Food manufacturer Finnebrogue is to create up to 125 jobs following a £17 million investment in its nitrite-free bacon facility in Northern Ireland.
Finnebrogue, a Food NI member company, is behind the successful Naked Bacon brand which is now popular with shoppers at major retailers in Britain. It also produces and sells The Good Little Company range of sausages and recently opened a vegetarian factory.
The latest investment, which is supported by Invest NI, has enabled the company to establish a dedicated manufacturing facility in Downpatrick for the production of its nitrite-free bacon.
Denis Lynn, chairman of Finnebrogue, says: “It has been known for decades that nitrites used in curing meat can cause cancer.
“That’s why, despite being the UK’s leading top tier sausage maker, we refused to make a single rasher of bacon until we could figure out a way to make it better and safer.
“We always set out to make food the best it can be, without being bound by the way it has always been done. And so, after much research, we discovered a process that uses fruit and spice extracts to flavour the pork, keep it pink and retain shelf life.
“We are using this technology in our Naked Bacon and we’ve had a great response from both retailers and consumers.”
Production of Naked Bacon began last year in Downpatrick and for the first time in the UK and Ireland nitrite-free bacon is now widely available in supermarkets.
Invest NI has offered the company more than £1.3 million of support towards the capital investment and to help create the new jobs. The 125 new posts will be created by 2022, with 30 already in place.
Brian Dolaghan, executive director of business and sector development at Invest NI, adds: “Agri-food is one of our priority sectors and it is great to see the new facility operational and producing this cutting-edge product.
“Our support is ensuring Finnebrogue is able to capitalise on its innovation and realise growth. The local economy will also benefit from this fantastic food innovation as the 125 new jobs will deliver over £3 million to the economy each year in salaries.”
Morelli, the UK champion ice cream producer, is to launch a dairy free product that’s also ideal for vegans.
Based in Coleraine, Morelli, a Food NI company, was last week named the UK’s leading ice cream producer by industry body the Ice Cream Alliance (ICA) at the annual expo in Harrogate.
The family business, which also won silverware for its successful vanilla and strawberry flavours, has developed a dairy free ice cream in response to the growing demand from consumers seeking products free from allergens such as lactose.
The new ice cream, also suitable for vegans, will be widely available within the next few weeks from the company which has been pioneering ice cream in Northern Ireland since 1911 and is now among the UK industry’s most successful and respected.
Sales and marketing director Daniela Morelli-Kerr explains: “Creating the dairy free product was complicated. The first step, of course, was to replace the milk with ingredients that maintained the creaminess and flavour of ice cream.
“We settled on a base of healthy coconut fat, a sugar replacement, and plant extracts. It is water based but it is not a sorbet. We are confident that we’ve succeeded in creating a really delicious ice cream with these ingredients and made it suitable for consumers who are lactose intolerant. It’s also ideal for vegans,” Daniela adds.
The first two dairy free flavours are likely to be established favourites chocolate and salted caramel.
The company, which employs 20 people at Coleraine, has been working on the dairy free ice cream with its suppliers of ingredients for the last six months.
Morelli brought the coveted UK National Champion award to Northern Ireland for the first time ever.
“We were thrilled to win our industry’s top award,” continues Daniela. “It’s a very special endorsement of our business here, in the Republic of Ireland, where our sales are growing strongly, as well as in Great Britain, a target growth market for us, from the judging panel of industry experts. Our new vegan variety should also whip up further growth,” she continues.
“It doesn’t get any better than bringing national silverware back to our home in Northern Ireland and we will be sharing the celebrations with our ever loyal staff, suppliers and, of course, our marvellous customers,” adds Daniela.
And business in Britain looks set to grow steadily from the success in the awards.
ICA President and Head Judge, Henry Nurkowski hailed the company’s tremendous achievement, saying: “Morelli’s Ice Cream was outstanding. It is a testament to the hard work and dedication by the family to produce a top quality product from the best available ingredients and to do it consistently. The Morelli family thoroughly deserves this award,” he adds.
The family business, headed by Daniela’s brother Arnaldo Morelli, has long been at the forefront of successful innovation in iced desserts here. It launched the first diabetic friendly ice cream in Northern Ireland.
A frozen yoghurt was also created successfully from yoghurt sourced from Clandeboye Estate in Bangor. The yoghurt subsequently collected a gold medal at the Blas na hEireann Awards – The Irish National Food Awards – held annually at Dingle. Another original flavour was developed using Irish Black Butter, a savoury spread from Armagh Bramley apples and produced in Portrush by Alastair Bell.
“These and other products that we’ve developed over the years reflect the strength of our commitment to source as much as possible from local suppliers. All our milk comes from local farms through what used to be known as the Ballyrashane Creamery in Coleraine,” she adds.
The Walled City Brewery’s “LegenDerry Food Experience” showcase event last night was the perfect setting for Derry City and Strabane District Council to announce details of its ambitious plans to build on the city and district’s unique food offering in order to position Derry~Londonderry as the number one food destination on the island of Ireland by 2025.
The Local Food and Drink Strategy Action Plan for 2019-2025 was officially launched at a local food showcase event that saw over 70 guests including food stakeholders from across the island of Ireland gather to celebrate and promote the city’s food offering.
The Strategy, which is funded by the NICHE EU INTERREG Project, aims to build on the City’s existing reputation as a stand out food destination within Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland having secured numerous awards, delivered international scale festivals and events, unique food experiences and award winning restaurants and producers.
The ambition is to grow the existing LegenDerry Food brand, establish a food and drink network with local businesses and further develop a strong food culture where local produce is prioritised by hospitality, retail and consumers. Key actions include plans to develop up to 50 new food and drink products, 20 new food and drink experiences as well as develop a full calendar of food events throughout the year.
Launching the Strategy, the Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Cllr John Boyle outlined details of its ambitious targets for growth that include doubling food and drink related visitor spend to £33m by 2025 in line with the Council’s Tourism Strategy.
He said: “The strategy highlights the unique selling points for development which include the Lough Foyle Irish Flat Oyster, Unique Food Heritage, A Cultural and Vibrant Food Scene and further positioning the Walled City as the gateway to the wider food experience.”
In addition to the Strategy being launched, guests were encouraged to sign up to be part of the newly established LegenDerry Food and Drink Network. This is an informal network of businesses and organisations within the sector who will work in close collaboration to represent, promote and develop the local food & drink offering within the Derry City and Strabane District Council area. They will work in partnership with Council and the Strategic Food Group to support with the delivery of the Local Food and Drink Strategy.
It will also afford local businesses a range of opportunities to be part of best practice trips, gain access to tradeshows, and networking events as well as taking an active role in shaping the activity that will grow the city and region as the leading food destination on the island.
James and Louise Huey, owners of the Walled City Brewery said they were delighted to host ‘A LegenDerry Food Experience’ saying the event highlighted why uniquely positioning the city and region’s authentic food and drink products and interacting with customers can create an experience that will leave a lasting impression.
James said: “This event was the perfect opportunity to launch the strategy and provided us with a fantastic forum to showcase our produce. I am really excited to play a part in the newly formed Food and drink network and look forward to working with Council and all those in the food sector to really drive the City forward as the number one Food Destination on the island of Ireland.”
Welcoming the commitment by Council to work with the sector to double visitor spend to £100m by 2025 and create up to 1000 additional jobs,
Mayor Boyle said: “The food and drink scene in Derry and Strabane is second to none and over the past number of years it has been part of an exciting and inspirational journey to successfully showcase our award winning produce, talented chefs, unique food experiences and award winning restaurants. The investment by a number of local artisan food and drink producers has successfully stimulated business and this has been key to our success. We hope that our continued collaborative approach to provide a unique food and drink experience will set us above the rest in terms of food tourism that will in turn encourage visitors to visit and stay longer.”
Jennifer O’Donnell Tourism Manager with Derry City and Strabane District Council explained that in devising the Strategy officers looked at other locations that are benefiting from food tourism including San Sebastian in Spain and Melbourne in Australia.
“Food Tourism is a significant area of growth, with visitors increasingly seeking out unique and memorable eating and drinking experiences. Food really connects people to a place and we want to continue to grow this element of our tourism offer. This strategy now provides a roadmap to do this.”
“We have a number of key propositions that include our Lough Foyle Irish flat oyster, a unique food heritage and a truly vibrant food scene which set us apart from other destinations. We believe this Strategy is ambitious, but achievable and the vision clearly sets out where we want to be positioned in the market place,” she concluded.
Concluding the Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council said he was confident the Strategy would create a flourishing food and drink sector that will be successful in driving tourism growth both in visitor numbers and spend.
“This Food Strategy has the potential to showcase our wider destination offer that reflects our local heritage and unique culture.”
The Food and Drink Strategy is a Niche EU funded INTERREG project.
Farmageddon Craft Brewery, a Food NI member company, in Comber is brewing an innovative beer with hemp.
The new Hemp IPA is brewed with hemp juice and pulp grown on a family farm in County Monaghan which grows organic hemp. The brew contains the CBD associated with medicinal cannabis.
Eoin Wilson, one of the founders of Farmageddon, says blending hops and hemp is not as strange as it may sound.
He added: “The two plants are actually genetically related and would have smells and aromas that are similar depending what hops you are using.
“The hemp would be more like Simcoe or Columbus hops, that are piney and resinous. But as for the CBD in it or any medicinal benefits, we are not making any claims because we haven’t tested it for exact levels.
“What it was about for us was making an old school really hoppy beer. There’s been a trend lately towards sweeter New England style IPAs, but this is definitely more bitter and dry.
“The hemp certainly added flavour and bitterness. On the IBU [beer bitterness] scale it is 50, but it tastes more like 70.
“It’s a great tasting beer that’s been selling exceptionally well. The first batch was 1,800 litres and was snapped up fast. We’ve since brewed another batch of about 2,000 litres.”
Farmageddon worked with Kama Hemp which is based near Clones and say their juice is the only organic hemp juice in Europe. Kama Hemp has been producing hemp juice since 2013. And is the only organic hemp juice grown in Europe. It features naturally occurring CBD Cannabidiol, a nutritional source of CBD.
Farmageddon, a brewing co-operative has developed a portfolio of craft beers. The co-op comprises seven home brew fans who got together from the martial arts and punk rock scene in Belfast and began initial brewing in 2012. The name of the brewery reflects its location on the small farm and the longstanding interest of its founders in horror and zombie movies!
A massive boost for local food and drink producers is on the cards at one of Northern Ireland’s most successful garden centres. Coleman’s at Templepatrick will open what will be Northern Ireland’s biggest farm shop later in March.
The new 4,000 sq ft shop, part of a £5 million investment at the popular garden centre and nursery, will focus on locally produced food and drink such as cider, apple cider vinegar, juices and minerals.
The farm shop, will have its own bakery, butchery counter and fishmongers, in a purpose-built extension to the garden centre which also includes an extensive restaurant. The butchery counter will offer beef dry aged matured for up to 40 days.
Richard Fry, managing director of Coleman’s, says: “We’ve a huge range of wonderful food and drink now being produced in Northern Ireland by artisan and smaller companies, and our aim will be showcase the products which have earned Northern Ireland the title of World’s Best Food Destination.
“Our new farm shop will enable smaller producers to reach a much wider audience and grow sales.
“We’ll have plenty of space to showcase the food and drink that’s readily available here. I believe we’ll be able to offer a genuine food destination, a one-stop-shop, for local people, other shoppers and visitors.
“This is a very significant development for us and one which will offer tremendous opportunities for a very broad range of local products. Farm shops within garden centres is now an important trend within the industry in Britain,” he adds. “We are the first to develop such an extensive facility for local food in Northern Ireland,” he adds.
Coleman’s has been working closely with promotion agency Food NI on identifying potential local producers to stock on its shelves and chill cabinets.
Hundreds of regular shoppers at Coleman’s had an opportunity to meet some potential food and drink suppliers and sample their products at a special event held in the garden centre.
