Sam Butler talked to Fiona Lydon of Seriously Juicy Detox Juices in Newtownbutler, Co Fermanagh, a recently established small business producing raw vegetable and fruit blended juices.

Fiona Lydon found starting a small business helped her to overcome post natal depression following the birth of her second child. It led the Fermanagh woman to turn an interest in healthy fruit and vegetable juices into Seriously Juicy, a start up business. “I desperately needed something to focus on,” she says. “I know starting a business is not for every woman facing the condition but it worked for me. It gave me something to concentrate on as well as looking after the baby.”

Before her two young children were born, Fiona had seen the growth in fruit and veggie-blends of so called detox juices while working as a nanny in Boston. She was in the US with husband Colm, a construction contractor. The couple spent around a decade in Boston, where Fiona shopped regularly at health stores including the iconic Whole Foods Market. “I saw the developing trend there towards detox juices that were marketed as being healthy because of the blend of veggies such as kale, celery, spinach with fruits including apple and lemon,” she adds.

Starting a business developing such products wasn’t on her agenda back then. ”I never thought I’d be able to start and run a business in those days. I didn’t have the experience or, above all, the cash to get it going.”

The couple then moved to Britain and settled in Reading for eight years. Colm continued to work in construction, an industry that recovered fast there after the recession. Fiona signed up for a course in law at Reading University and then sought to gain experience as a solicitor. “I decided to study law to expand my qualifications and develop a career,” she explains. “While it was great experience, I continued to be interested in juices and saw the market trend towards healthy drinks also developing in Britain, especially in the London area.”

What brought the couple back to Fermanagh was a decision to start a family. “Fermanagh offered an extended family network. And so we decided to set up near Newtownbutler,” Fiona says. Colm has continued to commute to London to develop his career in the construction industry. “It made sense for Colm to continue in London because this is where the work is. There aren’t many jobs here because construction has been going through such a difficult patch.”

The couple now have two young children, a boy (4) and a girl (3). “Coming home was the right decision because family and friends have been very supportive especially when I suffered from post natal depression. I was able to fall back on their support and they encouraged me when I started talking about the juice business. It was the break I needed.” And it’s been a successful venture.

Fiona started making juices at home for family to sample. “I worked really hard to develop my own version of the blends I’d seen in Boston and London but I wasn’t sure about starting a business because I had no real experience. I turned to Invest NI in Omagh for advice. They were very supportive and introduced me to the innovation voucher scheme that offers £4,000 to explore a product with a local college or university. I had a number of juices in mind and had produced samples but needed help with shelf life and nutritional information for the labels,” Fiona continues.

The voucher enabled Fiona to link up with experts at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) in Belfast. AFBI introduced her to high pressure processing (HPP) which increases shelf life without affecting the juice.

“The innovation voucher was tremendous. I couldn’t have managed without it because the HPP technology gave me a product that I could sell because it offered retailers shelf life of around 30 days. AFBI was superb and extremely supportive.” She’s currently working with AFBI to double shelf life.

Fiona set up the business late last year in a small unit near her home that’s been approved by the relevant authorities as suitable for food production. Four blends of juice were launched at the start of this year. They are ‘Mean Green’, apple, cucumber, celery, kale, spinach, parsley, ginger and lemon; ‘Ginger Zinger’ with apple, carrot, lemon and ginger; ‘Sweet Beet’ comprising beetroot, apple, carrot, spinach and lime; and ‘Mango Tango’ with mango, carrots, pineapple, yellow bell peppers, cucumber and lime.

The juices are packed with vitamins including A, B.C, E, K and minerals such as calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium and zinc. They are said to provide a boost to the immune and digestive systems, clear out free radicals, purify the blood and liver and rehydrate the body.

The recipes are all her own and made from 100 per cent raw vegetables and fruits with no added water or preservatives. They are all gluten free and suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Local chefs Noel McMeel, Neven Maguire and Paula Mcintyre have been supportive.

The challenge now facing the enterprising Fiona is developing sales to generate a worthwhile return. And she’s doing extremely well. The juices are selling well in Northern Ireland – she’s recently won prestigious outlets in Belfast – and also in the Republic of Ireland. Stores in Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan and Sligo are already selling her products. Monaghan GAA team has also signed up for the Mean Green juice. The future looks bright for the enterprising Fiona.

Article written by Food NI CEO Michele Shirlow- 2nd June 2016

Well done Belfast City Council on two spectacularly successful Twilight Markets last week. Upwards of 20,000 people visited the events in the splendid St George’s Market and clearly enjoyed the opportunity provided to talk to food and drink producers and experience the expertise of chefs from many of the city’s eateries. These markets carried forward our own hugely successful Food Pavilion at Balmoral which attracted record crowds.

I enjoyed walking around the market and talking to producers and restaurants, a great many of them members of Food NI.

What both events demonstrated is the tremendous strength of public support for the local industry and especially for the Year of Food and Drink campaign, now entering its sixth month and focusing on the Love Dairy theme in June.

We’ve all been immensely encouraged by the enthusiasm of both central and local government for this year-long campaign to showcase the excellence of our food and drink. I welcome new Economy minister Simon Hamilton and Agriculture Minister Michelle McIlveen, both of whom, I know, are also enthusiastic supporters of the initiative spearheaded initially by First Minister Arlene Foster when she held the economy portfolio and has continued be fully engaged in the campaign to showcase our £5 billion food and drink industry.

Events organised by councils from Derry to Newry and Belfast to Craigavon and Enniskillen have demonstrated that Year of Food and Drink has become a unifying initiative. Innovative events have included the very successful Food Heartland Awards organised by Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon councils.

People here really have embraced the initiative. Communities in virtually every part of Northern Ireland are now working together to support our most important industry.

In addition to special events, we’ve seen the emergence of a number of local farmers’ markets that provide smaller companies in particular with a platform to reach shoppers. New monthly markets are emerging all the time, the latest being Hillsborough this Saturday. What’s also remarkable is the commitment being shown by producers to the various markets. I don’t know how they keep in touch with them. We do our best in Food NI, of course, to keep our member companies abreast of the opportunities. We want them to be successful and to stimulate other aspiring producers to get involved.

I think It’s fair to say that Year of Food and Drink has already succeeded in many of its objectives including heightening awareness here of the quality of local products. The challenge, of course, will maintaining momentum next year. It’s a challenge we are already addressing to help continue the industry’s growth.

This message is also reaching tourists and visitors, judging by the accents I heard at Balmoral and the Twilight Markets. We also hosted a visit to Balmoral by some of the leading food writers from Britain from publications such as The Times, Financial Times, Daily Telegraph and The Guardian.

Led by our good friend Charles Campion and including Xanthe Clay, another great supporter of Northern Ireland food, they were all hugely impressed by the vast number of products on show and the willingness of producers to talk to them about their products and how they are made. I look forward to reading their reports in the months ahead. They’ll all be extremely positive. Year of Food and Drink is strengthening friendships and demonstrating the great good will that exists abroad towards Northern Ireland.

Spotlight on Rathlin Island and Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink in Germany

Rathlin Island is set to provide the backdrop for a hugely popular food and cookery TV show in Germany called Zu Tisch, later this year.

A TV crew is filming on the island this week, as guests of Tourism Ireland. Zu Tisch – which has an audience of more than 5 million viewers – airs on national German TV, on the ARD and ZDF channels, as well as on the ARTE network, a Franco-German television channel focusing on culture and the arts. It’s also available through video on demand and catch-up TV.

The episode filmed on Rathlin Island will be a special one – the 200th episode – so it’s a really good opportunity to showcase our local produce and to highlight our special Year of Food and Drink in Germany. The crew has been filming around the island, following local kelp farmers Kate Burns and Benji McFaul. Their itinerary was devised by Tourism NI.

Zoë Redmond, Tourism Ireland’s Manager for Central Europe, said: “We were delighted to invite the Zu Tisch crew to come and film on Rathlin Island. It’s a wonderful opportunity to highlight what’s so special about Rathlin and to remind German ‘foodies’ about the superb culinary offering of Northern Ireland and this special Year of Food and Drink.

“TV and film are recognised as strong influencers on travellers everywhere, with up to 35% of people being impacted in their choice of destination by what they see on screen. Tourism Ireland regularly works with overseas TV and production companies to facilitate the making of travel and lifestyle programmes, to get positive exposure for Northern Ireland around the world.”

An article all about the making of Zu Tisch on Rathlin Island will also appear in an upcoming edition of Arte magazine – reaching more than 114,000 readers.

Germany is an important market for tourism to Northern Ireland. Figures published by NISRA today confirm that we welcomed an extra +14% visitors from Mainland Europe in 2015. Tourism Ireland is determined to ensure that growth continues and has an extensive programme of promotions under way in Germany, and elsewhere across Mainland Europe, throughout 2016.

Broighter Gold, the award winning producer of rapeseed oil from Limavady, has won business with top retailer Musgrave Group that will see its products in hundreds of convenience stores across Northern Ireland.
The contract is the biggest retail contract won to date by the Co Derry farm-based business owned by Richard and Leona Kane.

Broighter Gold’s range of original Liquid Gold and flavour infused rapeseed oils such as Basil, Chilli, Rosemary and Garlic, Lemon, Thai, and Black Truffle will be on the shelves of the group’s SuperValu, Centra and Mace convenience stores. The deal could lead to the company’s oils being added to the group’s extensive network of supermarkets in the Republic of Ireland.

Broighter Gold is the latest addition to Supervalu’s ‘Inspired Range’ of ambient products.
The successful farm diversification company has been cold-pressing and bottling rapeseed oil for over five years, building success on the increasing demand for healthier alternatives to mainstream cooking oils.
The range has been used and endorsed by numerous high-profile chefs, most notably SuperValu’s food ambassador Noel McMeel and has featured on the menu at the White House!

Musgrave NI trading manager, David McMahon, says: “Broighter Gold is a great addition to our ‘Inspired Range’ and is being stocked in our SuperValu, Centra and Mace stores across Northern Ireland.”
Leona Kane, managing director and founder of Broighter Gold Rapeseed Oil, adds: “Winning this deal with Musgrave Group NI is a huge boost for the business and is our biggest retail deal. It moves the company on to a higher level and will give us access to the group’s vast customer base across Northern Ireland.

“We’ll be working closely with Musgrave on an extensive series of product tastings in stores throughout Northern Ireland over the next few months as we seek to support this very important business for us. We’ve already lined many store tastings in the short term and hope to undertake many more this year. While it’s going to be very busy, we are looking forward to working with the supermarkets and meeting a great many more customers. It’s an immensely exciting development for Broighter Gold,” Leona says.
Broighter Gold has won a string of UK Great Taste and Blas na hEireann food awards over the past three years. The product was also won the Flavours of the Neighbourhood, a UK competition launched by the Hotel Indigo Group, part of the global Intercontinental Hotel Group chain, to find the best artisan food product.

The oils are based on oilseed rape grown on Broglasco, the Kane family farm, in Myroe, near Limavady, which is on the edge of Lough Foyle just above sea level on reclaimed land. The arable farm covers 800 acres – 180-are used to grow rapeseed.

The fertile ground grows high yielding crops of wheat, barley, oilseed and potatoes. Ireland’s greatest find of gold artefacts from the Iron Age of the 1st century BC was found on the farm and is now held by the national Museum of Ireland.

In addition to the development of rapeseed oil, the company has expanded into industrial tourism by developing an exhibition centre through the international EconoMusee network that enables visitors to see how the oil is produced and used in cooking.

A Tourism NI supported initiative designed to promote Lough Neagh eels and encourage their inclusion on restaurant menus is to be launched at the end of this month in a collaboration between two leading lough shore bodies.

Eel-Eat, which will run from Saturday 25th June until Saturday 2nd July, is an innovative programme created by the Lough Neagh Partnership and the Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-operative and sponsored by Tourism NI’s Year of Food and Drink Tourism Events Scheme.

Organisers of the scheme, which is also receiving support from Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council, are asking participating restaurants to include Lough Neagh eel on their menus for the week to encourage consumption amongst residents and visitors and support the local fishing industry.

The initiative, which will feature as part of this year’s River to Lough Festival, aims to encourage domestic consumption of the protected – and largely exported – local foodstuff with chefs and restaurants from across the north being urged to get involved.

Leading names in the restaurant industry have already signed up to the initiative with Deane’s Love Fish and Hastings Hotels throwing their weight behind the project.

Participating restaurants will receive a range of support including a listing on the Eel-Eat website and an opportunity to promote details of their specific Eel-Eat events or menus; branded Eel-Eat point of sale display material; email artwork with Eel-Eat branding, and opportunities to get directly involved in press and social activity in NI, ROI and GB markets.

Registration for the inaugural scheme is free however participating restaurants are being asked to provide a £30 gift voucher, which will be used to promote the initiative and drive footfall to the restaurant.

Marketing manager at Lough Neagh Partnership, Eimear Kearney said they hoped to recruit up to 40 restaurants from across NI to be part of the initiative from family run cafés to gastro pubs and fine dining restaurants.

“If you offer a sit down dining experience and are passionate about quality local produce, great atmosphere and top class customer service, then we would like you to be a part of it,” said Eimear.

“Eel-Eat will include a wide ranging promotional campaign covering digital, radio, outdoor and press advertising. There will be a dedicated website featuring participating restaurants, events and competitions as well as tactical promotions and leaflet distribution amongst other activity.

“With special menus designed to suit all tastes and budgets, and food events in restaurants throughout Northern Ireland, Eel-Eat promises to be a week for food lovers from near and far.”

The initiative is part of a bigger push at promoting Lough Neagh eel locally and encouraging more chefs to feature the north’s first ever Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) foodstuff on their menus. Organisers have teamed up with Food NI on a chef steering forum bringing chefs on to the lough to meet local fishermen, demonstrating traditional cooking methods as well as facilitating visits to the Co-operative’s facililties and contacts with local suppliers. A wider European food project is also being targeted.

“We are sourcing partners for different elements that we would like to see developed around the lough,” said Eimear, “with cookery schools, a fish restaurant on the loughshore, foraging trips and food trails among the plans. We see food as one of our key attractions to the area and have a protected designation of origin (PDO) application for Lough Neagh pollen pending as well.

“We want to show just how much eels are part of our food culture and how that can boost Lough Neagh and its Waterways as a destination.”

Chefs and restaurants interested in taking part in the Eel-Eat initiative can register at http://eepurl.com/bZII_z

Website can be found at www.eel-eat.co.uk, follow on Twitter @eel_eat, #EelsAreTasty and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EatEels

The thriving heritage village of Hillsborough is set to revive the time-honoured tradition of the Farmers’ Market. Supported by Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, the first of two Farmers’ Markets will take place on Saturday 4th June at The Courthouse, followed by a second market on Saturday 2nd July 2016.

With fresh, delicious, organic, and healthy foods, the Farmers’ Markets will showcase the best local primary and artisan produce. The market will feature independent food producers, such as Passion Preserved, Mike’s Fancy Cheese, Neary Nogs Artisan Chocolate, Buchanan’s Farm Shop and Amberline’s organic produce and preserves. Start-ups including Erin Burgess’ Grain & Co Bakery and Sarah McGreechan’s Sarah’s World Fare and Little Pink Kitchen will also be present.

This impressive bill of fare for the first Farmers’ Market is ardently supported by Hillsborough’s local food and hospitality businesses such as The Plough Inn and Azora Café. Other street food vendors include Hog Plate and Pizza Box, all of the food producers involved are committed to sourcing as much of their ingredients as possible from home-grown sources. Claire Kelly, of Passion Preserved said: “As independent traders, initiatives like these Farmers’ Markets are essential to our livelihood and there is something really rewarding for both us as producers and customers in buying direct from source. It is a very social way of doing business and getting the weekly food shop done! We are always extremely grateful for the support of local established businesses and it is great to see a few of them getting involved.”

Speaking about the forthcoming markets, Alderman Allan Ewart, Chairman of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council Development Committee, said: “We are excited about bringing a new Farmers’ Market to Hillsborough during the NI Year of Food and Drink 2016. We see these two markets as a pilot exercise to gauge potential for a regular Farmers’ Markets in Hillsborough. We consider these initiatives as essential platforms in supporting our talented and committed native food producers and consequently local businesses.”

Hillsborough and the surrounding area is held in high-esteem for its agricultural heritage, epicurean offering and food-devoted festivals held throughout the year. It would seem to be the ideal location for a regular, well-supported, Farmers’ Market. With stall holders selling everything from in-season fruit and vegetables to specialist small batch artisan produce, the Hillsborough Farmers’ Markets are must attend events for food connoisseurs and anyone who loves to support, buy and eat local.

For further information visit: https://www.facebook.com/hillsboroughfarmersmarketNI/ Twitter@MarketHillsboro
http://www.visitlisburncastlereagh.com/whats-on/