PROMOTIONA
INVEST NORTH
RISING TO THE OCCASION T
he pandemic has had a deep impact on bakery as has been the case for most categories and has been a challenging landscape to navigate, but the diverse Northern Irish bakery sector are more than ready to face these challenges head on. As the third largest agri-food sector in Northern Ireland, the bakery sector is represented by a healthy blend of larger operators, family run businesses and smaller artisanal operations ensuring an industry that is well-equipped to deal with the ever changing landscape. So whether it be innovative, premium products to capitalise on what will certainly
be a more sociable and celebratory year, operations that are attuned to the ever-increasing requirements around health & sustainability, or operators ready & equipped to tackle the re-formulation challenges posed by HFSS, the Northern Irish bakery sector offers a broad spectrum of innovative solutions. Sweet and savoury bakery products from Northern Ireland are popular across the UK, and with good reason. Healthy and hearty wheaten bread and soda farls from the griddle, buttery cakes and tray bakes and indulgent sausage rolls have flown off retail shelves for decades. Alongside this, Northern
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Ireland bakeries have been quick to offer vegan and gluten-free alternatives that rival traditional recipes in terms of taste and quality. These are challenging times for the wider food sector, with rapidly rising ingredient and production costs driving increased commercial pressure. Now, more than ever, flexibility, innovation and strong customer relationships are crucial. Northern Ireland’s long-established and largely family-owned bakeries are well positioned for continued growth. Committed to using quality, often locally produced ingredients, provenance and outstanding flavour are guaranteed.
