store and gourmet food hall, is now selling Ballylisk Triple Rose cheese from a dairy farm producer in Armagh.

The new Northern Ireland artisan cheese at Fortnum and Mason, renowned as a supplier of food, drink and other products to the Royal household, has been developed by brothers Mark and Dean Wright on the family’s dairy farm at Tandragee. Ballylisk of Armagh is a Food NI member.

The triple cream cheese, Triple Rose from Ballylisk of Armagh, is produced from milk sourced exclusively from the family’s pedigree Friesian herd on the 200-acre farm and was launched in 2017.  The family has been farming in the Ballylisk area since 1820. The unique soft cheese is processed at their state-of-the-art creamery in Portadown.

Mark Wright, commenting on the first deal with Fortnum and Mason, says: “This is an immensely important contract for us with one of the best known retailers in the world and one with a superb food hall.  It’s a business committed to featuring outstandingly tasty and original food and drink from around the world.

“We’ve been working closely with the store’s buying team and will taking part in sampling sessions to promote and sell the cheese to their customers from London and tourists from around the world. We are thrilled by what is a tremendous opportunity for us to reach a very discerning marketplace.

“It is fantastic to get the recognition from such a prestigious and upmarket retailer for all the hard work that goes into making our unique cheese. Our ancestors are part of our story. They have tilled the soil and helped to develop the farm into the place where the cows are eating the crops and producing the milk. We have complete traceability over what we do and that will always be the Ballylisk of Armagh way,” adds Mark.

The farming family has vast experience of producing the highest quality milk, which means Ballylisk has total control over its entire operation – from ‘farm to table’. Triple Rose is described by Mark as “a rich, decadent cheese made from pasteurised cow’s milk with added cream”.

The diversification into cheese production in 2015 followed an extensive period of market research to identify new business opportunities in premium dairy products.

Ballylisk is the only artisan cheesemaker in Northern Ireland with its own milk pool. Triple Rose cheese is now stocked in delis and farm shops across Northern Ireland and is on the tables at many top restaurants. Business has also been won from a specialist cheese retailer in Borough Market.

Founded as a grocery store in 1707, Fortnum and Mason’s reputation was built on supplying quality food, and has grown successfully. Though Fortnum and Mason has since developed into a successful department store, it continues to focus on stocking a variety of premium food and drink in store.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Erne Larder Preserves, the Enniskillen-based producer of artisan ketchup, jams and sauces, has won significant business with McAtamney’s of Garvagh, one of Northern Ireland’s most successful butchery and deli businesses.

 

Erne Larder, founded and owned by chef Declan O’Donoghue, is supplying a range A Food NI member of handmade products he has developed using her own recipes, to the 12 shops in McAtamney’s network in counties Antrim and Londonderry.

 

The products listed by McAtamney’s are Irish Bacon Ketchup, Irish Bacon Jam and Irish Whiskey Jam. The ketchup and jam feature Irish Black Bacon developed and produced by Pat O’Doherty of O’Doherty’s Fine Meats, also based in Enniskillen and a winner of several major awards for outstanding taste.

 

Declan, commenting on the latest contract for his ketchup and preserves, says: “I am thrilled to be listed in McAtamney stores because it’s a marvellous boost for my small business. It gives great visibility and the opportunity to reach a very wide base of shoppers with my original products.” He has also supplied Lidl stores in Ireland.

 

He is also now supplying products to the impressive The Dairy café, butchery and farm shop at Gleno, near Larne

 

Father of two, Declan (36) decided to step back from the often gruelling work as a head chef to set up his own food enterprise, Erne Larder Preserves in 2016. The ketchup and bacon jam are products unique to Erne Larder.

 

“My objective was to produce unique products using new generation and traditional flavours for sale initially at markets in Fermanagh and further afield,” he explains.  He launched the initial range of products at markets across the country.

 

Feedback from shoppers at the markets was positive and encouraged him to press ahead with his plans.

 

As well as the bacon jam and ketchup, Declan has also created other jams and sauces including a lemon curd based on a recipe from his grandmother and a fiery jalapeño sauce.

McAtamney’s has a long and successful history in the butchery business dating back to 1933 when the first shop was established in Kilrea.

A family run business, McAtamney’s is headquartered in Garvagh and has grown one shop at a time taking pride in growing the business at a pace that never compromises on quality or service. There are now 12 shops across Northern Ireland employing over 100 fully trained master butchers.

 

 

 

Two gins inspired by the Mountains of Mourne have been selected as finalists in The Gin Guide Awards.

 

Both launched in September, 2018, they are made in the Mourne Dew Distillery in Warrenpoint, Co Down. They are Kilbroney Premium Irish Gin (ABV 42%) which is a finalist in both the London Dry Gin and the Contemporary Gin categories

 

And Rostrevor Ruby Red Gin (ABV 40%)is infused with strawberry, raspberry, mint and rose petals has a vibrant red colour and floral notes. It has reached the final in the Flavoured Gin category in the prestigious awards. Mourne Dew is a Food NI member company.

 

Master distiller Donal Farrell says: “To be shortlisted as a finalist in one of The Gin Guide worldwide award categories is an honour, but to make it into three different categories is just amazing!

 

“We’re delighted that the judges know what our loyal customers already know: that our locally made Mourne gins are up there with the best in the world!”

 

Mourne Dew drinks are distributed by GDK Drinks in Warrenpoint, Co. Down.

 

Inspired by their natural surroundings, the gins have captured the very essence of the Mournes; employing the help of an ethnobotanist, who scours the mountains, foraging local edible botanicals. This has allowed them to build up a library of very special tinctures using a low temperature, vacuum distillation process to gently extract the flavours from the delicate flora.

 

The distillery hand produces everything on site; from distillation and bottling to labelling and packaging. The label artwork is designed by the well-known, Irish artist Kathyrn Callaghan. The logo takes its inspiration from Bronze Age Gold Lunulas (neck collars) which are believed to have been made using gold from the Mourne Mountains.

Portrush-based Irish Black Butter has been listed by two of Ireland’s most prestigious food retailers. The company, founded and managed by Alastair Bell, is now supplying its unique sweet/savoury spread to high-end Avoca and Fallon & Byrne stores in the Republic.

Avoca has around 10 stores on the island of Ireland, including a hugely popular outlet in Belfast city centre, while Fallon and Byrne has a network in greater Dublin. Both retailers also operate successful gourmet restaurants.

The latest business in the Republic follows an earlier deal with Sheridans, the leading Irish cheesemongers which is distributing Irish Black Butter, a Food NI member, there.

The listings strengthen the market position in the Republic of Irish Black Butter, developed by entrepreneur Alastair Bell, and launched in 2018 under the ‘New Taste of Ireland’ identity.

The spread features ingredients such as Armagh bramley apples, treacle, brandy and spices and has been created with the advice and guidance of top chef Paul Clarke, managing director of multi-award winning En Place Foods, also based in Northern Ireland.

The product, now also selling in Britain and attracting strong interest from niche food stores in the US and Germany, has proved an outstanding success with delis and farm shops throughout Northern Ireland. It’s now available in over 100 stores and  also at Belfast International Airport and Dublin International Airport.

The company, a Food NI member company, has been actively involved in promoting the spread at major trade shows in Britain and the Republic during the past six months.

Mr Bell, commenting on the latest listings, says:

“The new business with Avoca and Fallon & Byrne is an immensely exciting development for Irish Black Butter in the Republic, a target market for us. Both businesses operate gourmet food halls especially in the Dublin area. The business provides access for us to an affluent customer base interested in different and richly flavoured products. I am grateful for Sheridan’s continuing support in the Republic. It’s a tremendous endorsement of our innovative product by two respected food retailers and of our overall reputation as a producer of a quality and outstandingly tasty product.”