Glastry Farm’s best-selling vanilla bean ice cream is now tastier than ever before as a result of deal with a growers’ co-operative.

Based on a dairy farm near Kircubbin in Co Down, Glastry, a FoodNI member, has teamed up with a co-operative in Madagascar for a direct supply of vanilla beans that provide an authentic flavour for its award-winning ice cream.

Will Taylor, Glastry’s founder and managing director, explains: “We were approached by representatives of the newly formed group of growers and readily agreed to work with them to use their beans to enhance our ice cream flavour and also to help the growers and their families with a fair return for their product that have been described as “the most expensive crop in the world”.

“We’ve taken delivery of the first consignment and have been including the beans in our most popular ice cream. I believe it’s the first time in Ireland that their beans have been delivered directly from the northern region of the island in the Indian Ocean. The vanilla plant thrives in this sub-tropical environment,” Will, a widely respected dairy farmer, adds.

The farm has long featured a successful ice cream and low fat sorbet business which has won a host of UK Great Taste and Blas na hEireann awards.

 Eighty per cent of the world’s vanilla is grown by small holding farmers in the island’s hilly forests. They are prey to thieves in season.

Glastry Farm includes over 70 of its high quality milk from its pedigree herd for its base mix of its ice creams. The family-run business, in keeping with its location, takes pride in its focus on the environment and in the highest standards of animal husbandry.

“Working with the growers to help ensure their prosperity is also in line with our clean, green, natural image,” Will continues. “Our focus is on a natural choice for our valued customers. Chemical vanilla from some flavour houses is not compatible with our focus on natural products,” he adds.

Gilfresh Produce, leading vegetable growers and packers based in Co. Armagh, are delighted to have been awarded a tender to supply several prepared vegetables lines to ALDI Ireland as part of its ‘Nature’s Pick’ range.

Gilfresh Produce have been supplying ALDI with a wide range of whole head and prepared vegetable products since May 2022. The lines that Gilfresh Produce will supply include Nature’s Pick Carrot Batons, Nature’s Pick Shredded Cabbage, Nature’s Pick Carrot, Cauliflower & Broccoli Florets and Nature’s Pick 5 Veg Soup. These lines are in addition to Gilfresh Produce’s very own Oriental Stir-Fry, which is already available in 161 stores nationwide. Last year, ALDI spent over €1.3M with Gilfresh Produce, showcasing just how popular their products are amongst Irish shoppers.

Gilfresh Produce is a proud family business, first established in 1965 by Thomas Gilpin. Thomas began growing vegetables in a 4-acre field at their family home, with the business now growing in excess of 600 acres per year. Gilfresh continues to go from strength to strength and has firmly established itself as one of Ireland’s leading vegetable growers and packers.

Matthew Johnston, Account Executive with Gilfresh Produce commented: “Since we began supplying ALDI in May 2022, our working relationship has grown from strength to strength. We are delighted that ALDI have awarded Gilfresh these new lines and will take great pride in ensuring that we supply the freshest high-quality products for all ALDI customers to enjoy.”

Welcoming the additional product lines, John Curtin, ALDI Group Buying Director said: “Gilfresh Produce have extended their portfolio of prepared vegetable products since we began working with them in 2022. We are delighted that several of their products are now part of ALDI’s ‘Nature’s Pick’ range, which is highly rated by our customers. At ALDI, we are committed to working with producers like Gilfresh Produce who continue to expand and grow their business, delivering customers a wide range of high-quality products.”

Look out for the exciting new range of Nature’s Pick Prepared Vegetables available in your local ALDI store now.

Consumers in Dubai are enjoying tasty crispy onions from Milgro in Limavady from a deal with one of the world’s leading grocery chains.,

Northern Ireland’s largest commercial grower and producer of onion products, Milgro, a farm-based business, has added a new market for its multi award-winning crispy onions by securing an agreement to supply Spinney’s retail group in the affluent United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Spinney’s is a British multinational supermarket chain active in the Unit Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, Qatar, Lebanon, Oman and Pakistan. It is now a premium supermarket retailer in the Middle East, and operates 18 stores in Lebanon, 15 in Egypt, two in Jordan, four in Oman and 56 Spinney’s in the UAE.

Milgro, a Food NI member, is now supplying its new ONiT! Crispy Onions brand to Spinney’s stores across the Middle East, to add to their already established supply base in the Republic of Ireland which now includes Tesco, Aldi, Eurospar, Spar, Mace, Londis and XL stores, as well as a large number of independent butchers.

Gerald Miller, Milgro’s managing director, says: “This is very exciting business for us in an extremely dynamic and quality conscious market.

“Since launching in November 2022, the ONIT Crispy Onions brand has won several awards, including Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards, Scottish Retail Food and Drink Awards, and the prestigious Blas na hÉireann awards.”

Not content with this exciting news, Milgro will also be launching a new format for their catering range at IFEX, which takes place at the TEC Belfast this week.

An innovative fully recyclable and resealable pouch will be a welcome solution to many catering settings, with supply already established through market leaders Sysco, Henderson and Lynas Foodservice.

Karri Kitchen in Portadown, the premium producer of healthy and nutritious South East Asian influenced meals, is strengthening its position with the Cork-based retail chain Musgrave Group, one of Ireland’s leading grocery, wholesale and foodservice groups.

Owned and run by husband and wife team Chris and Shera McAloran, a talented chef, Karri Kitchen, an award-winning creator and producer of high-protein ready meals, is launching three new and delicious dishes with Musgrave. Karri signed a £450,000 deal to supply the vast Musgrave network and the end of 2022.  The all-island network includes popular SuperValu and Centra stores.

All Karri’s meals are produced by Shera and team in Portadown, Co Armagh. Karri Kitchen is a Food NI member.

Shera explains: “Our new high-protein range features three delicious options that are not only high in protein but also low in sugar and low in saturated fat: They are: Sticky Beef Soy and Ginger; Chip Shop Chicken Curry and Slow-Cooked Beef

“These new products are the result of a collaboration with food technologists and nutritionists. At Karri Kitchen, we are firm believers in offering real nutrition with rich flavours.

“We source our high-quality produce locally whenever possible. The Irish rump beef we use comes from Loughgall, and we have partnered with some local vegetable suppliers, such as Gilfresh and Northdown, to ensure premium quality fresh vegetables in all our meals,” adds Shera

 Shera continues that the inspiration behind these new products stems from a desire to combine authentic South East Asian recipes, passed down through generations in her family, with an added Northern Irish twist.

“For example, we’ve added a unique twist to our roast potatoes in the chip shop curry dish by incorporating turmeric, cinnamon, and cracked black pepper, not only enhancing the flavour but also supporting some health benefits,” she adds.

The small company has won a host of major taste awards for its meals.

Entrepreneur Ryan McCracken is building on his successful experience in craft brewing by launching a premium gin that’s likely to be the first in a series of spirits that he’s been planning over the past few years.

Ryan, a progressive and totally committed businessman, owns and runs McCrackens Real Ale, a Food NI member and now among the most successful craft breweries in Northern Ireland. He sees the expansion into distilling premium spirits a logical extension for the locally-owned and managed business.

Focused on growth, Ryan invested in new distilling kit late last year and also added a second canning line to existing machinery at his expanded, state-of-the-art operation at the Co Armagh market town.

He’s installed a 1,000 litre column distillery that has the capacity to produce 1,500 bottles of gin and other spirits daily.

“We’re proud of our grain-to-glass approach at McCrackens that enables us to manage the entire distilling process in-house – from grain to beer and spirit,” he says. “This not only ensures the highest quality but also embodies our commitment to innovation, attention to detail, traceability and excellence in everything we do,” he adds.

Ryan’s new gin recipe features 11 original botanicals including local heather he’s harvested with other family members from the vast mountain trails and parks around Craigavon. It is being branded McCrackens Premium Gin.

“I’ve invested extensively in the latest equipment and in branding and merchandising the gin. I decided to keep McCrackens because it’s an established and respected brand here and in several export markets such as Italy and Britain.

”I’ve been moving towards distilling for some time,” he explains. “The processes are similar, and I spent a lot of time reading about and mastering the process of how best to produce a premium gin,” he says.

Brewing is the process of brewing beer from grains, such as wheat and barley, while distilling is essentially the process of taking fermented beverages such as beer and wine, and then separating the alcohol from them.

He’s looking forward to using wheat and barley in the development of distinctive range of locally crafted spirits.

 “I also have a network of contacts in hospitality that will be very beneficial as I launch the gin. Many already know about the spirit and are immensely supportive.  They are keen to have it on their shelves and as soon as practicable.

“The contacts from my successful portfolio of beers and stouts include hotels, bars, supermarkets and off-licences. These customers appreciate the consistently high quality and outstanding taste of the beers that we deliver as required. They know that they can count on us to provide them with a quality gin and, in time, other spirits such as rum and Irish whiskey,” he adds.

The additional canning line at the business, now to be known as McCracken’s Brewery and Distillery, increases packaging and presentational opportunities for the spirits. ‘There are so many options now for us to grow the business from the equipment that we’ve installed and the research we’ve carried out over the past few months,” he continues.

Ryan, a former IT manager, has an impressive track record in terms of ongoing investing in the brewery. These have included a new kegging line prior to lockdown. He’s grown volume at the brewery substantially to 15,000 litres a month and also expanded his portfolio of award-winning beers and stouts to seven which are now on sale in hundreds of outlets here and further afield.

“Our capacity was just over 1,200 litres a month in 2018. We’ve been able to increase our capacity by 1150 percent since then.  We are still producing hand-crafted, naturally conditioned, unfiltered and award-winning beer.”

The successful increase in volume will benefit the business as it scales up operations with the launch of the new gin and other spirits.

“Exporting also continues be an important element of our business strategy. We expect the gin to become an essential part of this focus and to assist the growth of our company,” he adds.

Ryan’s bold investment has positioned the brewery to seize opportunities predicted by marketing experts suggesting that craft beers and now spirits are in line for large scale growth in the global marketplace.

There’s now a growing recognition of the entrepreneurship of the brewers and distillers like Ryan McCracken and their success in crafting award-winning Irish beers and spirits that are unique, richly flavoured, local and innovative.

Morelli Ice Cream of Coleraine has won two major awards for its unique Double Vanilla at the annual Ice Cream Championships at Harrogate. Morelli is a FoodNI member

Morelli manager Eddie Johnston was doubly delighted when he collected the prestigious awards on behalf of the Morelli family at what is the industry’s awards ceremony.

Eddie, production manager at Morelli Ice Cream in Coleraine, on hand to collect the accolades at this year’s Ice Cream and Artisan Food Show as the great and the good from the country’s ice cream world came together in Harrogate, North Yorkshire to celebrate their 80th anniversary with their biggest-ever event.