With SuperValu’s Taste of Local campaign five products to hit the shelves across all stores on Thursday as part of wider commitment to growing Irish food industry
As part of the retailer’s innovative Taste of Local initiative, five small Irish food producers have been selected for national distribution in over 150 SuperValu stores from this Thursday October 13th.
Taste of Local is just one part of SuperValu’s long-standing commitments to Irish food and drink producers. Stocked in store 52 weeks of the year, the range is made up of Food Academy participants and hyperlocal products.
The five companies chosen as Guest Stars for nationwide distribution this year are:
The Guest Star food and drink producers each bring something unique to the industry. They were chosen for nationwide distribution based on their success in the Food Academy programme. In recent years, there has been a huge emphasis on supporting Irish, with a study from SuperValu earlier this year revealing the vast majority (89%) of Irish people believe buying local products can help the environment.
Commenting on the nationwide launch of the five Guest Stars’ products, Carmel Biggane, Food Academy Manager, SuperValu, said: “Supporting local Irish producers is at the heart of SuperValu’s ethos. We have Taste of Local products in all our stores, year-round and we are really excited for the five Guest Stars’ producers to go nationwide from October 13th. The journey to get themselves on the shelves has been one of hard work and passion by the business owners. The growth they have demonstrated during the Food Academy programme has been inspiring and we at SuperValu are thrilled to be a part of their stories of growth and success.”
Food Academy is a unique food business development programme between SuperValu, Bord Bia and the Local Enterprise Offices. The programme provides invaluable guidance to small producers on supply chain, marketing, costing and other essential business knowledge and is exclusively for Irish producers.
The Food Academy programme supports 1,500 jobs in local communities nationwide with a survey of Food Academy members finding that 98% of participants feel that Food Academy has been “very beneficial” to developing their business, and 85% of participants expect to employ new staff over the next 12 months.
With over 300 Food Academy producers currently in SuperValu stores nationwide, SuperValu’s independent retail model means retailers can provide Food Academy members a gateway to one or a small group of stores, allowing them to manage demand as operations grow.
For more information on Food Academy visit SuperValu.ie/real-people/food-academy-programme.
This year’s five Taste of Local Guest Star Hero Products are available at over 150 SuperValu stores nationwide from 13th October until 2nd November.
