Industry News

Ishka race ahead with marathon partnership

COUNTY Limerick-based bottled water company Ishka Irish Spring Water have been named the official hydration partner to the Irish Life Dublin Marathon and Race Series. This will ensure that over 50,000 runners in the marathon on Sunday, October 30, and race series events across Dublin throughout the summer, will be hydrated and refreshed by Ishka Irish Spring Water. Ishka claims to be Ireland’s freshest spring water, bottled straight from five certified wells, untouched by human contact and not stored before bottling. Ishka was also the official hydration partner to the Dublin Marathon for its last preCovid run in 2019. Mike and Denis Sutton (pictured), Directors of Ishka, Irish Spring Water, are delighted that the brand has again been named the official hydration partner to the Irish Life Dublin City Marathon and Race Series.

Around Noon to supply sandwiches to M&S

AROUND Noon, the award-winning food-to-go manufacturer, have secured a new contract to supply sandwiches from their Twelve Handmade in County Down range to Marks & Spencer stores across the island of Ireland. This represents an agreement worth around €4m in retail sales. “We are extremely impressed by the quality and provenance of the ingredients that Around Noon source and by the quality of service they provide. Working with Around Noon is helping us strengthen our supply chain and provide really highquality products for our customers across the island,” noted Eddie Murphy, Trading Director, Marks & Spencer, Island of Ireland (right), pictured with Philip Morgan, Sales Director, Around Noon, and Archie Norman, Chairman of Marks & Spencer.

Castletroy SuperValu sells €1m Lotto Plus 1 ticket

A BUSY Limerick City supermarket has been revealed as the selling location of the winning Lotto Plus 1 ticket for June 18, worth a lifechanging €1m. The SuperValu in the Castletroy Shopping Centre in Limerick City sold the winning Quick Pick ticket on the day of the draw. “This is the biggest prize that we have ever sold so there is certain to be great excitement around as soon as the news gets out,” revealed thrilled Store Manager Chris O’Driscoll. Chris is pictured (second from left) with Jim O’Connor from the National Lottery (fourth from left), and SuperValu store members Courtney Shinnors, Anthony O’Donovan, Jamie Collins, Rebecca Molone, Michelle Collins, and Gemma Murphy.

LGBT Ireland announces SSE Airtricity as new helpline partner

THE national LGBT+ Helpline will remain free to call as LGBT Ireland have announced a new funding partnership with SSE Airtricity. SSE Airtricity’s Sponsorship of the National LGBT+ Helpline is the first time this vital community support has been fully funded and will enable LGBT Ireland to keep the Helpline free of charge for those who need support or to speak in confidence and without judgement. “SSE values inclusion and diversity and understands the importance of people being their true, whole self and we hope our new partnership with LGBT Ireland will help people to achieve this through availing of supports from this wonderful volunteer organisation,” noted Mia Fahey McCarthy, Head of Sustainability, SSE Ireland, pictured with Paula Fagan, CEO of LGBT Ireland.

Aldi reopen Clonmel store after €3.8m revamp

ALDI have unveiled their newly revamped and extended Clonmel store, following a €3.8m overhaul. The store has been redesigned to be as environmentally friendly as possible and is powered by 100% green electricity. Over the past two months, the store has undergone a complete refurbishment, including the building of a new extension, increasing the shop floor space by 25%. Featuring Aldi’s exciting award-winning Project Fresh layout and design, the floor size has been extended from 1,119 to 1,405 square metres, and features wide aisles and hi-spec fixtures and fittings. Store manager Richard Blake is pictured with store staff at the official reopening.

Industry News

Huge media campaign behind Coke Studio

MEDIACOM Ireland, the leading media planning and buying agency, have partnered with Coca-Cola and Talon Ireland to launch a high impact media campaign to promote Coca-Cola’s Coke Studio music platform and summer promotion. The summer of 2022 will be one of Coca-Cola’s biggest, with an all-encompassing media plan running from June 1 to August 28, including AV and OOH advertising platforms, amplified through ticket giveaways on Media Central’s Youth Network. The campaign centres around Coca-Cola’s Coke Studio platform, which connects emerging musical talent with audiences around the world and an on-pack prize promotion offering consumers the chance to win once-in-a-lifetime music experiences. “Coke Studio is a direct extension of CocaCola’s Real Magic philosophy,” noted Gavin Gillespie, Brand Manager at Coca-Cola. “It celebrates the unique ability of music to unite and uplift and provides a connection point for fans in Ireland and around the world to come together and enjoy a new experience.”

New Gala opens in Killenard

A NEW Gala store has opened in Killenard, Co. Laois. Colm and Lynda Dowling’s 1,800 square feet store provides an extensive grocery and confectionery section, with fresh fruit and vegetables. In addition, the new store will sell a wide range of newspapers and magazines, health & beauty, household and petcare products, while it also includes New Street Deli, Bakers Corner and Distil Off Licence from Gala Retail Services, as well as National Lottery and an ATM on-site. The store opening has created three full-time and 10 part-time jobs for the local community. Colm and Lynda both come from an FMCG background and the couple and their four daughters were thrilled with the reception the store and coffee shop, Coffee N’Cake, received since their official opening on July 1 (pictured), with a full weekend of celebrations and give-aways. Colm and Lynda want to personally thank both Gala Retail and Tuffys Wholesale team of business advisors and senior management for all their advice and fantastic support since opening.

The Dowling family: Colm and Lynda with their children, Faye, Lily, Olivia, and Grace.

Lidl Ireland launch new EV and HVO vehicles

LIDL Ireland have announced the rollout of the first Electrical truck and Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (HVO) Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) into the retailer’s logistics fleet. The pilot scheme will see the sustainably powered vehicles join Lidl’s logistic fleet at the retailer’s Newbridge Regional Distribution Centre (RDC), commencing the retailer’s transition from fossil fuel commercial vehicles to more environmentally friendly vehicles. This move is a first in the Irish food retail industry in conjunction with refrigerated delivery suppliers, Zellwood Ltd. “We are delighted to be the first retailer in Ireland to incorporate positive change by use of these environmentally friendly haulage trucks into our logistics fleet. Not only does it accelerate our journey to cleaner roads, but in turn with the soaring cost of fossil fuels like diesel, it will keep prices down for our customers,” noted Robert Ryan, Chief Operating Officer, Lidl Ireland & Northern Ireland (pictured).

Donal Skehan challenges ‘most imaginative’ meal-makers

CELEBRITY cook and television presenter, Donal Skehan has once again joined with banana importers Fyffes, this time in search of Ireland’s most imaginative meal-makers, their quest being to find the most delicious dish, savoury or sweet, in which a banana is the key ingredient. Having discovered the talents of Cobh native Gillian Carney (best banana bread baker 2020) and Drumcondra student Roisin Gallagher (best banana dessert maker 2021), Skehan has broadened his search to include any dish on the menu from first to final course. “With a host of new categories added this year, we’re really looking forward to receiving some exceptional and original entries,” noted Fyffes Head of Marketing Emma Hunt-Duffy (left), pictured with budding young cooks Lucy (8) and Kate (7) Carroll, Donal and Áine McElroy, Fyffes Marketing Executive.

Enniscorthy store sells winning €5.6m Lotto ticket

STORE owners Frank Jordan and Kieran Walsh were pictured celebrating with staff members Paige Dunbar, Tricia Carberry, John Morrissey and Cora Redmond after it was revealed that their Day Today store in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, sold the winning Lotto jackpot ticket worth over €5.6m for the Lotto draw on June 29. “One of our customers has had a truly life-changing win and honestly, we couldn’t be any more thrilled for them,” said Frank Jordan.

Industry News

Tour de Mace to raise €100k for Down Syndrome Ireland

MACE retailers across Ireland are inviting customers and staff to donate between 15 minutes and one hour of their time to cycle on static bikes and raise much needed funds for Down Syndrome Ireland, Mace’s official charity partner. Together, Mace and Down Syndrome Ireland have a fundraising target of €100,000 for the summer period and will be hosting a number of Tour de Mace static cycling events across the country to support the fundraising drive. “The Tour de Mace events are great for the charity, the store and the local communities they serve. These events are a fabulous initiative and a fun and healthy way to raise funds for a very worthy cause,” said Mace Sales Director Peter Dwan, pictured with Down Syndrome Ireland CEO, Barry Sheridan, at Mace Ballinalack, Co. Westmeath, where they took part in the store’s Tour de Mace static cycling event.

Aldi plants almost 82,000 trees in Cork to mark Clonakilty store

TO celebrate the upcoming opening of the new Aldi Clonakilty store, the Aldi Cork store staff teamed up with Green Belt and local landowners Stephen Kiely and Colleen Moore to plant almost 82,000 trees across Dromnagopple, Coolroe East and Gubeen, Co. Cork. Aldi are the first retailer in Ireland to commit to planting 1m native Irish woodland trees by 2025 in partnership with Green Belt. The native trees will create a wildlife corridor for native species and enhance biodiversity, while also removing more than 160,000 tonnes of carbon emissions over their 100-year life span. Pictured at the site of the tree planting in Dromnagopple are: Peter Mullins, Aldi Clonakilty Store Manager; Alan Farrelly, Green Belt Forester; and local landowner Stephen Kiely, alongside his dog Scout.

Tesco Portlaoise sells €1m Daily Million ticket

STAFF at Tesco Portlaoise in Co. Laois were overjoyed to hear that their shop sold the top prize €1m winning ticket for the 2pm Daily Million draw on July 10: Maggie Fogarty, Thomas McRedmond, Graham Doyle, and Rachael Dollard celebrate with John Williams (second from right) from the National Lottery. James Scully, Store Manager of Tesco Portlaoise, was thrilled to hear the news: “Everybody in the store here in Portlaoise is delighted to have sold the winning ticket, knowing that it could be one of our loyal customers.”

Kerrygold sponsor Paul Flynn’s Food Truck Favourites on RTE

KERRYGOLD are proudly sponsoring the brand new six-part RTÉ TV series, Paul Flynn’s Food Truck Favourites. The series sees renowned chef Paul Flynn exploring Ireland’s thriving street food scene, which has enjoyed a boom over the past two years as the nation embraced outdoor dining amid pandemic lockdowns. In the spirit of the series, Kerrygold have also embarked on their own food-truck tour, taking the newly-launched Kerrygold Spreadable on the road to foodlovers nationwide this summer. Pictured are Kate Saul, Vice President of Marketing, Ornua, and chef Paul Flynn.

New Ribena campaign launches

RIBENA are set to make a splash this summer by launching a new brand positioning - introducing the tagline ‘Chin Up’ with two entertaining films and OOH that will be highly relatable for anyone who’s struggled to parallel park a car, had an awkward handshake moment, or been harshly judged by a cat. Representing a major shift in direction for Ribena, ‘Chin Up’ is rooted in those awkward, banana skin moments (like calling your boss ‘mum’), which might make you cringe in the moment, but once shared with friends, gives everyone a good laugh. The ‘Chin Up’ campaign is devised by the brand’s newly appointed agency BBH to be a long-term brand platform that can be activated day-to-day in entertaining ways and aims to help people laugh through life’s little stumbles.

Retailers take action on sustainability

Sustainable Irish Retail Action is a new initiative launched to support Irish retailers in taking practical steps to become more sustainable.

Sharon Yourell Lawlor, Managing Director of Think Plan Do Consulting and co-author of the SIRA guide, speaking at the SIRA launch.

IRISH retailers have launched a new sustainability initiative, Sustainable Irish Retail Action (SIRA) to support Irish retail businesses to take practical steps in becoming more sustainable.

SIRA, launched in conjunction with Retail Excellence and Champion Green, is sponsored by AIB, SuperValu, Vodafone and Tap Creative.

An accompanying survey conducted by SIRA between February 11 and March 3, 2022, among 232 retailers around Ireland has suggested that:

• Three-quarters (74%) of retailers are concerned about the effects of climate change on their business; • 80% believe it’s important for their business to be seen as sustainable; • 77% believe they will need to offer more sustainable products and services in the future; • Six out of 10 (59%) believe that trying to be as sustainable as possible will cost their business money; • Over half (57%) believe it’s primarily the

Government’s responsibility to tackle climate change and promote sustainability.

The panel of speakers at the SIRA launch event, with Duncan Graham, Managing Director of Retail Excellence.

Claire Cogan, Founder of BehaviourWise and co-author of the SIRA guide.

Climate change a “giant risk”

At the launch, Retail Excellence warned that the worsening effects of climate change pose a “giant risk” to businesses. Duncan Graham, Managing Director of Retail Excellence, said that the findings of the survey reflected the views of Retail Excellence members across Ireland: “Climate change is no longer a passing concern – it is a clear and present danger for every single person on the planet. Retailers in Ireland are understandably concerned about worsening climate change and the giant risk it poses to their business.”

Having come through the Covid-19 pandemic, Ireland’s business owners, and SME’s in particular, now “have to

contend with rapidly rising inflation, supply chain problems and a nationwide staffing crisis. On top of all that, consumers are increasingly demanding the sustainable option, but that costs money, which retailers simply cannot afford.”

Duncan argued that investing in sustainability initiatives was an “easy win” for the Government, which could rely on the retail industry to uphold the highest standards. “It goes without saying that climate change is a huge risk, but retailers, suppliers and consumers alike want to do something meaningful about it,” he stressed. “The Government is making strides on sustainability, but we need to see targeted sectoral support if we are to have the kind of impact that is badly needed.”

Commitment to sustainability

Sharon Yourell Lawlor, Managing Director of Think Plan Do Consulting and co-author of the SIRA guide, said: “It is clear from our research that business owners understand how critically important it is for them to operate in a sustainable fashion. The launch of SIRA shows just how committed the industry is to sustainability, and we are looking forward to building on this strong start with meaningful action.”

Claire Cogan, Founder of BehaviourWise and co-author of the SIRA guide, explained that the SIRA guide contains a number of handy tips for SME owners looking to make a difference. These include: - Source locally wherever possible. This automatically reduces your carbon footprint, and supports the local economy; - Upgrade to more energy efficient equipment and be sure to ask your equipment suppliers to provide tips around ongoing energy efficiency practices; - Integrate energy efficient technologies such as QR codes into your communication touchpoints and switch out of paper as much as possible; - Follow the ‘3 R’ Rule to minimise waste: reduce, reuse, recycle.

Pillars of retail sustainability

To help retailers take practical steps on their sustainability journey, the SIRA guide has identified 10 key pillars of retail sustainability. Each pillar represents an important aspect of sustainability for a retail business, and the guide presents a wealth of facts, case studies and practical tips on how to make these aspects of your business more sustainable.

1. Design, Build & Retrofit

• Implement energy management within your business. Review, identify and understand how energy is currently

being consumed within your business, to establish a baseline. • Set and track management targets and when ready, invest in energy efficient upgrades and switch to a renewable energy provider. • Whether embarking on a new build for your store or planning renovations and retrofits for an existing retail building, plan for the long term, to avoid rebuilds and the risk of materials becoming obsolete in the future.

2. Heating & Cooling

• Evaluate your heating and cooling systems and look for ways to make them more energy efficient, regularly monitoring your efforts. • If required, look at upgrading your heating and controls. Consider installing time, temperature, boiler and zonal controls, to reduce your heating costs. • Assign responsibility for the HVAC system controls within your store to a key person and ensure they understand how to use the systems and schedule in checks and repairs regularly.

3. Lighting

• Carry out a lighting audit within your store and, where possible, switch to more energy efficient LED lighting and look at installing smart lighting systems and controls. • Ensure that staff are trained and equipped to use your lighting system and ensure simple practices such as turning off lights are adhered to. • Set targets for lighting efficiency and regularly measure and verify performance, to ensure you are getting the anticipated energy savings.

4. Appliances & Systems

• Make a list of appliances and systems within your retail store and create a checklist of their usage/cleaning/ maintenance requirements. • Look to upgrade to more energy efficient equipment and be sure to ask your equipment suppliers to provide tips around ongoing energy efficiency practices. • Train staff to turn off equipment when not in use/required and to use optimum temperature settings for appliances.

5. Products & Services

• Review your range of products/services through a sustainability lens and work with suppliers that can help you provide sustainable options for your customers. • Source from local suppliers, wherever possible. Not only does this reduce

carbon footprint, but it also saves on transport costs, mitigates reliance on international supply chains, and benefits the local economy. • Make the sustainable choice the easy one for your customers. If you’re displaying sustainable options as part of a range, either physically or online, highlight them so they are visible and stand out from less sustainable options.

6. Signage & Comms

• Map out ways to communicate your sustainable products/services to customers, e.g. highlighting when products are sourced from local suppliers, displaying relevant certification, and assisting shoppers with tips around how to use

‘sustainable’ options, such as refills. • Look for ways to make the communication assets themselves more sustainable by considering your material choice and using more environmentally friendly modular, reusable and flexible materials/assets. • Integrate energy efficient technologies into your communication touchpoints and switch out for paperless communications, where possible e.g.

QR Codes.

7. Supply Chain

• Work with credible suppliers and partners that will support you to make your retail offering more sustainable and ask probing questions of suppliers, to help guide you in listing and ranging decisions. • Look for ways to reduce/offset your carbon footprint along your supply chain. • Set targets for your business, be accountable for them, and communicate progress both internally and externally, as appropriate.

8. Waste & Recycling

• Understand better how to manage your business waste. Start by visiting www.mywaste.ie for tips on how to reduce waste and dispose of different categories of waste properly and familiarise yourself with other supports available. • Make a list of ways to reduce and reuse waste within your store. Target yourself to use less packaging in your business and encourage suppliers to do likewise.

Wherever possible, use reusable or returnable packaging and try to avoid single-use containers, particularly plastics. • Drive good waste and recycling practices within your store, encouraging staff to come up with ideas for reusing and repurposing used products, and making sure that they know how to recycle and dispose of waste correctly.

9. Supporting Irish, Local & Community

• Set a target to increase the number of local producers and suppliers you work with and showcase these producers and suppliers to customers. Invite local suppliers to support your ‘retail experience’, adding value for your customers through demonstrations/ tastings, pop-ups and information sessions, which can be held within your store or online through ‘Instagram Live’ sessions. • Communicate initiatives to your customers at key touch points, such as doorway entry, a community board, your website and social media platforms. • Join with other retailers to amplify initiatives through a community based approach and ensure your ‘approach to supporting community’ is a diverse and inclusive one.

10. Staff & Practices

• Mobilise your business by setting up a ‘team of sustainability champions’, appropriate to the size of your business. If large, ensure there is representation from different functions or divisions. Encourage team members to share ideas about how to make the business more sustainable. • Create a plan by reviewing your current business operation, deciding on key focus areas, setting clear goals and timeframes for each focus area, and deciding how progress will be measured.

• Review progress on a regular basis and communicate it internally and externally, as appropriate. Involve your community and let people know about how your initiatives will benefit the wider community. Celebrate achievements to keep your team motivated. The SIRA guide, in conjunction with Retail Excellence, is freely available on

retailexcellence.ie.

The launch of the SIRA guide attracted an interested audience from the FMCG industry. The SIRA guide is available free of charge from retailexcellence.ie.

Retail Ireland: Monthly Update Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022

IN March, the Government set out new legislation to set up a new Office for Fairness and Transparency in the Agri-Food Supply Chain. The Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022, which is due to be formally adopted later in the year, will have significant implications for how the relationship between primary producers, processors, suppliers and retailers is governed.

In recent years, grocery retailers have been subject to new EU-wide rules around Unfair Trading Practices. These rules outlaw a range of 16 trading practices and put in place an enforcement process to ensure compliance. The outlawed practices include, for example, payment later than 30 days for perishable agricultural and food products, payment later than 60 days for other agri-food products and unilateral contract changes by the buyer.

The new Bill will establish a new ‘Office for Fairness and Transparency in the Agri Food Supply chain’, which will act as the UTP enforcement agency, with powers to penalise those found in breach of UTP rules. It will also have a range of other powers and roles.

The new Office will have responsibility for gathering, analysing, and reporting price and market data on the agri-food supply chain “to enhance market fairness and transparency”. This could lead to significant new reporting obligations for grocery retailers. At the same time, the Office is tasked with actively promoting fair trading practices.

Retailers have done extensive work to prepare for the introduction of this legislation and ensure compliance with the UTP regime. However, there are a number of concerns with aspects of the new legislation.

The Bill, for example, affords the Minister for Agriculture powers to extend, amend and add to the existing UTPs. Given that these rules have only just been introduced, it is important that the current UTP regime is given adequate time to bed in, so a true appraisal can be made of how it is working.

Separately, it is crucial that that Board of the new Office for Fairness and Transparency is balanced in its composition. It is crucial that the interests of both retailers and consumers are represented, not just those of primary producers.

Throughout the debate on the planned legislation, Retail Ireland will be stressing the need for fair but also robust competition throughout the food supply chain, particularly given the context of rising inflation and increases to the cost of living.

Working with partners across the supply chain, the retail sector has demonstrated its ability to do this over the last decade. It is crucial that nothing is done to undermine its ability to do the same over the course of the next 10 years.

Retailers voice concerns on cost of labour market reforms

THE cost of doing business in Ireland continues to rise, particularly in labour intensive sectors such as retail. At the same time, the sector is increasingly competing with businesses based outside the jurisdiction, many of which have significantly lower cost bases.

In our upcoming Budget submission, Retail Ireland will set out a range of proposals to ensure the Irish retail cost base allows businesses here to compete effectively and grow into the future.

Of particular concern to retail businesses is the cost associated with a raft of new labour market regulation that is coming down the line.

Retail Ireland estimates suggest that the roll-out of pension auto-enrolment, the living wage, statutory sick pay, and other leave proposals already announced will add 2% to total labour costs in Ireland over the next few years, and 9% over the coming decade.

Whilst many of these additions to the so-called ‘social wage’ have merit on their own terms, the detail and timing of some of these changes need to be informed by the wider economic context.

For example, the roadmap for the introduction of pension autoenrolment should be revised so that the scheme is timed to kick in when unemployment is low and stable, there is medium-term economic certainty and forward guidance on labour market policy.

Increases in the minimum wage should be proportionate and strive to keep Irish labour costs in line with similar EU economies. It is vital that recommendations by the Low Pay Commission take on board and reflect the intense pressure that Covid and Brexit have placed on many Irish enterprises, particularly small retailers. The Government must intensify work through the Labour Employer Economic Forum to ensure better co-ordination of tax, social welfare and other social wage policies in a way that seeks to reduce inflationary pressures.

National Lottery

National Lottery calls for ban on lotto betting

Premier Lotteries Ireland, DAC, the operators of the National Lottery, have welcomed Seanad support for the proposed ban on lotto betting.

PREMIER Lotteries Ireland, DAC, the National Lottery’s operator and steward, have welcomed the July 12 vote by Seanad Éireann in support of the National Lottery Amendment Bill (2021), which seeks to ban the practice of betting on National Lottery draws. In a media statement, Premier Lotteries described the Seanad’s decision as “a positive step towards protecting the National Lottery’s ability to generate funds for Good Causes and towards protecting young and at-risk people from unregulated gambling and gaming products”. Premier Lotteries Ireland called for the swift enactment of the bill and the implementation of a lotto betting ban as soon as possible. “The Oireachtas established the National Lottery as a State Asset to generate money for Good Causes through a heavily regulated framework,” said the statement. “This objective is being directly impacted by the growth in the practice of Lottery Betting.”

Red C research, conducted on behalf of Premier Lotteries Ireland, indicates that Lottery Betting could be generating as much as €570m per annum for bookies. If this practice were banned, the research estimates it would generate €63m in Good Causes funding, while also yielding an estimated €13.7m for the National Lottery’s 5,400 retailer partners across Irish communities.

Ireland: an outlier on lottery betting bans

Most other European countries ban lottery betting, according to the Premier Lotteries statement, which describes Ireland as “an outlier in not doing so”. The statement argues that a ban on lottery betting: 1. Prevents confusion between the National Lottery, which is regulated and State-owned, and materially different gambling entities and their products that are currently unregulated; 2. Prevents ‘lead-in’ where, for example, those at risk are exposed to unregulated gambling products online while attempting to partake in National Lottery games; 3. Protects the financial sustainability of the State’s asset, the

National Lottery.

The Premier Lotteries statement argued that at least 17 EU member states have legal restrictions on lottery betting and these regulations are consistent with EU membership. It further explained that the UK recently banned betting on EuroMillions, having never allowed betting on its own lottery. “The National Lottery is heavily regulated and intensively controlled, with strong levels of player protection,” the statement continued. “Many of these restrictions do not apply to commercial lotto betting. Lotto betting generates substantial revenue and contributes to problem gambling off the back of the State’s National Lottery.”

Expropriating Ireland’s National Lottery

If enacted, the National Lottery (Amendment Bill) will “preclude bookies offering bets specifically on National Lottery draws and prevent them from expropriating Ireland’s National Lottery,” the statement went on, noting how the Bill “will not preclude them from offering bets on multiple other products, including virtual lotteries, to their customers”. Premier Lotteries Ireland asked bookmakers, both online and on the high street, “to stop using the National Lottery to sell gambling products and attract new customers,” the statement said. “Lotto betting reduces the money available for prizes, retailers and Good Causes, while exposing young and ‘at risk’ people to less regulated gambling products.”

Panini launch World Cup trading card game

The Mega Starter Pack for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Adrenalyn XL trading card game.

Panini have officially launched the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Adrenalyn XL official trading card game.

EVERY four years, we get ready to cheer on our favourite teams, meet our mates to watch the matches on TV, relive the best moments from our favourite players over and over again, and dream that our team will be the one to lift the FIFA World Cup. While we wait, Panini is ready to kick off with FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Adrenalyn XL, the official card collection that gets bigger and better with every edition!

Featuring all-new cards and categories such as Titans, Rookies, Top Keepers and Goal Machines, this spectacular collection includes the national teams which took part in the play-offs, as well as those competing in this year’s tournament.

Top-selling football trading card brand

“We are excited to kick off the fan excitement for this year’s FIFA World Cup with this incredible new Adrenalyn XL trading card collection,” noted Chris Clover, Managing Director, Panini UK. “Adrenalyn XL is firmly established as the top-selling football trading card brand in the UK & Ireland and collectors are going to really enjoy the variety of designs and special subsets.”

Collectors can collect and play at home with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Adrenalyn XL, while they can also play online at www.paniniadrenalyn.com and download the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Adrenalyn XL app! For more information, visit www.panini.co.uk.

Rewarding the everyday heroes of grocery

The ECR Heroes Awards 2022 took place recently, rewarding those who continue to go above and beyond the call of duty in the Irish FMCG sector.

THE ECR Heroes Awards 2022 took place on June 30 at the Keadeen Hotel, Newbridge. In their second year, this was the first live version of the event, with last year’s inaugural event taking place virtually due to the pandemic.

The Covid-19 pandemic gave people a greater awareness of just how important everyone who works in the grocery supply chain sector is when it comes to allowing normal life to function. The first ECR Heroes Awards gave people a chance to celebrate those in the sector who had gone above and beyond the call of duty.

“This is an afternoon of celebration,” explained Declan Carolan, General Manager of ECR Ireland, speaking at the live ceremony. “Everyone nominated here today has made a big difference to the world around them. Each nominee has been chosen by their peers and they are all winners.”

Helen Kenny, Co-Chair of ECR Ireland and Commercial and Supply Chain Director, Green Isle Foods, added, “In ECR, we encourage collaboration between partners and we are here to celebrate the people who work in the industry and keep the sector thriving.”

Siobhan Grimes, Head of Retail, The Maxol Group, told attendees, “I love the Heroes concept and I have done so since the first time I heard about it. I have worked in retail for over 20 years and these awards celebrate the efforts of frontline workers who are the people who make things happen and keep businesses running. The last two years have been extremely difficult, and we have come through with the efforts, often behind the scenes, of people such as those nominated here today. In these awards, we celebrate the best of these people. Regardless of whether nominees win their category or even the overall award, everyone who has been nominated is already a winner.”

The Awards were broken into five categories: Heroes for Community, Heroes for Workplace, Heroes for Planet (a new category this year), Heroes for Service and Heroes for Shoppers

The nominees in Heroes for Community were: Colin Fee, Maxol Dundalk; Niall and Matt Daniels, Musgrave; and Caroline Quinn, Nielsen IQ. Caroline was an inspiration to her colleagues for her work supporting the team in the Ukraine, following the Russian invasion, as she raised money and got supplies delivered to the border to be handed over to Ukrainian charities, as well as rehoming a colleague from Ukraine and supporting the centre for refugees in Ireland. Niall and Matt also got involved in raising money for Ukraine; the duo undertook a perilous journey in order to deliver aid directly to Ukraine, as Niall explained: “It was an incredible experience; everyone we met was so grateful for the help and they could communicate that whether or not they could speak English to us.”

The category winner was Colin Fee of Maxol Dundalk who was chosen for a body of community work that has been going on for years, including the shop’s Charity of the Month initiative, support for Breast Cancer Ireland, defibrillator installations, local sponsorships, community causes and the list goes on, making Colin and all the staff of Maxol Dundalk the embodiment of Heroes for their local community.

Rebecca Lyons, Category & Consumer Insights Manager, Mars, presents the Heroes in the Workplace Award to Stephen Lee, Pluto.

Sarah Love, Goosebump and Siobhán Grimes, The Maxol Group, presenting the Heroes for the Planet Award to Carla McSorley & Shaunagh Newman, FoodCloud.

The Heroes for Workplace nominees were: Susan Sheehy, Maxol Turvey; Caroline O’Keefe, Maxol Ballinrae; Stephen Lee, Pluto; and Ellen Mitchell, Maxol Riverside. This category celebrated colleagues who go above and beyond on a day-to-day basis and whose commitment to the team and to the brand make all the difference. The overall winner, chosen for his blend of talent, commitment, positivity and creativity, was Stephen Lee of Pluto, who was a very worthy category winner on the day.

The Heroes for Planet category was new this year and aims to celebrate people and organisations that demonstrate an overriding commitment to the environment, which given the impact of climate change, has become ever more important. In this category, Dairygold were nominated for their commitment to using recycled packaging, as well as the creation of their new dairy free range that offers consumers increased choice. The winner of the category was the other nominee, the team at FoodCloud. FoodCloud reduce food waste in the supply chain by helping to distribute food which would otherwise go to waste to those that can make use of it, helping not only people but the environment as well.

Mark Walsh, The Maxol Group, and Paddy O’Hanlon, Maxol Dublin Road & Seaview, Dundalk, with their ECR Heroes Awards.

Karen Mooney, Nielsen, and Stephen Elliott, Regional Logistics Manager, Musgrave, presenting the Heroes for Shoppers Award to Aleksandra Kuzmenko, Maxol Riverside.

Pictured are Declan Carolan, ECR Ireland General Manager; Sarah Love, Goosebump; Karen Mooney, Nielsen; and Debbie Mullaney, Heineken Ireland.

Sarah Love, Goosebump, and Declan Carolan, ECR Ireland, are pictured presenting the Overall Winner Award for ECR Heroes 2022 to Paddy O’Hanlon on behalf of Colin Fee, Maxol Dublin Road & Seaview, Dundalk.

The Heroes for Service nominees were: John Hadnet, Maxol; the Full Demand Gum Team; Tony Nunan, Green Isle Foods; and Paul Hopkins, Maxol Carrigaline. All the nominees in this category were chosen by their peers because of their commitment to providing the best possible service to the people and organisations they supply. The winner of this category was Tony Nunan, affectionately known by some of his retail clients as ‘Tony Green Isle’. With over 35 years of experience at Green Isle Foods, Tony is the type of supplier who knows the needs of his retailers before they do; he does not just supply customers, he looks after them and this made him an extremely worthy winner of his category.

The final category was Heroes for Shoppers and the nominees were Aleksandra Kuzmenko, Maxol Riverside, and the Team at Maxol Ballincollig. Both Aleksandra and the team in Ballincollig go above and beyond to make sure their customers have the best possible shopping experience every day. Their hard work and dedication to going the extra mile means their customers are as well looked after as they could be. On the day, Aleksandra won the category award for her work in Maxol Riverside.

In closing, Sarah Love, MD of Goosebump, presented the award to the overall winner, chosen from the individual category winners. “It was difficult to choose an overall winner today as all the nominees are so deserving,” she said, “and every nominee here today is a real winner. We made our choice based on how we felt the winner fitted their category and for that reason we chose Colin Fee as the overall winner. His ongoing commitment to the local community, which he has undertaken year in and year out, really makes him a true hero for his community and locality. Colin is a fantastic example of what a retailer can mean to their community.”

Karen Mooney, Nielsen, and Debbie Mullaney, Channel Manager Modern Retail and E-Commerce Off Trade, Heineken Ireland, are pictured presenting the Heroes for Service Award to Tony Nunan, Green Isle Foods.

Pritt sticks with sustainability

Pritt, the nation’s favourite glue stick, is more sustainable than ever.

LAST year, consumer goods company Henkel relaunched their famous Pritt stick, bringing some good news for climate-conscious children, teachers and crafters. The updated generation of Pritt sticks is even more sustainable and environmentally friendly than before; the glue is made from 97% natural ingredients (including water and potato starch) and the stick container consists of up to 65% post-industrial recycled plastics (depending on stick size). The sticks are fully recyclable.

“The updated formula comes with the same excellent performance,” revealed Daniela Alves, Pritt Brand Manager at Henkel UK. “Pritt is every bit as safe, durable and flexible as ever. Replacing a significant amount of plastics with post-industrial recycled plastic and ensuring the tubes are recyclable is good news for children, parents and teachers who care deeply about plastic waste.”

97% natural ingredients

Pritt has been unique in the market for many years thanks to its safe and strong formula based on potato starch and sugar, reaching 90% natural ingredients. Now the Henkel product development team has managed to reach 97% natural ingredients, while keeping its well-known strength and high gluing power. Pritt glue continues to offer a strong initial tack, remains repositionable and provides a long-lasting adhesion to materials with low wrinkling of paper.

Recycled and recyclable materials

The relaunch is in line with Henkel’s packaging targets for 2025. The new glue stick container is fully produced using recycled plastics (up to 65%, depending on the stick size). Only the cap and spinning mechanism are still made of virgin plastic to ensure functionality and performance. In addition, all materials are fully recyclable when the stick is empty.

Pritt stick is available in four different sizes – 11 grams, 22 grams, 43 grams and 90 grams – and in different colours. The product is solvent-free and can be washed off, even at 20° C degrees.

Find out more about Pritt at prittworld.co.uk.

How to recycle a Pritt stick

Recycling a Pritt stick is easy: 1. Empty it. 2. Rinse it. 3. Put the cap on. 4. Recycle it with your other plastics.

A wheely good cause

The inaugural Irish Grocers Benevolent Fund 600km ‘Tour De Grocer’ raised muchneeded funds for this most worthy of causes.

Kevin Keating, IGBF President of Appeals, second from right, crosses the finish line of the inaugural 600km ‘Tour De Grocer’ cycle event.

THE Irish Grocers Benevolent Fund would like to extend the warmest of congratulations to their President of Appeals Kevin Keating on the completion of the 600km inaugural ‘Tour De Grocer’ cycle which he undertook with industry colleagues and friends from June 13-17, 2022.

Kevin raised over €50,000 for the IGBF charity, thus bringing in much-needed funds to enable them to continue offering assistance to some of our industry colleagues who have been adversely affected by both Covid and other factors in recent years.

The IGBF would also like to thank Barilla, the event’s main sponsor, and Catch bar, who very kindly sponsored the participation of Sean Kelly for the last leg of the cycle to Dublin from Nenagh, which gave the final leg an added element of fun and camaraderie.

Acknowledging the support of the industry

The success of this first ‘Tour De Grocer’ fundraising event means that it will now be a permanent fixture in the IGBF fundraising calendar well into the future. The IGBF would also like to acknowledge the many donations which were given to this event in the usual discreet fashion, as many companies continue to support the very important work of the IGBF.

On the Vine: Top 20 Wines

Ireland’s best cellars

Jean Smullen looks at the top 20 wines on the Irish market.

THE Top 20 Wine Brands is the RETAIL NEWS annual wine feature based on the Nielsen Scantrack sales figures. Every year, we compare the overall volume sales of each wine brand in the off-trade on a MAT basis against the previous year’s sales figures. The summary comes from Nielsen Scantrack, which compares March 2021 with March 2022.

As expected, the opening of the ontrade affected volume sales of wine in the off trade. A few of the brands have also been affected by the introduction of MUP, as they have been forced to increase their prices. Another factor driving the reduction in sales is the fact that 92% of Irish consumers say they are now watching what they spend more than they did one year ago. According to Nielsen Scantrack, sales of wine in March 2022 decreased by -20% for that month.

The top five wine brand positions have changed slightly this year, with [yellow tail] dropping out and Wolf Blass returning. There is no change to the top three wine brands, however, as Santa Rita, Concha y Toro and McGuigan remain in the same position as they have since 2018.

Last year, saw a new entrant into the market, with the I Heart Wine range making its debut. This year, two new entrants joined the ranks, with Graham Norton in at number 15 and 19 Crimes in at number 19. The brands showing the largest increase in volume sales were I Heart Wine up +14.4%, Campo Viejo ahead by +10.5%, Santa Rita growing by +3.7% and Fincas las Moras (Dada) up by +3.2%.

Tracking the consumption figures by grape variety reflects what the Irish consumer is currently drinking. Wine Intelligence reports that Sauvignon Blanc is still by far the most popular grape variety on the Irish market. From 2014-2019, consumption of Sauvignon Blanc increased by over +65% among regular wine drinkers. This was closely followed by Pinot Grigio in second place, showing +53% growth for the same period. Albariño is another grape showing a marked increase in popularity among Irish consumers, with +13% growth during the same five-year period. The Wine Intelligence report also reveals that the wine buying choice by Irish consumers is influenced by the grape variety rather than the specific brand or country of origin.

Interesting to note that the growth in sales for organic wine is strong; however, as of February 2022, it still only accounts for 0.9% of the total still wine market. It would appear that the opportunity for organic wine sales lies with the younger demographic, who have the highest conversion rate. The report also reveals that 10% of regular wine drinkers are now aware of carbon-neutral wines, with 17% of these drinkers coming from the Gen Z (18-24) generation, 19% Millennials (25-39), 12% Gen X (40-54) and 6% Baby Boomers (55+) – all figures sourced from Wine Intelligence, February 2022.

The other significant wine market trend is the growth in Low/No alcohol products. 23% of consumers are purchasing more Low/No alcohol and this category continues to show strong growth. Research has shown that regular wine drinkers have been decreasing their alcohol intake as they become more conscious of the negative effects of excessive alcohol. Younger consumers are also more likely to opt for low alcohol alternatives.

On the Vine: Top 20 Wines

Santa Rita have launched both a low alcohol Santa Rita 120 ‘De-Light’ and a 0% alcohol Santa Rita ‘De-alcoholised’ range.

m 1. Viña Santa Rita - Chile (Bibendum Ireland)

Established in 1880, Viña Santa Rita is one of Chile’s oldest and most respected wineries. Santa Rita’s 120 brand has remained the top-selling wine brand in the off-trade in Ireland for the last eight years. Terry Pennington, Regional Export Director (Worldwide) for the Santa Group told RETAIL NEWS that anticipating the growth in Low/ No alcohol consumption and the move towards healthier lifestyles and more moderate alcohol consumption alternatives, Santa Rita have launched both a low alcohol Santa Rita 120 ‘De-Light’ and a 0% alcohol Santa Rita ‘De-Alcoholised’ range.

Following on from the launch of the 0% de-alcoholised wines earlier this year, Santa Rita are set to introduce three new low alcohol wines. The wines will be sold under the 120 Reserva Especial brand tier as ‘De-Light’ and include a De-Light Pinot Grigio at 9% alcohol and 80 calories per serving, a De-Light Moscato at 8% alcohol, and a De-Light Cabernet Sauvignon at 9% alcohol and 80 calories per serving; RRP is €12.50. The Moscato and Pinot Grigio are harvested early to achieve low alcohol, while all the other wines in the range use the spinning cone process.

Santa Rita 120 ‘De-Alcoholised’ will have two wines in the range; a Sauvignon Blanc and a Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is made using traditional methods with removal of alcohol taking place after alcoholic fermentation has been completed. The method used is the spinning cone column distillation process and the final product contains 0.4% alcohol with residual sugar of 30 g/L; RRP for each varietal is €7.50

2. Casillero del Diablo - Chile (Viña Concha y Toro)

CASILLERO del Diablo is Concha y Toro’s flagship brand and remains Ireland’s second most popular wine brand. Concha y Toro manage their brand directly on this market. Eoghan O’Donoghue, Concha y Toro’s Brand Manager, told me that in recent years, Casillero del Diablo has positioned itself as a partner brand for a number of Irish TV programmes. This summer Casillero del Diablo has received a lot of attention for its sponsorship of ‘Conversations with Friends’ on RTÉ. Eoghan O’Donoghue told

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3. McGuigan - Australia (Barry & Fitzwilliam)

McGUIGAN remains s the number one Australian wine brand in the off trade. The McGuigan Black Label varietal range includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Rosé, Malbec and McGuigan Frizzante. McGuigan also sell a range of de-alcoholised t wine called Delight with a 0.5% ABV; the range also has a Rosé and a white made from the Moscato grape. Barry & Fitzwilliam, who distribute the McGuigan range in The hugely popular McGuigan Black Label range, distributed by Barry & Fitzwilliam. Ireland, have regular offers in all the major supermarket groups on-going throughout the year for the brand.

4. Dada (Fincas las Moras) - Argentina (Comans Beverages)

THE growth of the Dada brand continues apace and with volume sales increasing by +3.2% in the last year, it retains its fourth position in our brand chart. The range is made up of Dada 1, made from a blend of Malbec and Bonarda, Dada 2 – Merlot, and Dada 3 - Cabernet/Shiraz. Comans have just launched the brand-new Dada White Malbec in time for the summer market. So expect to see more of it on our shelves as the summer progresses. Dada White Malbec is made from red grapes that are crushed without skin contact. The wine is quite floral on the nose and the red fruit character gleaned from the Malbec grape shows through on the palate. The wine style is relatively new, having first been launched in Argentina in 2019. The idea is to get the flavour character of the red grapes, but vinify as a white. The appeal of this

On the Vine: Top 20 Wines

The Dada range continues to show strong growth in the Irish market.

relatively new wine style is that it has a fresh acidity and red fruit flavours. The newest addition to the range, Dada White Malbec is bound to be in great demand this summer.

5. Wolf Blass - Australia (Findlater & Co)

WOLF Blass is a premium Australian brand that has enormous recognition from the Irish consumer. Last year, it briefly dropped into seventh position in the wine brand chart, but sales have recovered and with volume growth of +2.3% in the last year, the brand returns to it previous position as fifth overall top brand.

Findlater & Co will be running a major nationwide summer promotion to highlight the brand’s Yellow

Label. The consumer will be invited to buy a bottle of Wolf Blass

Yellow Label to enter a competition to win a gorgeous staycation.

Wolf Blass have teamed up with Secret Escapes to offer the chance to win a five-night staycation with €500 spending money. There will also be three lucky runner-up prizes of a three-night staycation with €250 to spend.

The promotion will run on both the Wolf Blass Yellow Label Chardonnay and Wolf Blass Yellow Label Cabernet Sauvignon, which will be on offer this summer at €12. To enter, consumers must purchase a bottle find the bottle’s QR code and scan it. By using the last four digits of the bottle’s barcode, they can then enter the competition, which involves creating an award-winning hashtag for the Wolf Blass/Secret Escapes partnership. The prize will be awarded to the most creative entry. The Wolf Blass promotion will run nationwide during July and August 2022.

6. Barefoot (E&J Gallo) - California USA (Comans Beverages)

BAREFOOT is the top-selling Californian brand on this market. This year they have moved up a position into sixth place in the brand chart. In June, Barefoot celebrated Pride Month with the launch of an eye-catching new label, inspired by the Progress flag. The striking new label is for the brand’s award-winning Pinot Grigio and the aim is to highlight Barefoot’s long-standing advocacy of the LGBTQ+ community.

Barefoot has been a proud ally of the LGBTQ+ community since 1988 and is committed to accepting everyone exactly as they are, spreading inclusivity and positivity to wine lovers across the globe. Today, the brand continues to support LGBTQ+ communities by taking part in Pride parades and supporting LGBTQ+ charities all over the world. The Barefoot Pride bottles aree available in in Ireland (RRP €12). You can learn more about how Barefoot work with the LGBTQ+ community by visiting www.barefootwine.ie/lgbtq

Another initiative from Barefoot is their ‘Local Love’ scheme, which offers support to local charities. In Ireland they work with Liquid Therapy at Sea Sessions, who are the organisers of the Barefoot Beach Olympics. All proceeds from Barefoot Beach Sports go to charity partners and event hosts Liquid Therapy, a multi award winning charity based in South Donegal. They provide a supported environment to enable young people to experience the physical and therapeutic benefits of the surf and ocean. Barefoot Wine have supported Liquid Therapy since its inception a decade ago.

7. [yellow tail] - Australia (Bibendum Ireland)

JOHN Casella created [yellow tail] exclusively for the US market in 2001, and the brand, named after Australia’s YellowFooted Rock Wallaby, has created a huge niche for itself since. In 2005 [yellow tail] became the first varietal wine to sell one million cases in a single year. [yellow tail] was first launched on the Irish market in 2007 and the top [yellow tail] SKU on this market is the [yellow tail] Sauvignon Blanc. Other wines in the range include the [yellow tail] Pinot Grigio, Shiraz, Chardonnay and Merlot, as well as the [yellow tail]

Wolf Blass, the premium Australian brand, is hugely popular with Irish wine drinkers. w.barefootwine.ie/lgbtq

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[yellow tail] has been named ‘World’s most powerful wine brand of the year’ for the fifth consecutive year by Wine Intelligence. Barefoot, the top-selling Californian brand in Ireland.

Merlot, as well as the [yellow tail]

On the Vine: Top 20 Wines

Jammy Red Roo a red wine blend made from Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. Annita Forte of Bibendum Ireland told RETAIL NEWS that [yellow tail] have just been awarded ‘World’s most powerful wine ne brand of the year’ for the fifth consecutive cutive year by Wine Intelligence. Their recent TV ent TV ad campaign [Find your yellow tail] aired aired on ITV & Channel 4 from May 9 to June 5, une 5, and gave the brand good visibility in the n the run-up to the summer trading period. d.

8. Cono Sur - Chile (Findlater & Co)

CONO Sur’s green credentials help to make this brand very much sought after; despite being a young company (founded in 1993), Cono Sur are world leaders in environmental commitment and accountability. This project began in 1998 when Cono Sur switched from conventional agriculture to an integrated vineyard management system, which avoids artificial herbicides and pesticides. Cono Sur’s goal is to generate a triple positive impact: for their employees, communities and the environment. Cono Sur specialise in single-vineyard expressions of varietal wines and winemaker Mathías Ríos is known for his lightness of touch and the purity of his wines. Michelle O’Sullivan, Trade Director of Findlater & Co, told RETAIL NEWS that the second part of the summer sampling campaign for Cono Sur Organic wine will continue in August at Liffey Valley Shopping Centre and Dundrum Town Centre. There will also be a ‘Follow your road to Chile with Cono Sur’ consumer competition to coincide with this marketing initiative, with one lucky consumer winning a trip to Chile.

9. Torres - Spain (Findlater & Co)

THE Torres family have been at the heart of sustainability and climate action for over 30 years, long before it was either topical or fashionable. Miguel Torres Senior has led the way in this field. The family are pioneers of regenerative agriculture and the replanting of ancestral and native varieties, as well as spearheading their own energy generation and carbon capturing initiatives. Torres have set a target to become carbon neutral o (#racetozero) by 2050 and are well on their way to achieving it. By ny the end of 2019, they had already rld achieved their 2020 target of ent reducing their carbon footprint an by 30%, and they have set a new target of 50% total carbon reduction by 2030. Cofounders of the International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA), Familia Torres are leading the way for the wine industry to make itself accountable on climate change and are not only experts but also educators on sustainability and climate action. Familia Torres are based in Penedès in Catalonia and also own vineyards in California and Chile. All of their estates are sustainably managed and organically farmed, with regenerative agriculture practices. This summer, Torres will be launching a new label for one of their bestknown brands, Sangre de Toro. Michelle O’Sullivan, Trade Director at Findlater & Co, also highlighted their Red Cork to Qatar initiative. This is a consumer competition running in Tesco through July. The person who finds a red cork bearing the words ‘Winner of the trip to Qatar’ will win one trip for two people to the World Cup in Qatar later this year. Other prizes will include merchandise such as football team jerseys, and a selection of branded footballs and gym-bags.

10. Oyster Bay - New Zealand (Delegat’s Wine Estate)

DELEGAT’S, the New Zealand owned wine business, are the proud owners of the global phenomenon Oyster Bay, one of the world’s most successful super-premium wine brands. Oyster Bay continues its success story in Ireland and having enjoyed another year of strong growth, has now moved up into 10th place overall and

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Cono Sur are world leaders in environmental commitment and accountability, a fact which resonates with Irish consumers. Torres’ popular Sangre de Toro brand will be getting a new label this summer.

is the number-one selling New Zealand wine brand on the Irish market. Grace Milner, Business Manager for Oyster Bay in Ireland, told RETAIL NEWS that Oyster Bay Chardonnay, Merlot and Pinot Noir remained the top selling wines in their respective varietal categories above €9.40. She was also happy to report that Oyster Bay wines were awarded very high points in the 2022 International Wine Challenge as follows: Oyster Bay Chardonnay 2020 (93 points), Oyster Bay Merlot 2020 (91 points), Oyster Bay Sparkling Cuvée Brut NV (90 points), and Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2021 (90 points).

11. Campo Viejo - Spain (Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard)

SPAIN has a number of key brands such as Campo Viejo, who perform extremely well on this market and because a number of them feature in the top brand list, sales of Spanish wine continue to perform well both in value and volume terms. Campo Viejo moves up a position to 11th overall, thanks to very strong volume sales during 2021/22. Overall volume sales of their range increased by +10.5%, the second highest for any brand this year.

12. Villa Maria - New Zealand (Barry & Campo Viejo has Fitzwilliam) enjoyed strong

VILLA Maria Estate volume growth on the was founded Irish market during by Sir George 2021 and 2022. Fistonich in 1961; in 2021, he sold it to Indevin New Zealand and the purchase included Villa Maria’s Marlborough, Hawkes Bay and Auckland wineries and vineyards, as well as the flagship brand, Villa Maria. A leader in sustainability, innovation and quality, Villa Maria is recognised as an icon in the NZ wine industry. Villa Maria has created approachable food friendly wines of premium quality from many of New Zealand’s key winegrowing regions. This year, they belatedly celebrated their 60th anniversary and Dave Roper, Villa

On the Vine: Top 20 Wines

Maria’s Head Winemaker, Maria’s joined Natalie Walsh, Villa joined N Maria’s Market Manager Maria’s for the UK and Ireland, for the and the team from Barry & and the Fitzwilliam, for a lunch in Fitzwill Dublin to celebrate. Dave, Dublin who was on his first ever who wa visit to Ireland, told us visit to that he started his winethathe making career 20 years makin ago working for Villa ago w Maria as a cellar hand, Mar and today, he is the an head winemaker. Dave h introduced a selection i of the Villa Maria icon o wines, which have limited availability on this market, but highlight the quality that Villa Maria is capable of producing. The range included the 2021 Seaspray Sauvignon Blanc, a single vineyard SB from the Awatere in Marlborough, the 2019 Attorney t Organic Pinot Noir O A leader in from the Wairau sustainability, Valley, where clay innovation and soils give the fruit a quality, Villa Maria is lot more structure, recognised as an icon and the 2018 Villa in the New Zealand Maria Ngakirikiri wine industry. Hawkes Bay Cabernet Sauvignon, a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec and 5% Merlot. This was still only a baby but the power and structure were very much in evidence and this is going to last a very long time. The Villa Maria varietal range continues to perform strongly on this market, where it enjoys very strong consumer awareness.

13. i heart Wine (Freixenet/Copestick)

THE i heart brand was created by Frexinet in 2010 and launched on the Irish market in 2016. The range includes i heart Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Last year, the brand entered the Top 20 Wine Brands for the first time in 13th position. Shane McNally, Country Manager for Frexinet Copestick, told RETAIL NEWS: “The i heart vision is simple; make wine accessible and enjoyable for everyone and this has been key to opening wine to younger demographics and breaking down the barriers the category often finds. We’ve approached wine in our own way. i heart is free spirited, fun, approachable and passionate. The strength of the brands lies in the simplicity of communication, focus range, a Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon, available on the Irish market from early July.

on varietals and the flexibility to be at the forefront of new trends.”

This approach has seen the brand become the seventh largest brand in the UK in little over a decade (IRI 52 week to 07/04/22) and Ireland is following that n trajectory, showing exceptional growth in a challenging market. i heart is now the fastest growing brand in Ireland and they plan to boost this with additional SKUs such as the newly launched Pinot Grigio Blush and i heart Zero. Two categories showing steep growth curves (pale Rosé & Low/No). This summer they will launch a specific summer campaign with a dedicated website for Irish consumers to be in with a chance to win everything from wine to spa breaks for two.

14. Faustino DOCa Rioja - Spain (Richmond Marketing)

A FOURTH generation family business and an undisputed leader in the Rioja DO Gran Reserva category, Bodegas Faustino has earned international recognition after more than 156 years’ experience in the making and aging of top-of-therange wines, becoming a timeless icon. Faustino I Gran Reserva has been one of the most admired wines world-wide and it is market leader in export markets in the Gran Reserva category. In fact, 30 of every 100 bottles of the category Gran Reserva Rioja sold worldwide are for Faustino I. Other wines in the Faustino portfolio include the Faustino V, Faustino Cava and the Faustino VII range. Caroly Keegan of Richmond Marketing told RETAIL NEWS they are pleased to announce the launch of two new varietals as part of the Faustino VII

15. Graham Norton (Barry & Fitzwilliam)

BRAND new to the Irish wine brand chart, at No. 15 in 2022, is the Graham Norton range of wines. Founded by two Kiwi school friends, Tim Lightbourne and Rob Cameron in 2008, Invivo are behind the awardwinning collaboration with Graham Norton. Graham Norton’s range now features 10 wines, as well as a range of spirits. Graham is a shareholder in Invivo and is hands-on i heart is now the fastest growing wine brand in Ireland. with tasting and blending each new wine or spirit, which are made to his taste. On the recent New Zealand harvest, Rob says, “The 2022 harvest was initially e looking to be quite a o challenging one due to an unseasonably wet February and March. The rain forced our y hand in Hawkes Bay and some early Marlborough blocks but our Awatere Vineyards withstood the é & wet extremely well and a pushed through towards ted the end of the season h a to finally experience pa some settled, dry weather. The resulting wines are ond looking fantastic, with lots of intense flavour and O aroma.” no Invivo has increased its land occupancy in Marlborough, expanding f volumes of it grape tonnage e by 153% for its ry 2022 harvest, a while they have further invested in increasing d p production on-site

Popular television host, author and comedian, Graham Norton’s range of wines have broken into the top 20 for the first time this year.

Rob says, “The 2022harve looking to challeng an unsea February The rain f handin H some ear blocks bu Vineyard wet extr pushed the en to fina some wea res loo w fl a in l e v g 2 w f

On the Vine: Top 20 Wines

at the Invivo winery this year. The winery now has capacity to produce more than 2.5m litres.

16. E&J Gallo - California (Comans Beverages)

GALLO Family Vineyards is the owner of Apothic, the number one premium wine brand in the USA. Philip Lynch, the E&J Gallo Country Manager in Ireland, told RETAIL NEWS that the key E&J Gallo brands performed well this year. Sales of Gallo’s key mid-priced brand, Apothic, were strong during 2021, helped in part by the launch of Apothic Red. Apothic , Red is made from a blend of Zinfandel, Merlot and Syrah, and they have also recently added Cabernet Sauvignon, which has added to the wine’s appeal. The other wine in the range, Apothic’s Dark Horse, also enjoyed a strong sales performance this year. Dark Horse is a premium range of commercial varietal wines that include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Dark Horse is the second biggest selling premium brand on the USA market and is the brand the US Embassy supports at Embassy events.

The Gallo Family Vineyards brand: perennially popular with Irish wine drinkers. ally

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17. Blossom Hill - California (Findlater & Co)

THE Blossom Hill range includes Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, White Grenache and of course the muchloved White Zinfandel, as well as the newest addition, the Sparkling Zinfandel. Blossom

Hill have 17 wines in their portfolio. The brand enjoys strong brand awareness, especially with younger shoppers, thanks to its positioning as an easy-drinking, fruit-forward wine to share with friends and its new packaging reflects this.

Michelle O’Sullivan, Trade Director at

Findlater & Co, told RETAIL NEWS that

Blossom Hill is celebrating its 30th birthday this summer, with exclusive invites to brunch in Brother Hubbard.

18. Brancott Estate - New Zealand (Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard)

NEW Zealand grape growers and wineries are breathing a sigh of relief following an improved vintage in 2022 that will help the industry rebuild stocks and sales; good news for the industry and customers. Producers will be able to rebuild seriously depleted stocks and sales, while customers should get to see retail shelves restocked once more. However, rising costs and supply chain disruption remain significant concerns to winemakers as they look to replenish markets.

Brancott Estate (previously known as Montana) planted the first Sauvignon Blanc in Marlborough, New Zealand, and opened the first winery in a place that ended up becoming a globally renowned wine region. Laura Kerr, Assistant Brand Manager, Lifestyle Portfolio, at Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard, highlighted the new Brancott Bottle image and the newlook visuals currently being used to promote the range. Brancott Estate moved up one place from 19th place in the wine brands chart to 18th position this year.

19. 19 Crimes - Australia (Findlater & Co)

THE second new entrant to the Top 20 Wine Brand this year is the Australian wine brand, 19 Crimes. This wine has a unique selling point, download the app and point it at the label and you will hear the stories of the convicts who were transported to Australia in the 19th century. The 19 Crimes wines are inspired by people sentenced to a life of hard labour. For those who survived the journey, a new world awaited and this wine brand honours the history they wrote and the culture they built. This summer, 19 Crimes have launched their Revolutionary Rosé, a dry style Rosé with fruit sourced in Spain made from the Grenache grape. Revolutionary Rosé will be on sale this summer with an RRP of €11. Look out too for the 19 Crimes Red Blend; a blend of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache, this oak aged red has lots of ripe fruit and is another great summer wine with consumer appeal, especially during barbeque season.

20. Viña Carmen - Chile (United Wines)

THE distribution in both the north and south of Ireland of the premium Chilean brand Viña Carmen moved to United Wines in 2019. The flagship premium wine from the Santa Rita stable has very loyal following on this market, especially with the customer who enjoys mid-priced quality wines from Chile. One of their strongest selling wines is the Viña Carmen Frida Kahlo, a range of single variety wines inspired by the legendary Mexican artist Frida Kahlo; these wines pay homage to her iconic identity and extraordinary artwork. The Carmen Frida Kahlo range includes a Sauvignon Blanc, a Merlot and a pale Rosé made from 100% Syrah; RRP is €15 but will be on offer this summer at €10 in Tesco.

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