Hellbent wins first business in London at Speciality Food
Hellbent, the Belfast-based specialist in Northern Irish beef with spicy South African flavours, has achieved its first business in England following a deal with a leading food retailer in London.
The company, formed by former Ulster rugby stars Louis Ludic and Schalk van der Merwe, has begun supplying its award-winning Boerewors coiled beef sausages, burgers and meat balls to Planet Plenty Food and Wine which has food retail outlets with takeaway services in Fulham and Wandsworth.
The London breakthrough follows the small company’s success in winning business with Aldi supermarkets in Scotland in a deal assisted by business development agency Invest Northern Ireland.
The new business, according to Louis, is an outcome of Hellbent’s participation in the big Speciality and Fine Food Fair for artisan enterprises at London’s Olympia exhibition centre earlier in the month. “We had our own stand at the show, one of the most important in Britain due to the large number of food and drink buyers it attracts every year,” he adds.
“Planet Plenty buyers were among the many retail and foodservice representations visiting our stand during the show’s two days. Indeed, we were very impressed and encouraged by the interest shown in our fresh products in particular such as our Boerewors sausages, burgers and meat balls as well as our prepared Northern Irish pork dishes,” he continues.
Planet Plenty subsequently approached the two Hellbent directors to supply their meats for the London stores. “The order, our very first in London, was a tremendous boost for our marketing initiatives in Britain, a key market for us,” Louis says. “We are also following up other leads and hope to convert these into further business in the near future.
“Taking part in Speciality Fine Food, our first time at this impressive marketing opportunity, proved to be a very worthwhile initiative for us and encourages us to look at other events of this kind in Britain. The Planet Plenty business shows we have original products that the market wishes and that we are competitive,” adds Louis.
The company has also achieved success in the Republic with Aldi Ireland. Customers in Northern Ireland include Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Eurospar supermarkets.
Hellbent was established in March 2018 to develop a range of meat products including South African style boerewors beef sausages, burgers and meat balls. The company sources its meats from Corries farm and retail business near Newtownards.
Image: Louis Ludik, left, and Schalk van der Merwe of Hellbent in Belfast
