Retail News January / February 2016 by Retail News

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016

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Contents 4

New Year: New Issues IT’S hard to believe that it’s February already and another year of retailing has begun in earnest. And yet here we are, as Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, announced his intention to introduce new Irish Grocery Goods Regulations, primarily governing the relationship between retailers and suppliers. Our Chief News Reporter, Pavel Barter, examines the issue (Page 4 and 5), with the help of some of the country’s leading retail experts. We also examine a new report from Food and Drink Industry Ireland, the first of its kind in the world, which shows that significant reductions in fat, saturated fat, sugar, salt and calories have been achieved through reformulation of some of Ireland’s most popular foods and beverages, some of which have had their recipes entirely transformed (Page 18). Kantar Worldpanel Ireland’s Christmas 2015 Trading Review made for positive reading for those involved in FMCG in Ireland and the grocery retail sector in particular, with the country’s top five retailers all reporting increases in sales (Page 22). Consumer sentiment during Christmas 2015 hit its highest level since 2006 and it was reflected in a loosening of the purse strings by Irish shoppers. The holiday period recorded the highest growth in sales since 2009. Elsewhere in this issue, we report on Centra’s record-breaking 2015 (Page 32), the launch of Fulfil, the first snack bar in the world to contain 100% of an adult’s recommended daily allowance of nine recommended multivitamins (Page 34) and report from the National Off Licence Association Awards 2016, where Dublin’s Baggot Street Wines was named Off Licence of the Year (Page 60). Kathleen Belton, Editorial & Marketing Director.

New grocery regulations to police retailer/supplier relations. Irish Quality Food & Drink Awards open for entries.

brand also rewarded staff at the Pride of Centra Awards.

products, according to a new report from FDII.

News

Kantar Worldpanel Christmas Review

22 Kantar Worldpanel’s

Christmas trading review drilled down into the performance of the five main supermarkets in Ireland, with some very interesting results.

Snack Foods 34 Two Irish

entrepreneurs have just launched Fulfil, the world’s first vitamin and protein snack bar, with the help of a former Olympic sprinter.

Daybreak Store of the Year 26 Damien Osborne’s

Daybreak store on Clonliffe Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9, was named Daybreak Store of the Year recently.

Food and drink exports continue to grow; RGDATA concerns over Alcohol Bill.

Retail Ireland: Monthly Update 52 Action Plan for Jobs

2016; Public Health (Alcohol) Bill; CSO data highlights retail recovery.

Irish consumer spending on the rise; New Jobs at CBE; CSNA President’s Dinner.

Alpro

54 Alpro is stepping into

new territory with the launch of two new on-the-go products, marking a significant move for the brand into the snacking and impulse sector.

10 Christmas boost for

retailers as shopper spend increases; Record numbers at ISM.

Laundry

Sensations range with fine fragrance inspired fabric detergents, which will help to drive demand and grow the laundry market.

11 Big Moves at Major Shopping Centres; RGDATA advice column.

Healthy Eating

18 The Irish food

industry has made significant reductions in fat, saturated fat, sugar, salt and calories through reformulation of

National Off Licence Association Awards

29 Surf is extending its

60 Baggot Street Wines

in Dublin was named Off Licence of the Year at the National Off Licence Association Awards.

On The Vine

Focus on Centra

62 Jean Smullen looks

32 Centra reported

at ‘must stock’ wines from Australia and New Zealand.

exceptional sales in 2015, while the convenience retail

REGULARS & REPORTS

facebook.com/RetailNews1 Managing Director: Patrick Aylward Editorial & Sales Director: Kathleen Belton kathleenbelton@retailnews.ie Editor: John Walshe johnwalshe@tarapublications.ie Advertising: Brian Clark brian@tarapublications.ie Chief News Reporter: Pavel Barter Wine Correspondent: Jean Smullen Production: Ciara Conway Graphics: Catherine Doyle Printed by: W&G Baird

@RetailNews1

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Industry News Easter Treats Paper Products Forecourt Focus: News Drinks News What’s New Shelf Life

4|Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie

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New Grocery Regulations to Police Retailer/Supplier Relations THE gates have been opened for an investigation into how Irish grocery retailers treat suppliers, after Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, announced his intention to introduce new Irish Grocery Goods Regulations. The regulations, which will be enforced by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), are being introduced after a UK investigation into Tesco’s business practices was concluded. Christine Tacon, the UK’s Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), found that between June 2013 and February 2015, Tesco had delayed payments to suppliers, often for lengthy periods of time. According to Paul Kelly, Director of Food and Drink Industry Ireland (FDII), the findings of the GCA in the UK “seemed to vindicate everything that FDII have been saying on this issue for quite a number of years”. “There’s a number of specifics in the legislation that will hopefully address the imbalance,” said Kelly. “There will have to be written contracts, specific elements dealing with payments for services and goods. The expectation is that these will lead to a fairer trading environment and minimise unfair trading practices that can occur, as demonstrated in the findings of the UK Code of Practice.” The regulations will apply to food and drink retailers and wholesalers in Ireland with a worldwide turnover in excess of €50m, so small stores are likely to be ruled out. “We’re happy to see they have taken on board our representations,” said Tara Buckley of RGDATA. “It would have been deeply unfair to include small retailers under the same auspices, in terms of having to do return, etc., when 90% of their products come through a buying group.” As part of the regulations, retailers must put all new or renewed contracts with suppliers into writing. The deadline for submissions on the regulations is Monday, February 29, 2015. They will then come into effect from April 30, 2016. Thomas Burke, Director at Retail Ireland, suggested this turnaround is too tight. “Our members are concerned because it only gives them a couple of months to turn their systems around, ensure they are compliant, engage with the CCPC, and make sure their buying and trading teams are up to speed with the regulations.” The sudden introduction of the regulations has raised eyebrows, considering how long they were kept on ice. “We’ve been calling for trading legislation for seven or eight years,” said Kelly. “It’s been quite frustrating with how long it has taken. Fine Gael had it in their initial programme for government. That’s almost five years at this stage...”

In summer 2014, the Competition and Consumer Protection Act came into force. This provided for the amalgamation of the National Consumer Agency and the Competition Authority into the CCPC. Bruton, who described the new commission at the time as a “watchdog with real teeth”, published the draft Grocery Goods Regulations in December 2014. The CCPC was to promote these regulations. However, they have lain dormant since then, effectively rendering the watchdog toothless. “A range of legal and practical issues were raised in these submissions, which required detailed examination,” explained a representative for the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. “Following this, the draft Regulations were sent to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel for settling. These were cleared for signature in January [2016].” Commentators suggest the UK’s investigation into Tesco, and Ireland’s upcoming election, might have helped spur the Minister into action. In the UK, Christine Tacon found no evidence of Tesco using “hello money”, whereby a retailer forces suppliers to pay for shelf positioning. However, she unearthed practices that amount to an “indirect” requirement for better positioning. “I am concerned that, as a result of these practices, the purpose of the Code may be circumvented to the detriment of smaller suppliers who cannot compete with payments for better positioning, category captaincy or to participate in range reviews,” she said. Tesco’s central breaches of the UK code, according to the adjudicator, included the length of time taken to pay suppliers, intentional delay in paying suppliers (some waited over 24 months for payment), and unilateral deductions from suppliers. Do these practices apply in Ireland? “A lot of our members pride themselves on their relationship with their suppliers, in terms of the operation of the supply chain and making sure that runs as smoothly as possible,” said Retail Ireland’s Burke.

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News Buckley added: “Our members don’t get involved in those practices and never have. It’s not a practice of the independent trade. We believe there are very good relations between suppliers and our members. They work together to try and boost their businesses. This is why we have argued all along that our members shouldn’t be pulled into this net.” However, questions have been raised about Tesco’s Irish operations. The GCA investigation followed the Paul Kelly, Director, Food retailer’s announcement, in and Drink Industry Ireland. September 2014, that it had overstated profits by £250m. In April 2015, it increased its profit adjustment by a further £63m. According to an Irish Independent report at the time, a Tesco spokesperson claimed that “the additional amount related to income in the Irish business”. Kelly did not call for an investigation into Tesco Ireland. “We need, from the outset, the CCPC to be very visible and proactive. The most effective regulation you can have is if the requirement for enforcement is very limited. That means you have close to complete compliance with the regulations.” Retail groups we spoke Retail Ireland Director, to suggested the regulations are a one-way street, however, Thomas Burke. protecting suppliers without any protection of retailers. Some international suppliers are bigger than almost any retailer in the Irish market. In Ireland, smaller retailers often claim supplier abuses of power, in cases such as mobile phone operators or newspaper distributors changing terms of conditions, or imposing unfair practices, without dialogue or discourse. “Not enough credence is given within the regulations to the reality that there are suppliers of global scale, who retailers cannot be without in order to attract consumers into their store,” said Burke. “The full burden is placed upon the retailer. That’s a concern. There’s no evidence to suggest suppliers will be in any way responsible for their activities. We believe that’s a missed opportunity.” Furthermore, the regulations only encompass food and drink, just one area of retailer-supplier relations. “A supermarket or a grocery outlet covers a lot more than just food and drink products,” Burke continued. “Depending on the outlet, up to 30-40% of products can be non food and drink. If you’re looking at practices within the grocery industry, surely that extends to non-food. There’s been no clarity around that, or reasons offered to us at this stage, about why this has been omitted.” The Department’s spokesperson told us: “These are an initial series of regulations, reflecting some of the powers open to the Minister, and the matter will be reviewed to assess how these work in practice... before amending or adding to them... The Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 allows for regulations to be also be made for household cleaning products, toiletries and garden plants/ bulbs.”

Irish Quality Food & Drink Awards Open for Entries ALL retailers, food producers and manufacturers across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are invited to enter products for the chance to achieve industry acclaim in the Irish Quality Food & Drink Awards 2016. Now in their fourth year, the Irish Quality Food & Drink Awards recognise excellence in products available to Irish consumers, and with categories enhanced for 2016, there are even more opportunities to impress the team of expert judges. Once again, the judging will take place over four weeks in June and July at the Dublin Institute of Technology’s School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology. The results will be announced at a sumptuous gala dinner in September. Repeating last year’s trade-media partnership with Retail News magazine, and consumer-media partnership with Easy Food magazine, the Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards 2016 place your food and drink products onto the tables you need for success. The awards themselves are organised into two distinct sections: Irish Quality Food Awards, products for the multiple and independent grocery retail market, and the Irish Quality Drink Awards, alcoholic drinks for the retail sector. Following the success of its inaugural year, the Irish Café Quality Food Awards will also be launching again to recognise excellence in foodservice. Organised by Metropolis Business Media, Group Events Manager Lara Newton comments: “We are absolutely delighted with the growing success of these awards and so pleased to be preparing a fabulous event for 2016. As former winners can testify, picking up an Irish Quality Food & Drink Award is a powerful marketing tool, with many winners using the awards’ logos on their packaging and in national press, television and outdoor advertising. “We listen to our partners in the industry and have introduced new category definitions which we hope will encourage even more people to enter and enjoy showcasing their success.” Entries for the awards, which are once again headline sponsored by innovative packaging company, Graphic Packaging International, will be accepted until May 25, 2016, and judging will take place from June 23 to July 15. Full category descriptions are detailed on the Irish Quality Food Awards website: irish.qualityfoodawards.com and the Irish Café Quality Food Awards website: irishcafe.qualityfoodawards.com.

6|Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie

News

Food and Drink Exports Continue to Grow IRISH food and drink exports exports, up 4%, occurred in the increased by 3% in 2015 to exceed face of an exceptionally adverse €10.8 billion for the first time, the trading environment and reflects sixth consecutive year of export the strong growth in the volume growth for Ireland’s agri-food and of specialist nutrition powders, drink sector. Increased output in key which increased by 25% overall sectors, favourable exchange rate and by 40% to China alone. developments and better returns for Launching the report, beef, seafood and beverages, helped the Minister for Agriculture, to offset a considerable weakening Food and the Marine, Simon in global dairy prices, according to Coveney TD complimented the Bord Bia’s Export Performance and industry for achieving a record Prospects Report 2015/2016’. sixth consecutive year of export “Irish food exporters registered growth. “The food and drink record growth, increasing exports by industry has been a driving force some €355m in a period when global in our economic recovery since food commodity prices declined by 2009, delivering cumulative approximately 19%, the Russian export growth of 51%. Irish market was effectively closed to producers and companies have EU food exports, and consumer yet again demonstrated in 2015 sentiment remained sluggish across their ambition, innovativeness the Eurozone,” noted Bord Bia CEO, and ability to meet buyer and Aidan Cotter. “This year will present consumer needs in highly further opportunities for growth competitive and complex trading in most sectors, notwithstanding environments.” challenges from continued global Bord Bia alsopublished Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon its new Statement of Strategy, dairy price pressures through the Coveney TD. early months of 2016.” 2016-2018, Making a World of The strongest categories in terms Difference, which sets out the key of export growth were beverages (+10%), beef (+6%), and forces driving change in the marketplace and the strategic seafood (+4%). The sustained growth in exports of Irish pillars that will guide the agency’s activities in the period Whiskey, up by an estimated 18%, was the most significant ahead. It includes a renewed focus on routes to market and driver in the beverages category. The growth in dairy the importance of building its international market presence.

RGDATA Concerns Over Alcohol Bill RGDATA Director General Tara Buckley and Board members, Annie Timothy, Eamon Gavin, Louis Byrne and Sean Quish met with senior officials in the Department of Health and Children recently to express independent retailers’ concerns with some aspects of the provisions of the proposed new Public Health (Alcohol) Bill. The RGDATA RGDATA Director General, delegation told the Tara Buckley. Department of Health and Children that independent retailers of alcohol are responsible, community based retailers who have a huge commitment to ensure that alcohol is sold responsibly. RGDATA stressed that the main problems concerning the sale of alcohol had not

arisen from local community based retailers, but from large multinational chains who were aggressively selling alcohol below cost and investing huge sums in marketing and advertising promotions to increase alcohol sales. The delegation stressed that it was important that the Department introduced measures which targeted those who have been irresponsibly selling alcohol and do not penalise retailers who are very clear on their obligations and responsibilities when selling alcohol. The RGDATA members also raised concerns about the impact of structural separation on independent retailers and were provided with clarification on the nature of the measures proposed by the Department. They were also assured that any new measures on structural separation will be a matter for the next Government to determine and if contained in the law when passed, will not come into force for at least an additional year. The delegation also stressed the importance of ensuring that the new law creates a level playing field and does not confer a competitive advantage on some retailers of alcohol over others. Following the election and the formation of a new Government, RGDATA will engage with the next Minister for Health and Children to ensure that its members’ interests are recognised in any new Bill.

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8|Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie

News

Irish Consumer Spending on the Rise IRISH household expenditure rose by 7.2% annually in January across all payment methods, according to the latest Visa Europe Irish Consumer Spending Index. This was faster than the increase of +6.5% seen in December and the second-sharpest expansion since the series began in September 2014 (just behind November 2015’s record). Irish consumers continued to increase their spending via eCommerce at a strong pace in January. There was a larger increase in face-to-face expenditure in January than seen at the end of the year, with the rate of expansion accelerating to +5.6%. Consumer spending has been helped by higher wages and reduced unemployment. Wages rose 2.7% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2015, while the rate of unemployment is at 8.6%, the lowest since the end of 2008. “The year-on-year increase in consumer spending during January is a very positive performance, particularly as it builds on growth through 2015,” said Philip Konopik, Country Manager, Ireland, Visa Europe. “It is reflective of the improvement in overall consumer confidence, particularly in terms of sales of big ticket items like cars and holidays in January. The real highlight is that all sectors in

the economy benefited from the rise in consumer spending. The high street was a key beneficiary, with the second highest level of growth in face-to-face spending recorded since we launched the Consumer Spending Index.”

New Jobs at CBE

CBE, the Mayo based retail software company, have announced 40 new jobs due to major expansion in the UK and significant contract wins in Ireland. The Taoiseach Enda Kenny officially announced the jobs recently at CBE’s international head office in Claremorris, where the jobs will be primarily based. “CBE are a success story for Claremorris, for Mayo, and for the West of Ireland,” noted An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD, at the announcement. “CBE have proven, and continue to prove, that indigenous Irish companies can compete and win on a global scale. Gerard Concannon and the CBE team deserve enormous credit for what they have created here in Claremorris. Their export led expansion into markets like the UK ensures that CBE will continue to grow and with plans afoot to enter the US market, the future is incredibly bright for CBE, which is a great boost to the local and national economy.” CBE develop and supply point of sale (POS) solutions for the retail and hospitality sectors. Selling mainly to the independent retail groups and hospitality markets, CBE’s client list includes: James Hall Group (UK), Sewell Retail (UK), Musgrave, SuperValu, Centra, BWG Foods, Costcutter, Gala, SPAR UK, Louis Fitzgerald Group, Aramark, Elior, Compass, IBM and Bewleys, among others. For more information, see www.cbe.ie.

An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD, is pictured at CBE’s International Head Office in Claremorris, where the officially announced 40 new jobs will primarily be based. Also in the picture are Seamus Murray, Financial Controller, CBE; Pat O’Grady, Enterprise Ireland; Gerard Concannon, CEO, CBE; and Sean Kenna, MD, CBE.

CSNA President’s Dinner

PICTURED at the recent CSNA President’s Dinner are (l-r): Grace Aungier, CEO, Magazines Ireland; Vincent Jennings, CEO of the CSNA; and Philippa Gee, RTE Guide.

Joe Tierney, CSNA National Executive); Philip Keegan, Past President, CSNA; and CSNA current President, Denis O’Flynn, pictured at the President’s Dinner.

To Another Great Year

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International Trade Fair for Wines and Spirits

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For more information contact Lorraine O’Byrne, obyrne@bim.ie or 01 2144185

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INTERNATIONAL WINE BUSINESS

PREPRESS CHECK LIST Width 210mm Height 297mm CHECK SIZE 7204 KRAFT IRE Joyville Retail News Front Cover.pdf

SPELLCHECK

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ProWein 2016 is the leading show for the international wine and spirits industry. It is the most important date for trade visitors from the retail and gastronomy sectors. This is what you can expect:

DECEMBER 2014

APRIL 2015

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Christmas Boost for Retailers as Shopper Spend Increases THE latest supermarket share figures from Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland for the 12 weeks ending January Total Take Home Grocery - Ireland Consumer Spend 3, show a strong uplift for 12 Weeks to 05 Jan 2014 12 Weeks to 04 Jan 2015 change** the Irish grocery market. %* %* % Shoppers relaxed their purse Total Grocers 100.0% 100.0% 3.5 strings over Christmas, Total Multiples 89.2% 89.6% 3.9 resulting in an overall Tesco 25.4% 24.6% 0.1 market growth of 3.5% – the Dunnes 23.5% 24.0% 5.6 strongest since January 2009. Total SuperValu 24.9% 25.1% 4.3 “Christmas is the most Total Discounters 15.3% 15.9% 7.1 important time of the year Aldi 8.0% 7.9% 2.9 for grocery retailers and this Lidl 7.4% 8.0% 11.6 year proved no different,” Other Outlets** 10.8% 10.4% -0.4 noted David Berry, Director at Kantar Worldpanel. *= Percentage Share of Total Grocers “The past 12 weeks are **= Includes stores such as M&S, Boots, Spar, Centra, Greengrocers, Butchers And Cross Border shops the first time since March 2013 that all five of the improvement on results for October and November, major supermarkets in suggesting things are looking up for the retailer,” noted Ireland have grown sales. Shoppers spent an additional Berry. €77m on groceries, compared with the same time last Elsewhere, Dunnes enjoyed a strong sales performance year, with confectionery, crisps and other snacks doing with an increase of 5.6%, improving its market share by half particularly well. But it wasn’t just party food that boosted a percentage point to 24%. “Bigger trips continue to be the sales; shoppers also spent more on staple items such as focus for Dunnes, with its average basket size increasing by fruit, vegetables and eggs. This is a clear sign of increased more than 22 year-on-year,” Berry explained. “The ongoing consumer confidence, as shoppers worry less about what ‘Shop and Save’ campaign looks like it’s had a major impact they’re spending.” with larger families – sales have grown by 11% among SuperValu has retained its position as the number one households with more than four members, compared with retailer in Ireland. Sales growth has continued to accelerate last year.” over recent months, reaching 4.3% over the past 12 weeks Lidl enjoyed the strongest growth within the grocery and increasing the retailer’s share of the market to 25.1%. market, with sales 11.6% ahead of Christmas 2014 – an SuperValu secured additional trips from a larger customer additional 44,000 people chose to shop with the retailer this base this Christmas, resulting in a 6.5% increase in the year. Aldi also enjoyed healthy sales growth, with a 2.9% number of transactions in-store. increase year on year. Tesco saw a better performance over Christmas, with For more information, see www.kantarworldpanel.com. sales up marginally versus last year. “This is a notable

Record Numbers at ISM ISM, the world’s largest trade fair for sweets and snacks, recorded 4% more visitors than last year, when it took place in Cologne from January 31 to February 3. Around 38,500 trade visitors from 146 countries attended, of whom 67% were from abroad. “The positive development of the trade fair over the past years is ongoing and

is clearly reflected by both the growth in the number of exhibitors and by the rising attendance figures,” summed up Katharina C. Hamma, Chief Operating Officer, Koelnmesse GmbH. 1,601 exhibitors from 65 countries exhibited at ISM 2016, 4.5% more exhibitors than in 2015. Once again this year, exhibitors impressed visitors with new products, innovative technologies and smart marketing concepts across the board at ISM. The New Product Showcase - the central new products exhibition at ISM - was fully-booked and registered record participation with 120 display windows. The themes covered all aspects of the world of sweets and snacks. The ISM Award for exceptional services within the sweets and snacks industry was presented to James Walker, Walker’s Shortbread. For more information, see www.ism-cologne.com.

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Big Moves at Major Shopping Centres • Butchers

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JANUARY

2013

2013 20 2013 2014 FEBRUARY 2013 2015

News

RGDATA

saturday Saturday saturday Monday saturday Saturday Friday sunday Sunday sunday Tuesday THERE are big moves afoot at some sunday Sunday saturday Monday 7 4 Monday best-known shopping centres. wednesday Email: info@retailsolutions.ie www.retailsolutions.ie Monday satu Monday sunday www wed www.retailsolutions.ie www.ret Green Property Group has announced its www.retailsolutions.ie intention to Tuesday 8 5 Tuesday Thursday www.retailsolutions.ie sun Tuesday Tuesday MondayThu sell Blanchardstown Centre, Ireland’s largest shopping Wednesday wednesday 9 6 wednesday Friday Mon wednesday and leisure destination. Annual footfall at the Centre is in Wednesday Tuesday Frid Thursday 10 7 Thursday saturday excess of 16m per annum - exceptionally strong by European Tue Thursday Thursday wednesday satu Friday standards. 11 8 Friday For all your Corporate and sunday wed Friday For more information call Friday sun Thursday For all your Corporate and “Blanchardstown Town Centre is a unique asset Q. One of my employees on sick leave Contract Publishing Needs Saturday saturday 12 was 9 saturday Monday For more information call Thu 01 4046438 or 086 3894276 saturday Saturday Contract Publishing Needs carefully planned and developed by Green Property, from Friday last November, and tells me that this period Mon sunday Sunday sunday 13 10 consumeradhesives.ireland@ie.henkel.com 01 4046438 or 086 3894276 Tuesday Call theincluded Experts Frid greenfield site to major town centre,” said Stephen Vernon, of absence is now when calculating sunday SundayTue !"#$%&'()&*#%)+,-'.+%#,'/01/2 saturday consumeradhesives.ireland@ie.henkel.com Call the Experts Monday 11 Monday !"#$%&'()&*#%)+, Green Property Group Chairman. “Today, it is one of wednesday her annual leave. Is this14 the !"#$%&'()&*#%)+,-'.+%#,'/01/2-'345'6*,%+",,'7 case? satu !"#$%&'()&*#%)+,-'.+%#,'/01/2-'34 Monday Monday !"#$%&'()&*#%)+,-'.+%#,'/01/2-'3 sunday wed Europe’s most successful and vibrant retail destinations. Tuesday 15 !"#$%&'()&*#%)+,-'.+%#,'/01/2-'345'6*,%+",,'7$89 12 Tuesday Thursday sun !"#$%&'()&*#%)+,-'.+%#,'/01/2 !"#$%&'()&*#%)+,-'.+%#,'/01/2-'345'6*,%+",,'7$89-':*$;-'<)='>$&?$@'A'???=8"#$%&,)&*#%)+, Tuesday Tuesday MondayThu I believe now is the optimal time to transition to new !"#$%&'()&*#%)+,-'.+%#,'/01/2 !"#$%&'()&*#%)+,-'.+%#,'/01/2-'345'6*,%+",,'7 A. Yes, this is true. Section 86 of the !"#$%&'()&*#%)+,-'.+%#,'/01/2-'345'6*,%+",,'7$89-':*$;-'<)='>$&?$@'A'???=8"#$%&,)&*#%)+,=%"'A'4BCD'C/ wednesday Wednesday wednesday 16 13 asH wedNesday Friday Mon !"#$%&'()&*#%)+,-'.+%#,'/01/2-'345'6*,%+",,'7 ownership to take advantage of its development potential wednesday Wednesday Tuesday Frid Workplace Relations Act 2015 amended Thursday 17 14 Thursday sT. ValeNTiNe’s da and capitalise on the recovery phase of the consumer cycle. Tue saturday Thursday sections 19, 20 and 23 of the Organisation of Thursday wednesday satu A fundamentally strong economic backdrop, compelling Friday Friday 18 15 wed sunday Working Time Act 1997 and this section came Friday Friday sun Thursday development potential and the inherent strengths of this Saturday saturday 16 saturday into effect from August 1,19 2015. Thu Monday Saturday asset present significant opportunity for the new owners of saturday Mon Friday Sunday Frid sunday 20 17 sunday Tuesday this great centre.” SundayTue sunday saturday This amendment Monday states that 21 “a day that an 18 Monday satu wednesday Monday wed employee was absent from work due to illness Monday sunday 22 to his or her 19 Tuesday sun Thursday shall, Tuesday if theFor more information call employeeFor more information call provided Tuesday Thu Tuesday Monday Kathleenbelton@tarapublications.ie wednesday Wednesday wednesday Mon 01 4046438 or 086 3894276 23 20 employer a certificate of a registered medical Friday 01 4046438 or 086 3894276 wednesday For mo Kathleenbelton@tarapublications.ie Wednesday Frid www.retailnews.ie Tuesday consumeradhesives.ireland@ie.henkel.com practitioner in respect of that illness, be deemed consumeradhesives.ireland@ie.henkel.com For more information call For more information call Tue Thursday Thursday For more i 24 21 www.retailnews.ie 01 4046 saturday satu Thursday For more information call Thursday to be Friday a day01 4046438 or 086 3894276 on which the employee was at consumeradhe 01 4046438 or 086 3894276 01 4046438 25 22 Friday sunday 01 4046438 or 086 3894276 Friday sun Friday consumeradhesives.ireland@ie.henkel.com consumeradhesives.ireland@ie.henkel.com work”. consumeradhesive consumeradhesives.ireland@ie.henkel.com Saturday saturday 26 23 saturday Monday Mon Saturday saturday Sunday sunday 27 24 sunday Tuesday SundayTue sunday Monday 28 25 Monday LONDISwed wednesday lO Monday Monday Q. Does this mean that if an employee is RETAILERSre Tuesday 29 26 Tuesday Thursday Thu Tuesday MORE M on long-term sick leave, they are accruing Tuesday Wednesday wednesday 30 27 wednesday CHILLEDFrid Friday annual leave indefinitely? Wednesday ch wednesday The Blanchardstown Centre, Ireland’s largest shopping and leisure www.rgdata.ie www.rgdata.ie THAN EVER Thursday 31 28 Thursday satu saturday centre, is up for sale. Thursday Thursday th A. No, this is not the case. Entitlement of Friday Friday sunday Friday sun HELPLINE 01 283 4188 Meanwhile, asset and development managers, Hines 01sick 283 4188 Friday employees who areHELPLINE on long-term leave saturday Saturday saturday Mon Monday have submitted a planning application for significant Saturday saturday is capped to a maximum carry-over period. expansion at Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in West Dublin. sunday Sunday sunday Tue Tuesday Sunday Therefore, if during the leave year, the Confederation House sunday The plans include an additional 22,000 square metres of Monday 84/86 Street, Dublin 2 due Monday employee isLower unableBaggot to take annual leave Monday Monday net retail space; 1,800 car parking spaces, a major new civic to illness, it mustTel: be01-6051558 taken within a specified Tuesday Tuesday Tuesday plaza and a 2,500 seat Olympic-sized indoor ice arena. time, or there www.retailireland.ie is no entitlement for that particularTuesday Lo - Call 1890 924 914 Unit 25-26, N17 Business Park, Tuam, Co. Galway ! Tel: 093 23900and Fax: 093 70108 of Ireland’s biggest Email: info@retailsolutions.ie

5924 2! info@retailsolutions.ie Lo -C Lo - Call 1890 914 Lo -sun Call Unit 25-26,Email: N17 Business Park, Tuam, Co. Galway Tel: 093 23900 Fax: 093 70108 Unit 25-26, Thu N17 ! Galway Unit 25-26, Unit 25-26, Lo N17 Business Park, Tuam, - Call 1890 924 914Co. N17Mon Busi Email: info@retailsolutions.ie Tel: 093 23900 093 70108 6 Unit 25-26, N17 BusinessFax: Park, Tuam, Co.! Galway 3 www.retailsolutions.ie 093 Tel:Email: 093 23900 Fax: 093 70108! info@retailsolutions.ie Tel: Tel: 093Frid 2392 Email: www.retailsolutions.ie info@retailsolutions.ie Tel:Email: 093 23900 Fax: 093 70108 Tue Email: info

Advice Column

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10/12/2013 15:53

01 01 6785165 6785165

Savings of 6% with new Centralised Chill facility! Because we are ‘owned by retailers for retailers’ our focus saving is on passing savings back to our retailers. The introduction of our Centralised Chill facility brings with it big savings, big brand availability, store efficiencies and extra margin to Londis retailers. No wonder it’s scored unanimous satisfaction with the most chilled out retailers in the country!

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LONDIS lO RETAILERSre IRELAND’S L MORE M LONDIS ch LONDIS CHILLED th www.rgdata.ie lOnDis www.rgdata.ie RETAILERS RETAILERS THANwww EVER retailers MORE MORE MOre HELPLINE 01 283 4188 CHILLED CHILLED HELPLINE www.rgdata.ie chilleD www.r HELPLIN THAN EVER THAN EVER 01 283 4188 www.rgdata.ie than ever HELPLINE 01 283 4188 HELPLINE HELPLINE 01 283 4188 September 2012

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Savings of 6% with new Centralised Chill facility! of our Centra

www.rgdata.ie

Because we are ‘owned by retailers for retailers’ our focus is on passing savings back to our retailers. The introduction of our Centralised Chill facility brings with it big savings, big brand availability, store efficiencies and extra margin to Londis retailers. No wonder it’s scored unanimous satisfaction with the most chilled out retailers in the country!

Retail Cover Oct12.indd 1

Savings of 6% with new Centralised Chill facility!

Expansion plans at Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in West Dublin HELPLINE 01 283 include an additional 22,000 square metres of net retail space; 1,800 car parking spaces, a major new civic plaza and a 2,500 seat Olympic-sized indoor ice arena.

Commenting on the planning submission, Brian Moran, Senior Managing Director of Hines Ireland, stated “Our research shows that if the planned expansions to all Dublin shopping centres went ahead in the next five years, it would add 12% to the retail floor area in the city region. Customer spend and population growth will outstrip this, so we are making this application now as economic growth accelerates to avoid the kind of lack of supply we are currently seeing in office and residential markets.”

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Retail Cover Oct12.indd 1

Because we are ‘owned by retailers for retailers’ our focus is on passing savings back to our retailers. The introduction of our Centralised Chill facility brings with it big savings,

Retail Cover Oct12.indd 1

big brand availability, store efficiencies extra margin to savings of 6% with and new centralised chill facility! Londis retailers. No wonder it’s scored unanimous satisfaction

22/10/2012 14:23

Because we are ‘owned retailers for country! retailers’ our focus with the most chilled out by retailers in the is on passing savings back to our retailers. The introduction of our Centralised Chill facility brings with it big savings, big brand availability, store efficiencies and extra margin to Londis retailers. No wonder it’s scored unanimous satisfaction with the most chilled out retailers in the country! Retail Cover Oct12.indd 1

Retail Cover Oct12.indd 1

For further information on this, go the Members’ Only section at www.rgdata.ie. If you need your members’ username and/or password, email us at rgdata@rgdata.ie or call the Helpline on 01-2834188. If you are interested in joining RGDATA, please contact us on 01-2834188.

12|Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie

Industry News FYFFES TO CONTINUE SUMMER CAMPS SUPPORT BANANA importers Fyffes is to once again lend its support to Starcamp, Ireland’s nationwide children’s performing arts network, which plans to host summer camps in almost 170 towns across 32 counties next July and August. Confirming their support, Fyffes Sales and Marketing Manager, Emma Hunt-Duffy, praised Starcamp for the nationwide success it has become, describing it as “a venture perfectly in tune with Fyffes’ commitment to encourage a healthy and active lifestyle across all ages.” Meanwhile, Fyffes’ new TV campaign is reminding consumers of its long and distinguished heritage as an Irish-owned brand. Filmed on the seafront at Bray, the 30-second commercial illustrates how bananas have been a popular fruit with Irish families across the generations by blending footage reminiscent of the 1920s with modern day scenes.

Music to Our Ears from AirServ AIRSERV, which runs bespoke radio stations for retail outlets and shopping centres, has successfully raised €20,000 in online funding through Linked Finance, Ireland’s largest crowd lending platform. The funds will be used to expand the company’s in-store radio network, which currently delivers tailored point-of-purchase radio across 130 retail locations. It’s a win-win for both retailers and advertisers, with AirServ working closely with individual retail outlets to create bespoke music programmes for maximum engagement with shoppers. It operates a ‘no clutter’ policy of running just one commercial per ad break and all songs are selected from original artist music, based on customer demographics, time of day and seasonality. “While banks are the traditional source of funds, businesses need a quicker turnaround and easier process than what the banks usually offer. Crowd lending bridges that gap and brings the added advantage of creating a community of active investors in Ireland’s recovery,” noted AirServ MD, Enda Murphy (pictured).

Gala Launches parkrun Sponsorship DECEMBER 13 marked the launch of junior parkrun Ireland, with the inaugural free run taking place at Kenure Woods in Rush, Co. Dublin, where over 160 children and many parents took part in the 2k. Building on the success of the parkrun phenomenon, which has grown to 41 locations nationwide, Rush junior parkrun marks the introduction of the Sunday event, which is aimed at young people, aged between four and 14. At the event, Gala Retail, was unveiled as the first commercial sponsorship of parkrun Ireland, incorporating both the 5k and 2k parkrun events. The three-year deal is part of Gala Retail’s new health and wellness strategy – ‘Your Choice with Gala’ – which will deliver more choice for its shoppers. Pictured are(l-r): Tony Cluskey, Marketing Manager, Gala Retail; junior parkrun participants Anna Foley; Matthew and Aoife Jackson, and Matt Shields, Country Manager, parkrun Ireland.

Feeding Ireland’s Future 2016

THE Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton TD officially launched Feeding Ireland’s Future 2016, an initiative by the Irish food and grocery industry to support young unemployed people by providing free pre-employment skills. The core activity, Skills For Work Week, will take place from February 29 to March 4, 2016. Pictured at the launch are: Declan Carolan, General Manager, ECR Ireland, An Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton TD; Deirdre O’Donoghue, Country Manager, Nestlé; and Gerard Joyce, Store Manager, SuperValu, Blanchardstown.

Centra’s 5-a-day Challenge

THOUGH it would seem as a nation we are more informed than ever on achieving a healthy lifestyle, research shows that we are only getting half of our 5-a-day. The majority of us know about 5-a-day (75%), but only 36% of us actually consume it. To help redress the balance, Centra has launched its 5-a-day challenge, encouraging customers to increase their intake of fruit and veg over the next 21 days. Leading Irish blogger and Centra ambassador Pippa O’Connor (pictured), who launched Centra’s 5-a-day challenge, is blogging her progress during the 21 days and is calling on the rest of Ireland to join her! Centra and consultant dietician Sarah Keogh have created a week-by-week guide, offering hints and tips on ways to increase your daily intake of fruit and veg at www.centra.ie.

14|Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie

Industry News ALDI ANNOUNCES CHARITY PARTNERS ALDI Ireland has confirmed it will provide a total of €840,000 in support to leading youth development organisation Foróige over the course of its current three-year partnership. The announcement was made as Aldi unveiled the charities and not-for-profit organisations it will partner with in 2016 as part of its community support programme, including FoodCloud, Irish Cancer Society, The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVP) and WEEE Ireland. Aldi also confirmed the establishment of a network of more than 120 ‘Charity Champions’ in its stores nationwide to co-ordinate the programme at a local level, work closely with local charities and encourage Aldi staff involvement in initiatives. Pictured at Oldcastle Foróige Club, Co. Meath, are (l-r): Callum Maxwell (aged 15), Claudia Garcia (aged 15), Ciara O’Reilly (aged 15) and Oliver Smith (aged 13).

€14m Development at O’Brien Fine Foods

Click & Collect from Pallas Foods

O’BRIEN Fine Foods has announced details of a €14m development at its ham processing facility in Timahoe, Co. Kildare. The planned 8,000 square metre expansion at the Timahoe facility, which is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland, is expected to more than double operational capacity, creating an additional 40 full time jobs. O’Brien Fine Foods is a leading producer of cooked meats under the Brady Family brand, and breakfast meats under the Rudds brand. Pictured are (l-r): Michael Cantwell, Divisional Manager, Food Business Unit, Enterprise Ireland; Bill O’Brien, Chairman, O’Brien Fine Foods; Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD; and John O’Brien, Managing Director, O’Brien Fine Foods.

PALLAS Foods, one of Ireland’s leading foodservice providers, has launched a new Click & Collect portal (www.pallascollect.ie). This is a new online order and collect facility, providing foodservice and retail customers in the greater Dublin region with a convenient ordering portal where they can pick-up their products at a time that suits their business. Click & Collect customers can select their own pick-up time and pick-up day with a simple click of a button. Click & Collect customers can also pay online or hold their order to pay with cash on collection. Pictured are (l-r): Phillip Monks, Pallas Foods Marketing Manager; Kevin Cosgrave, Pallas Click & Collect Manager; and Patrick Clement, Pallas Foods Development Chef. For more information, see www.pallascollect.ie.

LIDL ADDRESSES FOOD POVERTY IN CORK LIDL Ireland and Bia Food Initiative announced details of a partnership to launch a structured food donation programme for Cork. As part of the programme, surplus food will be collected on a daily basis from each of the participating Lidl stores in Cork, including Midleton, Ballincollig, Ballyvolane, Churchfield, Togher and Cornmarket Street, and its Regional Distribution Centre in Charleville. This food will then be redirected to over 56 charities working with those affected by food poverty. Lidl aims to donate the equivalent of 100,000 meals to Bia Food Initiative in 2016, with 25,000 meals having already been donated following a successful trial period. This partnership is an extension of Lidl’s structured food donation programme in Dublin, where selected stores donate surplus food to the charity, Crosscare. Pictured at the announcement are Paul Flynn, chef and owner of The Tannery Restaurant, Dungarvan, with Oscar Kelleher, aged nine, and his sister Emilie Kelleher, aged 11.

BUTCHER’S CROWD FUNDING SUCCESS LINKED Finance, one of Ireland’s leading ‘peer-to-peer’ crowd funding companies, has successfully raised €10,000 to finance an extensive marketing programme for the newly refurbished Clyne’s Butchers, located in Ringsend, Dublin. Serving the local community of Ringsend, Sandymount and the wider Dublin 4 area since 1926, Clyne’s is renowned for its quality of product and service to generations of customers. The business is owned and run by Aoife O’Toole (pictured) and business partner Jason Hyland. Aoife, having taken over the business from her father, has transformed the business into a state-of-the-art, master butchers. “It’s a very exciting time for our business and we’re delighted to have raised this second round of funding with Linked Finance in a way that brings so many people on board as partners in our growing success,” she said.

Share the pork, sage and onion goodness Share the goodness with our newest flavour in the Moy Park Roast in the Bag family â&#x20AC;&#x201C; our delicious Pork, Sage and Onion Roast Chicken. Using cutting edge thermoformed packaging technology this innovative packaging technology enables the chicken to self-baste throughout the cooking process, which results in more succulent meat with an enhanced flavour. Straight from supermarket shelf to oven, this product offers consumers goodness in every juicy bite.

Contact our Commercial team +44 (0) 28 3835 2233

16|Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie

Industry News Gala Launches ‘Good 4 Me’ Initiative with Unislim GOOD 4 Me is an exclusive concept that’s been developed by Gala Retail, in conjunction with Ireland’s longest-established slimming and health organisation, Unislim. Part of the ‘Your Choice with Gala’ initiative which launched at the 2015 Gala Conference, Good 4 Me will offer Gala shoppers healthier lunchtime choices, and the exclusive in-store concept has now started its first phase roll-out, with an initial 20 stores. The Good 4 Me range was devised with the aim of providing healthier choices that are convenient for busy shoppers. The collaboration with Unislim, with some expertise from dietitian Paula Mee, resulted in the creation of a range of lunch options, including sandwiches, wraps and baps, that consumers can feel good about as they all come in at less than 400 kcals. Pictured at the launch are Gala Retail’s Fresh Food Managers Ben McGinn (left) and John Ireland (right), with top dietician Paula Mee (second from left) and Fiona Gratzer, Managing Director of Unislim.

SuperValu Sutton Supporting Howth RNLI HOWTH RNLI was unveiled as SuperValu Sutton’s Charity of the Year for 2016. A series of fundraising activities will take place in the store throughout 2016 to support the work of the lifeboat station in Howth. The funds raised by SuperValu Sutton will contribute to the training of the volunteer crew members, the provision of lifejackets and crew kit, the maintenance of the two lifeboats and the running costs of the lifeboat station in Howth. As the busiest coastal lifeboat station in Ireland in 2015, Howth RNLI had 60 launches and rescued 58 people. Neville Raethorne, SuperValu Sutton, and Rose Michael, Chairperson, Howth RNLI Fundraising Branch, are pictured with a special lifeboat cake made by SuperValu Sutton baker, Gary Wickham.

PERONI ON FILM PERONI Nastro Azzurro has been announced as the Official Beverage Sponsor of the 2016 Audi Dublin International Film Festival. This new partnership will see Peroni Nastro Azzurro sponsor an Italian Film Night in The Lighthouse Cinema on Tuesday, February 23, with special guest, Italian screen icon, Claudia Cardinale. Cardinale will be honoured on the night with a Volta Award for her lifetime achievement in cinema, and will take part in a public interview, following the preview screening of her new film, Ultima Fermata. Aoife Walsh is pictured at the Peroni Nastro Azzurro drinks reception in Whelan’s for the programme launch of the Audi Dublin International Film Festival. For more information, see www.peroniitaly.ie.

TAYTO CÁISE & OINIÚIN! TO celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, not only has Mr Tayto turned green but he’s also spreading the luck of the Irish by giving one fortunate Tayto fan the chance to bring a loved one home from anywhere in the world for March 17! In the run-up to our national day, Mr Tayto has redesigned his iconic cheese and onion 37g bag of crisps by changing them to a patriotic green, white and gold! For the crisp connoisseurs who may be living abroad and missing the taste of home, Mr Tayto is giving 100 Tayto lovers the opportunity to have a box of Tayto delivered to their loved ones’ doors around the world.

Appointment at Visa Europe VISA Europe has appointed Philip Konopik as Ireland Country Manager. Konopik will have overall responsibility for Visa’s operations in Ireland, driving growth and development in a key market for Visa Europe.“I’m delighted to be joining Visa Europe at an exciting time for the payments space as consumers shift from cash and cheques to electronic payments,” Konopik, said. “I look forward to building on this momentum and pioneering new payment technology in Ireland.”

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18|Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie

Healthy Eating

Reformulation and Renaissance Pictured are (l-r): Danny McCoy, Director General, IBEC; Minister for Health , Leo Varadkar TD; and Paul Kelly, Director, FDII; at the launch of the FDII /Creme Global Reformulation Project report.

A new report reveals that the Irish food industry has made significant reductions in fat, saturated fat, sugar, salt and calories through reformulation of products. A NEW report from Food and Drink Industry Ireland (FDII) shows significant reductions in fat, saturated fat, sugar, salt and calories have been achieved through reformulation of some of Ireland’s most popular foods and beverages, some of which have had their recipes transformed. Salt content of the products analysed fell by 37% over the period from 2005 to 2012, with sugar content dropping by 14%. The amount of energy as measured in calories sold over the seven years to 2012 reduced by 12%, while both total fat and saturated fat intake reduced by approximately 10%. The FDII Reformulation Project report, compiled by leading analysts Creme Global, used data on 600 products from 14 of Ireland’s major food and drink companies and was supported by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).

The 14 FDII member companies that participated were: Britvic Ireland; Coca Cola Ireland; Glanbia Consumer Foods; Kelloggs Company Ireland; Kepak Convenience Foods; Kerry Foods; Largo Foods; Lucozade Ribena Suntory Ireland; Mars Ireland; Mondelez International; Nestlé; PepsiCo; Unilever; Valeo Foods. The First of Its Kind “This FDII report is the first of its kind in the world,” said Paul Kelly, Director, FDII. “Never before has the impact of reformulation on the diet of an entire nation been analysed. The commitment of food and drink companies to change recipes and introduce new products has had a significant and positive impact on the diet of Irish consumers.”

Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie|19

Healthy Eating Research Methodology

The recent Healthy Ireland survey showed that while obesity levels have stabilised, still some 60% of people are overweight or obese.

Launching the report, Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar TD, acknowledged that when it comes to health, “the focus is generally on the day to day problems we face but we will never get on top of these or get budgets under control in the long-term if we don’t improve our health as individuals and as a nation. “Being healthy starts with personal responsibility, but the Government also has a role to play,” he continued. “The recent Healthy Ireland survey showed that while obesity levels have stabilised, still some 60% of people are overweight or obese.” The Minister went on to note how “the food industry is well placed to play an important role in the ongoing battle against obesity. I see them playing a key part and leading by example”. Minister Varadkar said he supported the efforts made on reformulation in the past, but he called for this work to continue moving “at a quicker pace, with clear targets and timelines for achievement over the next three to five years.”

For the reformulation measurement initiative, the 14 FDII companies provided sales data for products across 10 food product grocery category segments from 2005 to 2012, together with the nutrient content of these products. Creme Global analysed all the data to calculate the tonnes removed of each nutrient. This enabled them to determine the reduction in certain nutrients (energymeasured in calories, fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar) on the market in 2012. Subsequently, Creme Global, using the IUNA food categories (www.iuna.net/docs/ survey2000.zip), projected the impact of these product reformulations on the daily nutrition intake of four specific population groups - pre-schoolers, children, teenagers and adults in Ireland for two time points, the baseline or pre-reformulation (2005) and postreformulation (2012). The dietary analysis was carried out twice to generate two scenarios. Scenario A estimates the impact on the population if all companies across the food and beverage sector reformulated in a similar way to the 14 FDII companies. Scenario B presents a more conservative picture. It assumes only the 14 FDII companies reformulated products, thereby estimating the minimum impact of reformulation on Ireland. Combining the two sets of results provides a range of the potential impact of reformulation on the population – from optimistic to conservative. A supplementary report has been prepared on the beverage sector which looks at the impact of reformulation and the introduction of low and no cal beverage products by FDII members on the population. It proved these measures led to reductions in the levels of sugar (-10%) and energy (-7%) from beverages in the Irish national diet between 2005 and 2012.

The Role of Industry A recent report by McKinsey Global found that reformulation by industry is second only to consuming smaller portions in the impact it has on tackling obesity (Source: http://www. mckinsey.com/insights/economic_studies/how_the_world_ could_better_fight_obesity). “Industry acknowledges that it has a major part to play in obesity reduction,” Paul Kelly explains. “It can do this in a number of ways. The most important thing that industry can do is reformulation, which is recognised by the likes of McKinsey Global, as being one of the most effective

FDII are actively seeking more food and drink manufacturing companies to get involved in the reformulation project, both food manufacturers and retailers, due to their own label products.

Pictured are (l-r): Dr Wayne Anderson, FSAI; Paul Kelly, FDII; Dr Mary McCreery, Consultant Registered Dietician Nutritionist.

20|Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie

Healthy Eating measures you can put The Reformulation Measurement Report shows the following reductions: into effect. That is just one of the things we want Percentage Reduction in Levels of Nutrients Sold: to do, in collaboration with the public health Nutrient % Reduction authorities. Tying in Energy 11.58 with reformulation is the idea of product choice Total Fat 9.86 through different sizes, Saturated Fat 12.01 new variants which are better for you and portion Sodium 36.66 sizes: for example, some Sugar 13.83 products will have a 250-calorie cap. Some of Percentage Reduction in Mean Daily Nutrient Intakes for Consumers of Reformulated Products the other areas we are (ranging from conservative – optimistic): looking at include the consumer information Nutrient Adults Teenagers Children Pre-Schoolers that we provide on-pack and digitally on websites, Energy 1.32 - 3.74 0.33 - 3.76 0.46 - 4.97 0.55 - 4.24 through apps etc.” Total Fat 2.95 - 7.09 1.98 - 7.77 1.87 - 6.47 2.03 - 6.37 So are food Saturated Fat 5.38 18.22 6.36 23.94 6.06 22.77 4.81 - 19.27 manufacturers doing enough? “They are doing Sodium 8.31 - 45.10 10.27 - 38.69 9.37 - 29.90 8.07 – 38.68 a lot and I think they Sugar 2.06 - 7.70 1.36 - 7.44 1.21 - 13.56 1.07 - 9.84 will continue to do more,” Kelly opines. “Ultimately, the consumer will decide whether companies are doing enough or not. With a lot and has been acknowledged by the Food Safety Authority of of these things, you have to make sure you get a positive Ireland as such.” consumer reaction. Sometimes, if you move too fast, with a completely new recipe, for example, you get a negative Seeking More Companies consumer reaction, and the consumer simply switches to another product. That doesn’t benefit the company which has The 14 major consumer food and drink companies will now made the change but it doesn’t benefit what you are trying to provide reformulation data for the period 2013 to 2015. This will be the basis of another report to be published next year do from a public health perspective as well.” to allow trend analysis and better informed business and He cites the area of salt reduction as an example, which policy decisions in the future. FDII have been working on over the last 10 years. “The FDII are actively seeking more food and drink agreed approach, from a scientific perspective, was to do this on a slow basis, to make sure you were having a continuously manufacturing companies to get involved in the reformulation project, both food manufacturers and retailers, gradual change that the consumer didn’t really notice because of their private label offerings. but as time went by, you were achieving fairly significant FDII will recruit companies into a wider reformulation reductions in salt content,” he says. “This is the way forward reporting programme, modelled on the successful salt reduction collaboration between industry and the FSAI that ran from 2003 to 2013 in the area of prepared foods. Participating companies will provide FDII with information on reformulation and other product innovations such as portion size, fortification and the introduction of new products containing less calories, salt, sugar, fat and/or saturated fat.

“Being healthy starts with personal responsibility, but the Government also has a role to play”: Leo Varadkar TD, Minister for Health.

An Important Contribution Dr Wayne Anderson, Director of Food Science and Standards, FSAI, said, “Reformulation of foods to reduce salt, sugar and fat will make an important contribution to healthier diets. The FSAI welcomes the initiative by FDII and will support the programme with guidance and independent monitoring of these nutrients in foods.” Commenting on the results, Dr Mary McCreery, Consultant Registered Dietician Nutritionist, said “The FDII/Creme Global research provides food companies and policy makers alike with valuable insights on the progress being made in product reformulation and importantly, on the positive impact it has had and will continue to have on the nation’s diet and health. If all companies with similar products reformulated their energy content to the same extent as those currently involved in the research, the biggest effect would be in children and would prevent over half a stone excessive weight gain per year in each child.”

22|Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie

Kantar Worldpanel Christmas Review

Spreading the Good News of Christmas Kantar Worldpanelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Christmas trading review drilled down into the performance of the five main supermarkets in Ireland, with some very interesting results. THE Kantar Worldpanel Christmas 2015 Trading Review painted a pretty rosy picture of the FMCG in Ireland and the grocery retail sector in particular. Some figures have returned to pre-R-word times. However, the sector here remain a very competitive one, one where spotting new trends and habits among consumers has become more important than ever. Loosening the Purse Strings Consumer sentiment during Christmas 2015 hit its highest level since 2006 and it was reflected in a loosening of the purse strings by Irish shoppers. The holiday period recorded the highest growth in sales since 2009. Irish consumers really treated themselves, with many substituting treats for healthy food, alongside a promise to hit the gym in January. An important related trend to note is that fresh food can and does fall into the treat category with the Irish consumer. As well as sales of treats, fresh food sales were strong in almost all the major Irish supermarkets last Christmas. Private labels saw very strong sales growth

Kantar WorldPanel is in the process of increasing the number of households it captures data from in Ireland to 5,000.

Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie|23

Kantar Christmas Review GrowthWorldpanel mirrored in Grocery over Christmas in many supermarkets, which may be some cause for concern among brands selling through the supermarket channel. However, overall it was good news all round. Improved Accuracy Kantar Worldpanel is in the process of increasing the number of households it captures data from in Ireland to 5,000. This will make Ireland one of the best represented countries where Kantar operates and will see improved accuracy. One consumer trend identified that may be of value for next year was the difference in activity between those hosting Christmas dinner and those not. Hosts spend on average €150 more on The grocery market reflected the overall retail growth. their Christmas shop. They make slightly Chart Footnote less trips than non-hosts, but with +3.6% average spend and +5.5% trip spend. Awareness of details like these can make rd Jan 2016 16 Source: Kantar rolling 4 weeks to 3 your strategies for 2016 more robust, because the FMCG sector may be about to enter even more interesting times.

Christmas 2015 was the first year since 2008 when all of the top five retailers saw sales rise. Sales growth in the last four months of 2015 showed Tesco up by +4%, SuperValu also growing by +4%, Dunnes up by +9%, Aldi increasing by +6% and Lidl up by +13%.

The Retail Battleground Christmas 2015 was the first year since 2008 when all of the top five retailers saw sales rise. Sales growth in the last four months of 2015 showed Tesco up by +4%, SuperValu also growing by +4%, Dunnes up by +9%, Aldi increasing by +6% and Lidl up by +13%. All figures are for eight weeks, ending January 3, 2016. SuperValu claimed the top spot at Christmas, with a market share of 25.2%. SuperValu recorded very strong value sales growth last Christmas. Its private label offering recorded growth of +3.9% but in better news for branded goods, SuperValu stores recorded growth of +5.3% on branded goods. Star performers on the shelves were confectionery, carbonated soft drinks, sweets & treats and fresh food. Where SuperValu won in particular was in increasing the spend value over the period. Value increased by an impressive +4.7% for the period. SuperValu also managed to increase the number of visits, capturing an increase of

almost +6% in the numbers of trips. Tesco was second with 25%. The retailer added value and volume over the Christmas period. However, reduced numbers of trips and spend per trip meant that growth was modest. During the Christmas period, Tesco faired as follows: sales value was up by +1.3%; volume was up by +3.8%; shoppers were down by -0.5%; trips were up by +6.5%; and trip value was down by -4.0%. Of particular note with Tesco was the very strong growth in sales of private 10 label, which increased by % Change +6.8%. In fact, sales of CSO Retail Sales Index 5.5 branded goods in Tesco fell 4.1 5 slightly across the festive period. Branded products -0.7 -0.7 -2 -0.2 0 selling through the Tesco channel should be aware of this trend when planning for -5 next Christmas. The habits of the Kantar -10 households reflect those of the broader Irish population and they show the dynamism in -15 the market. Irish consumers can and do shop around at -20 -18 Christmas, and you need to know how to intercept their 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 path to purchase. Dunnes is the third of the big three supermarkets in Ireland, with 24% of Christmas 2015 showed the highest retail growth level since 2009. Source: CSO Retail Sales Index 15

Highest retail growth level since 2009

24|Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie

Kantar Worldpanel Christmas Review rising by +3.4%, volume increasing by +6.8% and shoppers rising by +5.7%. Aldi recorded the strongest growth in sales of branded goods, up 17% for the period. It also saw a modest increase in sales of private label. With sales on deal recording huge growth of +34.4%, Aldi was clearly able to draw significant value from the discount proposition. Notable strong sellers included household and cleaning goods, along with personal hygiene products. Lidl recorded increases in activity with by the Kantar households in all five areas measured. Value was up by +11.9%; volume increased by +10.8%; shoppers were up by +3%; trips rose by +7.8%; and trip value grew by +1%. The brand was particularly adept at drawing in new shoppers over the period with a higher than average spend, despite the fact

Shoppers relaxed the purse strings this Christmas

–More Trips?

–+0.8 trip

–-0.2 trip

–Average spend

–+2.2%

–+3.6%

–Volume Bought

–+2%

–+1%

–Trip Spend

–-2.3%

–+5.5%

–NC

–+2.6%

Price Paid

Shoppers loosened their purse strings overKantar Worldpanel, data to 3rd Jan 2016 Source: © Kantar Worldpanel Christmas, with increases in average spend and the volume of goods bought.

Strong momentum across the retail sector

Absolute Value Sales €m

the Christmas market. With share split so narrowly between the top three, Christmas is particularly important, both for the supermarkets themselves and for the products stocked on their shelves. Like Tesco, Dunnes recorded stunning growth in private label sales during the period, with sales increasing by +8.5%. Branded goods, meanwhile, also showed growth, albeit a more modest +3.4%. In fact of the top three supermarkets, Dunnes recorded the strongest performance with the Kantar households. Value of sales was up by +5.1%, volume rose by +4.2%, trips were ahead by +1.1%, and trip value increased by +5.3% Dunnes only lost in one area, with shoppers down by -0.6%.

4 0.1

Aged under 28

10.7

Aged 28-34

SuperValu

Dunnes

Aldi

Lidl

that deals on promotion in Lidl over the period saw huge growth of +59% and its private label range performed very well. Branded sales, however, fell by -3.8% during the period.

+12% (€467)

Aged 45-54 Aged 55-64 Aged 65+

Source: Kantar Worldpanel Data To 3rd Jan 2016

21.1

22.4

4 w/e Growth

Christmas 2015 showed strong growth right across the sector.

Aged 35-44

21.5

Most spend captured from 45-54, but 35-44 increased spend the most

20.4

-2 Tesco

Discounters Drive On Aldi also recorded growth in all but one of the five areas being measured in this report. The number of trips to Aldi shops during the period by households decreased by -6.4%. However, Aldi still enjoyed a bumper Christmas, with value

3.9

52 w/e Growth 12 w/e Growth

-2.1% (€514)

4 w/e demographic profile spend and growth

Source: Kantar Worldpanel, Demographic profile spend and growth over the Christmas period. 4 w/e 3rd Jan 2016 21 © Kantar Worldpanel

The Changing Face of Shopping Lidl’s Christmas performance was as much an extension of its growth over the course of the year. With almost 75% of the market, the top three dominate the sector here. However, Aldi and Lidl have become significant players in the Irish market and their arrival has helped to change the way that Irish consumers shop. There was a final note of caution for the global FMCG market in general. Global population growth is slackening; households are smaller; global unemployment is increasing; inflation is flat and consumers are shopping less often through a larger variety of channels, including e-commerce. According to Kantar, all of these trends seem likely to continue, and they will all affect the sector and its sales. So it looks like it might be time to get planning for Christmas 2016, which will be even more competitive.

Store Locations

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Switch & make moneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Musgrave are committed to working in partnership with retailers to deliver an exclusive offer that provides the benefits of a symbol brand without the loss of individual identity. Here are four good reasons to switch to Daybreak: Grow your bottom line As part of the Musgrave Group we will enhance your sales and margin with our competitive pricing and deep cut promotions.

Exceptional Promotional Value Our strong promotional offers will drive your profitability along with consumer leaflet distributions direct to 1,000 of your customers every 4 weeks.

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26|Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie

Daybreak Store of the Year

Drumcondra

Store wins National Daybreak Award Damien Osborne’s Daybreak store on Clonliffe Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9, was named Daybreak Store of the Year recently. DAYBREAK Clonliffe Road, in Drumcondra, Dublin 9, was named Store of the Year at the annual Daybreak Store of the Year Awards. Daybreak Clonliffe Road is owned by Damien Osborne and employs 16 people. As well as scooping the overall title, the store also won the top prize in the ‘Best Food and Beverage To Go’ category. Daybreak is Ireland’s fastest growing convenience group with 200 stores nationwide. All stores are independently owned by local retailers, ensuring that each store can respond to the everyday needs of their local community. The Daybreak Store of the Year Awards recognise retail excellence across Daybreak outlets nationwide. Nine retailers were shortlisted for the overall award, which focuses on four key areas: Products & Services, Environment, Communications and People & Behaviours. Throughout the competition, a series of mystery shopper audits are conducted on store standards and stores are assessed against these criteria. Daybreak Clonliffe Road was awarded the top prize thanks to their impressive customer service and outstanding product offering. Key Category Winners As well as the coveted overall Store of the Year accolade, there were eight other awards on the night, focusing on key in-store categories. These were:

• • •

Availability Award, won by Daybreak Ballina, Co. Mayo; Mystery Shopper Award, won by Daybreak Blanchardstown, Dublin 15; Best Impulse Award, won by Daybreak Camolin, Co. Wexford;

Damien Osborne, owner, and the team from Daybreak Clonliffe Road, celebrate winning the Daybreak Store of the Year title with Paul Kerrigan, Musgrave MarketPlace Director (left), and Noel Keeley, MD of Musgrave Wholesale Partners (right).

Daybreak Store of the Year: Daybreak Clonliffe Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9.

• • • • •

Best Off Licence Award, won by Daybreak Clerihan, Co. Tipperary; Best Forecourt, won by Daybreak Dungarvan, Co. Waterford; Best Convenience, won by Daybreak Raven Terrace, Galway; Best Wine, won by Daybreak Raven Terrace, Galway; Best Food and Beverage To Go, won by Daybreak, Clonliffe Road, Dublin 9.

Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie|27

Daybreak Store of the Year Daybreak’s Hero Categories

The winning stores celebrate at the Daybreak Store of the Year Awards, which took place recently at the Lyrath Hotel in Kilkenny.

“These awards recognise and reward excellence across our retail network and I would like to congratulate Damien and the team at Daybreak Clonliffe Road on their welldeserved win,” said Paul Kerrigan, Musgrave MarketPlace Director, Musgrave Wholesale Partners. “At Daybreak, we are passionate about providing an excellent and convenient customer experience and Daybreak Clonliffe Road has really excelled this year.”

DAYBREAK is a large group of small Irish stores, with convenient, accessible shops in over 200 locations throughout the country. Daybreak stores provide convenient shopping options, have all the items consumers need and are good value for money. Daybreak has a reputation for quality, value and friendly local service, and the fact that stores are independently owned and operated by local people means that shoppers get the best of both worlds commitment to the traditional values of good fresh foods and excellent services, combined with the price power and retail systems of a big national food store group. “At Musgrave MarketPlace, we are focused on driving sales and making money for retailers who are part of the Daybreak symbol group,” noted Paul Kerrigan. “That is why we have developed a range of new category concepts exclusively for Daybreak.” Having the right range, when the consumer wants it, is a key ingredient of successful symbol stores today. Daybreak’s new exclusive concepts have been developed for Daybreak to support ‘hero categories’ that help enhance retailer profitability and ensure you deliver an excellent experience to your customers every time.

Daybreak Partners with Irish Heart Foundation

The new hero category concepts that can be seen in Daybreak stores include:

DID you know that in Ireland, more people die from heart and stroke related illnesses than from any other cause of death? At its annual awards, Daybreak announced that it will partner with the Irish Heart Foundation in 2016 to raise much needed funds for the invaluable work of the charity in the fight against heart disease and stroke. “We’re working with the Irish Heart Foundation to build an engaging and interesting programme for staff and customers to be part of next year,” explained Paul Kerrigan, Musgrave MarketPlace Director, Musgrave Wholesale Partners. “We believe that all funds raised will make a strong impact on families affected by heart illnesses. Daybreak will launch this initiative nationwide by supporting the Irish Heart Foundation’s Happy Heart Pins fundraising appeal this year with lots of in-store and online activities. “This partnership aims to help raise vital funds. By working together we can make a real difference in terms of fundraising, as well as increasing awareness of heart disease and stroke in local communities across Ireland.” To celebrate World Heart Day in September 2016, Daybreak stores will hold individual fundraiser events: e.g. Heart Runs, to raise much needed funds for the Irish Heart Foundation.

• • • • •

Perfect blend coffee; In-store bakery; Hot food to go range; Ice cream; Exclusive wine range.

Commenting on the win, store owner Damien Osborne, said, “We are absolutely thrilled to have been named Store of the Year and also get recognised in the Food and Beverage To Go category. This award is testament to all the hard work that our team put in throughout the year. It’s always a huge team effort at our store and we are extremely customer service focused. I would also like to sincerely thank our loyal customers who continue to support us.” Want to Join a Winning Brand? By joining Daybreak, you are becoming part of the fastest growing convenience symbol in Ireland. “The key ingredient to the success of Daybreak is in delivering an excellent shopping experience for local customers throughout the day, every day,” noted Paul Kerrigan. “We support our retailers in achieving this by providing the right range and developing new category concepts focused on driving sales and enhancing profitability.” Visit the Daybreak website or contact Thomas Morrison, Daybreak Sales & Development Manager, on 086 8588344 for more information.

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Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie|29

Laundry

New Sensations from Surf Surf is extending its Sensations range with fine fragrance inspired fabric detergents, which will help to drive demand and grow the laundry market. SURF, from Unilever, is set to bring luxury fragrances to the laundry market with the launch of a complete Sensations range. The launch will be supported with a marketing investment including a TVC, going live in April 2016. Available from January, the new Surf Sensations collection will include three variants – Golden Blossom, Delicate Moonflower and Enchanting Dahlia – which have been uniquely crafted by fragrance experts using an exclusive blend of perfume oils, resulting in luxurious fragrance all day long and a brilliant clean.

New Surf Sensations Delicate Moonflower: one of the new luxury fragrances from Unilever.

Key Driver for Consumers Michelle Kimber, Brand Manager for Surf, says: “We know that fragrance is a key driver for consumers in the laundry market and there is a growing demand for new news in this category. Surf has introduced these three unique scents to the Surf Sensations range, which tap into the oriental fragrance trend, which we have seen to be really popular in the fine fragrance segment.” Stylish packaging with gold and sparkle detailing highlight the products’ luxurious element, whilst each

Stylish packaging with gold and sparkle detailing highlights Surf Sensations’ luxurious element.

Surf Sensations Enchanting Dahlia will prove extremely popular with consumers, as fragrance is a key driver for consumers in the laundry market.

variant also features splashes of pink, yellow or blue, and is designed to provide optimum standout on-shelf. The range includes Surf Sensations liquid: 23w, which has an RSP of €6.73, and Surf Sensations powder: 21w, with an RSP of €7.75. All prices quoted are Recommended Selling Prices. Retailers are free at all times to set their own retail prices.

32|Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie

Focus on Centra

Centra Sales Soar to

€1.54 Billion Centra reported exceptional sales in 2015, with the group’s health strategy playing a massive part in its success, while the convenience retail brand also rewarded staff at the Pride of Centra Awards. CENTRA recorded sales of €1.54 billion in 2015, underlining the brand’s position as market leader in the Irish convenience sector. With robust expansion plans, the convenience retailer will open 16 new stores this year, resulting in 480 jobs being added to the Centra network, as part of a €16m investment. “2015 marked another successful year for Centra as leaders in the convenience market, with sales reaching €1.54 billion,” explained Martin Kelleher, Managing Director of Centra, at the Centra National Conference, where the figures were announced. “We are delighted to announce that our sales figures show a 1.6% growth on the previous year. This is testament to our 460 local retailers nationwide, whose hard work ensures that Centra continues to lead the market in terms of value, choice and quality.” Live Well Performs Well Centra’s new health strategy played a major role in the convenience brand’s performance, Pictured at the Centra National Conference are (l-r): Ray Kelly, Centra Marketing with the launch of Live Well in July. Live Director; Ian Allen, Centra Sales Director; and John Brett, Centra Council Chair. Well helps people make healthier choices onmake healthier choices.” the-go, with a real focus on overall nutrition and a balanced According to the Managing Director, Centra are diet. Centra has already seen additional sales of €6m in Live delighted with the response so far, with massive spikes in Well products, such as salad boxes, fruit pots and avocados, demand for nutritious products. “For example we have sold showing consumers’ growing appetite to seek out healthy almost 200,000 salad boxes, 1.4 tonnes of quinoa and an alternatives. additional half a million pieces of fruit,” he noted. “We’ve One of the brand’s key achievements was the reduction extended our range to include products that you wouldn’t of the calorie intake of customers by 60m calories. This was expect to get in a convenience store, such as chia seeds, through allocating more space in the soft drink section of nut butters and sweet potatoes. Live Well is a determined stores for healthier alternatives and reducing shelf space and sustained initiative; we will build on its success to date given to fizzy drinks. As a result, Centra sold 1.5m more and it will continue to be a focus for our brand in the year bottles of healthy drinks such as water, coconut water and ahead.” aloe juice last year. “Through our Live Well initiative, we have recognised Pride of Centra Awards the changing needs of our time-strapped customers who are In other Centra news, 14 Centra employees from around the looking for healthy and nutritious food on the go,” Kelleher country were honoured at the second annual Pride of Centra explained. “We have introduced new ranges in-store which awards, which took place in Croke Park recently. The Pride consumers have responded well to, as well as highlighting of Centra Awards were established last year to recognise and nutritional benefits of our products to inspire customers to

Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie|33

Focus on Centra

Martin Kelleher, Managing Director, Centra.

acknowledge Centra employees throughout the country who go above and beyond their duties and responsibilities. Susan Doherty from Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, claimed top honours , receiving the overall prize for her commitment and dedication shown in the workplace. Susan has been an integral team member since the inception of the Centra store in 2011. She was a standout winner due to all her community based work for charity and her excellent service skills. Coming from the local area, Susan has a fantastic relationship with the store’s customers, knowing them by their first name and ensuring they have everything they need. She has also devoted a lot of her own time to arranging community and store charity events, as well as staff outings. The other 13 finalists represented eight additional counties: Cork, Clare, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Sligo, Waterford and Wicklow. These finalists were also recognised for their ongoing commitment to their work through community initiatives, charity organisations, customer service and imaginative in-store ideas.

Susan Doherty from Kelly’s Centra, Letterkenny, celebrates winning the overall Pride of Centra Award with store owner, Mairtin Kelly.

year,” noted Ian Allen, Centra Sales Director. “Recognising the commitment and dedication of our employees is extremely important to us as we understand the value they bring to the business. I would like to congratulate all those finalists who made the shortlist and in particular Susan, our overall winner. All should be extremely proud of what they do each and every day. The enthusiasm they bring to their job is not just noticed internally but it is also noticed by the Commitment and Dedication community, making a real difference to people’s lives.” “Last year’s inaugural Pride of Centra Awards were a great Centra’s employees are a key asset to the success of success and we are delighted to be hosting them for a second the business, ensuring that the needs and wishes of customers are met. Recognising the important role Centra employees play on a daily basis, the Awards ceremony provided a showcase of great talent, innovative community and engagement. Winner Susan Doherty from Kelly’s Centra, Letterkenny, commented; “It is such an honour to receive this Pride of Centra Award. I have spent the majority of my life working in retail and the past few years with Kelly’s Centra have been so enjoyable. The store plays such an important role in the community and I am just glad that I can play my part. I would like to thank all our customers in Letterkenny for their ongoing loyalty and The Centra employees from around the country, who were honoured at the second annual Pride of support to all our initiatives.” Centra awards.

34|Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie

Snack Foods

‘Fulfil’ing Health and Taste Criteria An Irish company has just launched Fulfil, the world’s first vitamin and protein snack bar. A revolutionary protein bar, the first in the world to contain 100% of an adult’s recommended daily allowance of nine recommended multivitamins, has just been created by two Irish entrepreneurs, with the help of a former Olympian athlete. Fulfil is the brainchild of Niall McGrath and Tom Gannon, two employees of Richmond Marketing, who have been working on the product for nearly two years, who utilised the skills and taste buds of former Irish Olympic sprinter, David Gillick, as Chief Product Developer, ensuring the bar not only ticked the healthy snacking box but also tasted great too. McGrath described Fulfil’s target market as health-conscious, on-the-go consumers across Ireland and Europe: people looking Pictured are the team behind Fulfil (l-r): Niall McGrath, David Gillick and Tom Gannon. for tasty but low sugar, low calorie snacks with the benefit of 20 grams of protein and a full multi-vitamin. providing the all-important 20 grams of protein and a full McGrath pointed to a greater understanding among multivitamin. We’re already working on the next step of this consumers - both in Ireland and overseas - about the healthy snacking journey for Fulfil.” benefits of protein and the disadvantages of sugary snacks. Fulfil is available in four varieties, Peanut & Caramel, He said healthier eating patterns were being established as Coconut & Chocolate, Strawberry & Vanilla and Cookies growing numbers showed themselves anxious to find better & Cream. The brand launched exclusively in January in snacks which were as convenient as junk-filled alternatives. 155 Re.Store at Topaz locations across Ireland and is now “Our aim was to create a protein bar that actually tastes available throughout Ireland and Europe via Richmond great, is accessible to everyone and has all the recommended Marketing. multi-vitamins, making it a truly healthy snack,” he said. Alan Sheedy, Head of Category Management for Topaz, His ambition has been echoed by the new company’s said; “When we initially launched our Re.Store concept, it Chief Product Developer and former Irish Olympic sprinter, was with the aim that we would revolutionise the customer David Gillick. “We wanted to redefine healthy snacking in experience with the highest quality in fresh food and healthy Europe by launching a range of great tasting ‘Snacks with products. One of our most successful in-store categories Benefits’” he said. in 2015 was our nutritional bay, which targeted the more Gillick described the new Fulfil bar as “a twist on health conscious on-the-go consumer, which is why a product popular classic combinations, such as Cookies & Cream, but like Fulfil is a perfect fit for Re.Store.” with amazing benefits. The initial four ‘bars with benefits’ Niall McGrath talks us through the process of taking taste gorgeous but are low in sugar and calories, while their initial idea from concept through to supermarket shelf.

Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie|35

Snack Foods Where did the idea for Fulfil come from? We saw the opportunity and gap in the market for a truly tasty low sugar vitamin and protein bar. The ‘better for you’ bars that were in the market at the time didn’t give the consumer a tasty snack experience and we thought we could simply do it better. Is it primarily Pictured at the launch of Fulfil in Re.Store at Topaz are (l-r): Alan Sheedy, Head of Category aimed at Management for Topaz, and David Gillick, former athletes and fitness- Olympian and Chief Product Developer, Fulfil. loving consumers or is it a mass market product? It’s definitely more for the mass market, although it will absolutely satisfy those who are into fitness. The macros are fantastic, it’s low sugar, low carb and high in protein but more importantly, it tastes amazing, which is why it will appeal to people who are into healthier snacking too, which in this day and age is pretty much everybody. It’s a much healthier and tastier alternative to a sugary chocolate bar on a coffee break and a lot of people are wishing to add more protein and vitamins into their diets too. The fact that it contains both protein and vitamins is unique. How difficult was it to combine these functions in one bar? It was a very long process; over 14 months to get it right. We had 55 different kitchen samples between the four products. We were working with world leading nutrition experts, including Professor Gareth Williams on ingredients and then David Gillick on the taste development. It certainly wasn’t what you’d call easy. How difficult was it to combine Fulfil’s health credentials with a product that tastes great? We were very clear from the outset that taste was the ultimate goal and it also had to be a credible product. We felt there was nothing on the market that satisfied us, so it was a difficult brief for Professor Gareth Williams and David Gillick. How important is it to have the support of David Gillick on a project like Fulfil? It’s invaluable, not only in the creation of the flavours but also as a seal of approval by someone who is not only respected in sports but also someone who has a real love and passion for food, nutrition and cookery.

Is the Irish consumer ready for ‘snacks with benefits’? In 2015, there were four major global consumer trends and healthy living and eating has emerged as the number one: it’s no different in Ireland. You can see it already in people’s baskets at shops and on the shelves in stores across the country, where healthier products are far more readily available. This demonstrates that Irish retailers and consumers are ready for healthy snacking. It’s a fantastic time for the Fulfil launch, the Irish consumer is 100% ready and we’ve also had orders across Europe, so it’s clear that the time for healthier snacking is here. Why should a consumer buy Fulfil instead of a chocolate bar or a cereal bar, for example? Firstly, it tastes as good if not better than your usual snack. Secondly, there is less than 4 grams of sugar in all bars. Many other ‘healthy’ bars are actually very high in sugar and people are more label-aware now. Thirdly, it’s rich in vitamins, containing a full RDA of multivitamins. Finally, protein is a key ingredient for people with active lifestyles but it also fills you up and keeps away that desire to graze. You have already secured distribution into Topaz’s Re.Store shop network. How did that come about? Topaz is a perfect fit as they have been one of the leaders in the movement towards healthier lifestyles and snacking on the go. Our distribution partner Richmond Marketing presented it to the buyer and he loved the concept and the taste. How important was the support of Topaz to the product’s development? Having one of the largest forecourt chains believe in our product and place 12 cases into every store showed a real belief in the concept and the product quality. This gave us a fantastic platform for both nationwide distribution, which will drive awareness, and trial, which is obviously key in the launch phase. Where else do you plan to distribute the brand? Across all convenience, retail and soon supermarkets throughout the country, as well as across the Richmond Marketing network. We also work with Leydens Sports Nutrition, who supply all major healthfood shops, nutrition and supplement stores and gyms. I understand you have had international interest in Fulfil. How did that come about and can you tell us a little more about it? We’ve already begun distributing into the UK, Holland and Belgium. A meeting with a company we know in Holland and Belgium on a different issue led to us chatting about this bar. They immediately asked for distribution rights, and after trying samples, they presented it to Albert Heijn, the biggest Dutch retail chain. They listed it straight away and it’s been on sale since mid-January. We’ve already met French and German distributors and are currently shipping into a number of UK retailers. What would be your hopes for the Fulfil brand to have achieved a year from now? It’s multi-pronged. We want to roll-out internationally quite quickly and to expand the range. We are looking at range expansion, with our consumer feedback front of mind. We want to bring them on the journey with us, for the range to be consumer-centric and for them to tell us what styles and taste they want next.

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Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie|37

Easter Treats

Shelling Out on

Easter Treats

Irish consumers are set to munch their way through more than €38m of confectionery this Easter. EASTER Sunday is March 27 this year, so retailers need to stock up right now on the biggest brands for the season. Easter confectionery is worth a massive €38.5m and has been in growth for the last two years, with impressive 10.6% growth in 2014 and a further 1.7% in 2015 despite a two week shorter season (Source: Nielsen Scantrack, Year to May 17, 2015). The early season is important for retailers and those looking to maximise sales should ensure they stock up on Easter impulse lines as soon as possible. However, 47% of all sales are still made in Easter week, highlighting the importance of stocking the right packs at the right times, and ensuring availability right up to Easter Sunday. Adult eggs are the main gift bought for adults during Easter and were the strongest growing segment in 2015. With limited space on shelves, ensuring favourite brands as well as a variety of products are on offer is key to sales success. Adult large eggs showed a 5.1% growth in 2015, while premium eggs grew by an impressive 10%. However,

medium eggs also make up a huge part of the Easter category, with €15m sales in 2015, and seasonal impulse products offer retailers an incremental sales opportunity on top of existing singles confectionery sales (Source: Nielsen Scantrack, Year to May 17, 2015). Ferrero Ferrero is helping retailers increase their boxed chocolate sales during spring with a combined marketing investment of €155K across its Ferrero portfolio, the introduction of new seasonal products and golden stand-out merchandising, ensuring retailers can fully capitalise on the €10.7m boxed chocolate sales opportunity created by spring occasions (Source: Nielsen ROI, Total Coverage, 14 weeks to 05/04/15). “The importance of the three spring events should not be underestimated. For instance, bigger boxed chocolates for gifting work well for Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day; whilst the inclusion of smaller pack sizes alongside boxed chocolates and eggs over the Easter period works well to

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Easter Treats drive incremental sales,” explains Levi Boorer, Customer Development Director, Ferrero.

The new Grand Rocher 240g: a delicious milk chocolate and hazelnut shell encases four Ferrero Rocher, offering a perfect gift.

With the focus for 2016 firmly remaining on accelerating growth for the core range, the brand is aiming to attract more shoppers with the introduction of two new premium noveltyled products, Grand Rocher 240g and Raffaello Heart T14. “Raffaello remains a key focus for us,” Boorer continues. “It delivers a fresh, special and unique praline experience that no other brand can offer in the market. It has huge potential, with the highest repeat rate within the pralines portfolio, which shows that once shoppers try it, they love the product. “Following popular demand, we’ll be introducing a new seasonal Raffaello Heart T14 (RSP €7.28), which will create category excitement and disruption, alongside our Ferrero Rocher Heart T10; delivering €106k of sales in lead-up to Easter in 2015 ( Source: Nielsen ROI, Weekly sales from January 18 to April 11). Raffaello was launched in 2006 and we feel the time is right to really accelerate the size of the

Ferrero’s new seasonal Raffaello Heart T14 will create category excitement and disruption.

brand; it not only lends itself perfectly to the spring occasions with our unique seasonal SKUs, but the core range can also be given as a gift all year round, offering the ideal premium sales opportunity for retailers.” A new Grand Rocher 240g (RSP €11.99), will also join the line-up and will sit alongside Grand Rocher 125g (RSP €6.49). The delicious milk chocolate and hazelnut shell which encases four Ferrero Rocher, offers a perfect gift and meets shoppers’ needs when looking for something special to give to their loved ones. This also offers retailers plenty of opportunity to provide something different for their customers, while also maximising basket spend during this key period. Ferrero experienced its biggest ever spring in 2015, achieving sales of over €1.3m and outperforming the market across all three spring occasions (Source: Nielsen data 17 w/e 26/04/15). “Ferrero contributed 30% of the category growth in the lead-up to Easter in 2015 (Source: Nielsen ROI total Ferrero growth, 12wks vs Category growth), so the brand is well placed to help retailers unlock the sales opportunity the occasion represents,” Boorer continues. “Gifting is an all year round opportunity for retailers, occurring every day. However, it is more prevalent during spring. Retailers should plan in advance for key calendar events such as Mother’s Day (March 6) and Easter (March 25-28). We have great products to meet these occasions and the gifting packs are a must stock. There will always be the distress purchase occasion and retailers who have gift cards and a pen positioned alongside the chocolate confectionery aisle might just save the day.” Kinder Kinder, the fifth biggest chocolate brand in Ireland (Source: Nielsen, Total Coverage data to 17/05/15), is reintroducing Kinder Joy (RSP €1.29) to its spring seasonal range after its impressive debut in 2015. Kinder Joy delivered almost €300k in sales over spring, accounting for one fifth of kids seasonal confectionery growth, providing a lucrative sales opportunity for retailers (Source: Nielsen, Total Coverage, 16 w/e 19/04/15). The limited edition plastic egg features a tab opening up into two halves - one half to discover layers of creamy milk and cocoa cream topped with crispy wafer bites, and one half to reveal a fun toy, along with a spoon to enjoy each indulgent mouthful. Kinder Joy will rejoin the €12.4m Kinder portfolio (Source: Nielsen, Total Coverage data to 17/05/15) as a seasonal sub-brand, and will feature premium seasonal packaging that uses bright spring colours, creating standout on-shelf and giving shoppers a unique Kinder experience that taps into the novelty nature associated with Easter purchasing. “We anticipate that Kinder Joy will continue to be a seasonal showstopper,” enthuses Levi Boorer, Customer Development Director, Ferrero. “During spring 2015, 40% of Kinder Joy shoppers in Ireland were completely new to Kinder Surprise and 8% were incremental to the entire Easter confectionery category (Source: Dunnhumby Ireland Kinder Joy Easter 2015; Impact on Kinder Surprise and UK Opportunity).” Kinder Maxi Surprise 150g (RSP €10.16) will also be returning to the seasonal range as the number one Easter egg in the market in terms of rate of sale, growing at +7% (Source: Nielsen, Total Coverage, 17 weeks to 26/04/15). Sporting the popular pink and blue packs, parents will once again be able to choose the most relevant treat for their children, with the blue eggs containing Star Wars toys and the pink eggs containing Palace Pets toys. New to the range this year, Kinder Chocolate Happy

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Easter Treats chocolate, Lindt Lindor maintains its market position as a key sales driver for retailers this spring. As the number one premium boxed chocolate brand, holding 9.2% market share and growing +15.8% year on year, Lindt Lindor is a must stock for retailers in 2016 (Source: ACNielsen, 52 weeks to November 29, MAT).

The pink Kinder Surprise Maxi 150g eggs contain Palace Pets toys.

T12 (RSP €3.04) will perfectly tap into the special sharing occasion this Easter, containing 12 individually foil-wrapped Kinder Chocolates in seasonal shapes. “Our Kinder seasonal range continues to deliver double digit growth, ahead of the total kids seasonal chocolate category, at +30% value and +118% unit sales,” Boorer continues. “In 2015, our spring range succeeded in bringing in an additional 61,000 shoppers. We hope to help as many retailers as possible take advantage of the spring opportunity by offering in-store support and a range of POS materials suitable for all store sizes. We are confident that we will continue to increase sales, driving footfall in-store and overall category growth.” Lindt This spring sees Lindt return to confectionary shelves, with products ranging from timeless classics at Valentine’s and Mother’s day to exciting new products for Easter. In boxed

Boasting a wide range of exciting and delectable flavours, Lindt Lindor eggs are the perfect premium chocolate gift for Easter.

The Limited Edition Lindor Strawberries and Cream: a delicate shell of luxurious premium white chocolate that once broken, releases an irresistibly smooth melting strawberry filling.

Boasting a wide range of exciting and delectable flavours, Lindt Lindor is the perfect premium chocolate gift for any occasion. Whilst the Lindt Lindor Milk recipe remains a true classic, this spring sees the return of the Limited Edition Lindor Strawberries and Cream: a delicate shell of luxurious premium white chocolate that once broken, releases an irresistibly smooth melting strawberry filling. Also hopping back onto shelves is the iconic Lindt Gold Bunny. Growing at a rate of +13%, the Lindt Gold Bunny cements his position as the number one Easter novelty in the Irish market (Source: ACNielsen Total Lindt Gold Bunny Brand, 26 weeks to w/e April 19 versus 26 weeks to w/e April 20). The Lindt Gold Bunny is available in a variety of sizes and is available in all good retailers nationwide. On the back of the success of some of Lindt’s biggest brands, the Lindt Easter Egg range proves a key sales driver for retailers at spring-time. Growing +22% year on year and delivering over €1.5m RSV in 2015 (Source: AC Nielsen Total Lindt Shell Eggs Sales 26 weeks to w/e April 19 versus 26 weeks to w/e April 20), Lindt Easter Eggs are proving a must stock item for retailers as consumers look to trade up and give a premium Easter gift. From the blissful and smooth melting Lindor egg range to the iconic and magical Lindt Gold Bunny eggs and the intensely dark and satisfying Excellence dark chocolate egg, Lindt guarantees to delight both shoppers and those lucky enough to receive a Lindt egg as a gift this season. Supported by a strong national campaign, Lindt Lindor TV advertising will return to screens

Make your sales blissful with Lindor this Spring

Number 1 informal boxed brand* On TV throughout Spring

STOCK UP NOW! *Source: AC Nielsen 52 weeks to 8th November 2015 (MAT)

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Easter Treats

The new Smarties Chick in Egg: a foil wrapped milk chocolate egg, featuring inside a cute chick with the words “I’m in here”.

Hopping back onto shelves is the iconic Lindt Gold Bunny, available in a variety of sizes.

this spring. Retailers can also expect to see a comprehensive support plan behind the Gold Bunny brand, both above and below the line. Boasting engaging events, in and out of store activity and premium POS, the Lindt Lindor and Gold Bunny brands are set to go from strength to strength. Nestlé Confectionery This spring, Nestlé Confectionery is set to excite shoppers with a range that includes innovative new launches as well as proven successes from its range New Black Magic Mini Eggs: delicious mini eggs filled with a dark chocolate of well-loved brands. truffle centre. Nestlé’s Easter confectionery range grew by an impressive 8.6% in 2015 (All figures sourced from Nielsen Scantrack Year to May 17, 2015) and their 2016

range will ensure convenience retailers can capitalise on the Easter opportunity by delighting consumers and shoppers with an innovative collection from its market leading brands. Exciting new launches for 2016 includes a mini eggs product aimed at adults from Black Magic, the new Smarties Chick in Egg which taps into the growing Kids Added Value segment, the Milkybar Milk & Cookies Inclusion egg, which targets the popularity of white chocolate adult eggs, and finally, appealing to a broad range of consumers the Nestlé Crunch Collection giant egg. The range is also 100% free from artificial colours, flavours and preservatives. Seasonal impulse products offer retailers an incremental sales opportunity on top of existing singles confectionery sales. Returning to the range in 2016 are two Nestlé Confectionery The new Milkybar Milk & Cookies Egg favourites, contains real cookie pieces embedded into Smarties Little delicious Milkybar white chocolate. Choc Chick (RSP €1) and Milkybar Bunny (RSP €1). Following on from a successful first year, the Aero Bubbly Egg (RSP €1) is back in the range for 2016 with an impactful new design. A huge 68% of shoppers were new to the brand last year and this year should prove hugely successful. Sales of mini eggs continue to grow. Smarties Mini Eggs and Milkybar Mini Eggs grew 3.4% and 7.3% respectively. Both packs will return to the range this Easter. New to the market for 2016 is Black Magic Mini Eggs (RSP €3.18), delicious mini eggs filled with a dark chocolate truffle centre. Black Magic is Ireland’s number one dark boxed chocolate and aims to tap into this popularity with a

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Easter Treats more premium mini eggs offering, aiming to appeal to an older, more upmarket demographic. Known and trusted brands are the bestsellers in the Kids Added Value category and Nestlé Confectionery brands Milkybar and Smarties fit the bill perfectly. Brand new for 2016 is the Smarties Chick in Egg (RSP €3.99). This eyecatching new pack is a foil wrapped milk chocolate egg, featuring inside a cute chick with the words “I’m in here”, thus inviting consumers to break open their egg and discover the mini Smarties in both the egg and the milk chocolate chick inside. Returning after a successful launch last year, the Smarties Egg Hunt pack (RSP €6) contains foiled chocolate eggs filled The Black Magic and Dairy Box premium eggs target a gap in the market for older, more affluent with mini Smarties. Also shoppers. returning for 2016 are the popular Smarties and Milkybar Farmyard Fun eggs (RSP €7.69). their continued popularity, the best-selling mug eggs from When it comes to small eggs, the Milkybar brand offers KitKat Chunky, Yorkie and Toffee Crisp are back for 2016 shoppers the heritage and trust those buying for younger (RSP €9.39). The Nestlé mug eggs range makes the perfect kids look for in a gift. collectable gift. Medium eggs make up a huge part of the Easter For those shoppers looking for something especially category, with €15m sales in 2015. Big brands with broad giftworthy, the Rolo and Munchies Tin Eggs return to the appeal are therefore important and Nestlé’s 2016 range range (RSP €9.29). Both eggs capitalise on the iconic shaped includes offerings from KitKat Chunky (the fastest growing sweets of the Rolo and Munchies brands by including a medium egg), Smarties (Nestlé’s number one medium egg), sweet-shaped keepsake tin. Aero Bubbles (redesigned for 2016) and Rolo. Also returning for 2016, tapping into the trend towards Adult eggs are the main gift bought for adults during nostalgia and the heritage of Nestlé Confectionery brands, Easter and were the strongest growing segment in 2015. is the Yorkie Digger egg (RSP €8.65). The pack contains a With limited space on shelves, ensuring favourite brands hollow milk chocolate egg and two Yorkie Milk bars in an as well as a variety of products are on offer is key to sales eye-catching digger presentation box. Also available, the Lion success. Bar Egg (RSP €8.65) comes complete with 3D packaging. 2015 saw Nestlé Confectionery launch a range of Giant eggs make ideal big gesture gifts for shoppers special chocolate inclusions eggs. Taking inspiration from to give to special people in their lives. New for 2016 is the its portfolio of much-loved brands, each egg has the same Nestlé Crunch Collection. This giant egg comes complete crispy and crunchy filling within its chocolate shell as the with a large milk chocolate egg and a selection of milk and core product, thus providing consumers with their favourite white chocolate Crunch bars. Not only will the brand’s loyal treat in an innovative new format. The Inclusion eggs fans love this new addition to the Easter category, but it will were launched in three varieties: Matchmakers Mint Egg, also have a broad consumer appeal with all ages. Matchmakers Orange Egg and Nestlé Crunch Egg (all RSP The Nestlé Crunch Collection giant egg will join the €5.54). This year, the design on the front of packs has been KitKat Chunky giant egg, the priority pack for retailers with updated to ensure the unique nature of the eggs stands out limited shelf space, as well as the Nestlé Caramel Collection to shoppers even more. giant egg, Aero Selection giant egg and Yorkie giant egg (all Brand new for 2016 is the Milkybar Milk & Cookies Egg RSP €11.59). The Yorkie brand attracts the hard-to-reach (RSP €5.54). Building on the success of the Milkybar Milk & younger male demographic. Cookies chocolate sharing block, which launched in January Premium Eggs are a key growth segment in the market, 2015, the egg will contain real cookie pieces embedded into growing by +10% in 2015. Black Magic and Dairy Box delicious Milkybar white chocolate. premium eggs (RSP €15.45), launched in 2015, targeted For 2016, Nestlé Confectionery will once again have a the gap in the market for older, more affluent shoppers range of large eggs from favourite brands, complete with and return this year, along with the popular After Eight the treats inside the egg, just like they used to be! The four Premium Egg (RSP €15.45); a large mint flavoured dark ‘Insider’ eggs from Quality Street, After Eight, Rowntree’s chocolate egg complete with a 300g box of the nation’s Randoms and Munchies all have an RSP of €8.59. favourite After Dinner Mints. On the back of new, more Nestlé Confectionery’s range of Adult Added Value eggs premium packaging, it grew 7% in 2015. has proven a huge success with shoppers. Capitalising on

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Paper Products

Paper Pushes Ahead The end of the recession has been particularly good news for the paper products sector, as consumers return to leading brands. DURING the recession consumers looked for ways to save money, whilst still purchasing as many household items as they had done in the past, and this was particularly true in the paper products sector. Many consumer switched to private label or less premium products rather than going without something altogether, according to Euromonitor Internationalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest report into the sector. With the economy now starting to recover, consumers are starting to shop around again. Share movements demonstrate a return to some leading branded products, but also demonstrated growth in the lines of discounters, according to Euromonitor. This appears to be driven by consumers changing the way that they use products. Rather than simply replacing the products that they used to use, they now purchase different products to achieve the same purpose. Choosing multipurpose products or combined products allows them to save money, but they still chose brands to which they were loyal. Convenience continues to be a key driver across paper products. As consumersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; lives become busier, convenience is a must. Consumers choose products which are easy to use and reduce the time it takes to use them, even if that is merely a few seconds. Most tasks which require the use of tissue and hygiene products are essential rather than optional, and consumers look for ways of getting the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible. Euromonitor predict value sales of paper and hygiene products to return to growth in the coming years. However, they warn that while on the one hand, some consumers are trading up or returning to branded products, there will continue to be strong demand for lower prices and therefore, price competition will remain widespread, which could see the continuation of discounting and special deals, such as 2-for-1 deals or bigger pack sizes. Euromonitor expect a slower turnaround in the retail tissue category, however. It is thought that the turnaround

of this category will take longer because consumers continued to purchase these items throughout the recession, but made cheaper choices. The turnaround will happen because consumers are expected to choose more expensive premium branded products, but they are not yet comfortable enough with their increase in disposable income to start spending freely, and this will take a couple of years to happen, Euromonitor predict. SCA SCA is a leading global hygiene and forest products company. The group develops and produces sustainable personal care, tissue and forest products. Sales are conducted in about 100 countries under many strong brands, including the leading global brands TENA and Tork. In Ireland and the UK, SCA Hygiene Products has around 1,500 employees across nine sites, including six tissue production mills. Its regional brands include Bodyform, Cushelle, Velvet, Plenty and DemakUp. In 2016, SCA will continue to drive strong brand awareness and invest in category growth across its strong portfolio, backed up with a significant marketing investment

Stock up today for

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46|Retail News|January / February 2016|www.retailnews.ie

Paper Products in excess of €1m in Ireland alone. In what is a highly competitive toilet tissue sector, particularly leading to the crucial Christmas trading period, SCA’s toilet tissue brands Cushelle and Velvet combined represented 16.3% value share of the toilet tissue market in the last 24 weeks to January 2016 (Source: Kantar Worldpanel data to 03/01/2016).

Velvet’s communication focus is concentrated on its unique ‘Three Trees Promise’; a promise to replace three trees for every one used to make its toilet tissue.

Cushelle is one of the only true branded through air dried (TAD) products on the market, which results in a high quality toilet tissue and a loyal consumer base.

With value sales of over €10m in the last 52 weeks and value sales growth of +34.8% in the last 24 weeks (Source: Kantar Worldpanel data to 03/01/2016), SCA has big ambitions for Cushelle in 2016. Cushelle is one of the only true branded through air dried (TAD) products on the market, which results in a high quality toilet tissue and a loyal consumer base. The brand’s campaign in 2015 was focused on driving quality and communicating Cushelle’s superior product offering. Throughout 2016, Cushelle will continue to communicate its unique proposition to consumers with an up-weighted 360° support plan across a number of platforms, including TV, digital and outdoor. This, coupled with a new TVC, packaging upgrade and full promotional support programme, will ensure that not only will Cushelle be top of mind for quality with shoppers in 2016 but also top of mind for value. The Velvet toilet tissue brand saw value sales in excess of €5m in the last 52 weeks to January 2016 and has seen encouraging growth of +1.4% in the last 24 weeks (Source: Kantar Worldpanel data to 03/01/2016). For consumers who expect value while not compromising on quality, Velvet is a must stock brand for all retailers. The Velvet range has a variety of pack sizes to suit all shoppers, with a core range that includes both 4 and 9 roll pack sizes, appealing to both the basket ‘top up’ and trolley shoppers. For those shoppers who prefer to make a larger purchase, Velvet has a range of larger sized packs to cater for them, whilst also encouraging trade-up with the smaller pack purchasers. Velvet’s communication focus is concentrated on its unique ‘Three Trees Promise’; a promise to replace three trees for every one used to make its toilet tissue. Velvet has gone above and beyond in its commitment to sustainability with this initiative, which has resulted in over six million extra trees around the world planted to date.

Following on from a successful radio campaign in 2015, Velvet will again hit the airwaves in 2016, driving home its value and sustainability message with its target consumers. Aside from a heavyweight radio campaign, Velvet will also be supported throughout 2016 with a fully integrated campaign across all shopper touchpoints, including TV, online and shopper marketing investment, as well as a full consumer promotional calendar, driving strong brand awareness and rate of sale. Plenty is Ireland’s number one household towel brand with over 22% value share MAT (Source: Nielsen Total Mults data to 29/11/2015). Despite increased competition, Plenty has grown year-on-year, adding €0.25m to the category in the last two years. Plenty is also the number one advertiser in the household towel category (Source: Nielsen Ad Spend data to November 2015) and remains the most recognised brand in HHT amongst grocery buyers in terms of aided brand awareness (Source: Red C Brand Tracking data to Dec 2015).

2016 will see Plenty invest in product quality, packaging and innovation as well as a significant multi-media awareness campaign.

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Paper Products In 2016, Plenty will not only invest in product quality, packaging and innovation but also in a significant multimedia awareness campaign to ensure that when shoppers make their next household towel purchase, Plenty will continue to be the brand they prefer. The iconic brand character, Juan Sheet, will return this year via a new TVC and continue to drive the message of superiority and versatility on TV, online, sponsorship and outdoor, while investment in-store will also form part of the plan to ensure Plenty is the number one choice for shoppers well into the future. Intertissue Regina branded kitchen towels have gone from strength to strength in recent years. Regina is now the fastest growing Kitchen Towel brand in the Irish market (Source: Kantar 52 week data- w/e 03/01/16) and commands nearly 17% market share with only two SKU’s (Source: Nielsen, 52 week Data to w/e 01/11/15). Regina Blitz, the most premium household towel of the Regina range, with its three super strong layers and extra-large sheets, has had significant growth in 2015 and its superior performance 2016 will see the launch of a new makes it easy to see why single roll Regina Blitz variant consumers keep coming with a massive 100 sheets per back for more. Not just roll. confined to the kitchen, Regina Blitz is super versatile and can be used all around the home, shining surfaces and leaving windows and mirrors sparkling clean, as well as mopping up and all those day-to-day cleaning tasks. The amazing versatility of Regina Blitz is another reason it has become so popular in today’s marketplace. Due to the continued success of the two-roll Regina Blitz pack in the Irish market, 2016 will see the launch of a new single roll Regina Blitz variant. The single roll features a massive 100 sheets per roll, compared to the standard 70 sheets per roll found in the twin-pack, meaning that where shelf space is at a premium, you can still offer your customers an all-round household helper that’s everything they need in one. “With the continued success of Regina Blitz, we are thrilled to launch the single roll into the Irish market,” says Ireland Country Sales Manager for Intertissue, Brian Clinton. “With such a proven track record for success within all kinds of retailers, it’s sure to be a hit and offer both merchandising flexibility for retailers and added value and choice for their customers.” Homestead The Homestead paper range continues to be one of the strongest categories within the Homestead portfolio. 2015 was an extremely competitive year in this category and the sales of Homestead tissue continue year on year to be extremely positive. Products like the Homestead Comfort 16 Roll RRP €4.99

The Homestead Comfort 16 Roll, with an RRP of €4.99 continues to deliver a great quality product at a very competitive price.

The Homestead paper range continues to be one of the strongest categories within the Homestead portfolio.

delivered a great quality product at a very competitive price to the consumer and it was promotions like this that ensured consumer support for the Homestead tissue brand in 2015. The paper range, which includes a variety of toilet rolls, kitchen towels and mansize tissues, is produced to the highest quality using 100% virgin pulp paper sourced from well managed forests. The selection rivals any market leader, while remaining well priced, in order to compete successfully in the private label market. “The continuation of our price marked packs into 2016 will ensure continued day-to-day value for the consumer, across the whole Homestead paper range,” noted Homestead Brand Manager, Janice Gibney. “As the market becomes

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Paper Products Andrex has also developed new products in the Andrex Washlets range that align with the brand’s existing dry toilet tissue products to encourage new routines and ensure care is consistent in all stages of cleaning. Andrex Classic Clean Washlets leave families feeling clean and confident and are a perfect complement to Andrex Classic White. Andrex Gentle Clean Washlets are fragrance free to give a gentle clean and are a perfect complement to Andrex Puppies on a Roll. Andrex Skin Kind Clean Washlets have a caring touch of Aloe Vera for a clean that helps nuture your most delicate skin. Positioning dry and moist toilet tissue together helps meet your shoppers’ needs to feel clean and confident, and together, they form a powerful way to drive category value.

The Homestead Kitchen Towel range: one of the top performers in the Homestead range.

increasingly competitive, it is imperative that we review our pricing on a continual basis to ensure we continue to bring value home.” Kimberly-Clark Andrex is committed to driving value back into the toilet tissue category by driving product innovation and development. The brand is continually looking at ways to optimise its existing portfolio to ensure Andrex is helping people elevate their standard of clean. For example, the Andrex Classic White and Natural Pebble variants now have a touch of cotton. They offer the perfect balance of softness and strength to leave the whole family feeling clean and confident.

Andrex Classic White now comes with a touch of cotton.

Andrex has developed new products in the Andrex Washlets range that align with the brand’s existing dry toilet tissue products to encourage new routines and ensure care is consistent in all stages of cleaning.

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Retail Ireland: Monthly Update PUBLIC HEALTH (ALCOHOL) BILL PROPOSES SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO ALCOHOL SALES ( JUST prior to Christmas, the text of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill, the piece of legislation designed to further regulate the sale of alcohol products in mixed trading environments, was published. The Bill makes a number of significant changes to how alcohol is labelled, priced, stocked and stored as follows: Minimum Unit Pricing for Alcohol Products (MUP) The Bill makes it illegal to sell or advertise for sale alcohol at a price below €0.10 per gram of alcohol. Should it pass into law, this will most likely mean that retailers will be prohibited from selling a standard bottle of wine for less than €7.90 and a typical can of beer for less than €1.70. Health Labelling of Alcohol Products The Bill stipulates that labels on alcohol products will have to carry: The amount of pure alcohol as measured in grams; The calorie count; Health warnings (including pregnancy-related warnings); Details of a public health website to be set up by the HSE, giving information on alcohol and related harms; Outlets will be required to display health warnings indicating that grams and calorie content for ‘poured drinks’ can be found in a documents available upon request. Structural Separation Mixed trade outlets stocking alcohol for sale will have to store alcohol either in a separate area of the store, or in a closed cabinet. Any outlet which sells alcohol products will be required to ‘separate’ the alcohol from other products by: Confining the sale of alcohol to a single area in the premises which is separated, through which alcohol products are not visible, and to which customers do not have to pass through to buy “ordinary” products; or a closed storage unit(s) which contains only alcohol products. Alcohol products stocked behind paypoints will have to be concealed in the same way. POS advertising of alcohol products will now be confined to the designated display area or the inside of the storage cabinet. Promotions and Marketing Activities The Bill empowers the Minster for Health to further regulate promotional activity in the future, including price-based promotions. This includes promotions targeted to a particular category of persons (“student nights”, or similar) or extended promotions (“happy days”, etc.). In terms of commencement dates, the Bill implies that full compliance must be achieved no more than one year after enactment. In the days following the Bill’s publication, the Court of Justice of the European Union declared the concept of Minimum Unit Pricing for alcohol products to be incompatible with the core principles of European Law, specifically the free movement of goods. As such, it is now unclear how the Government intends to proceed with its planned introduction of MUP in Ireland. Retail Ireland holds significant reservations around certain elements of the Bill and how it will impact upon the retail trade. To that end, we will be working with our members over the coming weeks to assess how best to address the potential difficulties.

Data Highlights Retail Recovery THE CSO’s official retail sales index for the month of December 2015 indicated that on an annualised basis, the total value of Irish retail sales (excluding sales of cars and sales in bars) in December 2015 was up 2.8% compared with December 2014, with a 5.9% increase in volume. Comparing sales during December to those a month earlier, total value slipped marginally down -0.6%, with volume returning a -1.2% drop following a very robust November. Meanwhile, looking at 2015 as a whole, the combined value of Irish retail sales was up a healthy 2.5% versus 2014, with volumes posting a 6.4% increase year-on-year.

Action Plan for Jobs 2016 THE Government recently published its final Action Plan for Jobs, containing a suite of measures and initiatives designed to further boost employment numbers and the domestic economy more generally. From a retail point of view, perhaps the most significant measure proposed is a further enhancement of the ‘licences.ie’ online portal, which provides a centralised facility for business owners to process and manage all necessary trading licences in one single transaction, with the eventual goal of conducting all significant transactions between Government and businesses online by the end of 2017, greatly boosting efficiency and reducing complexity, particularly for SMEs. The retail-specific chapter of the APJ itself is short and does not contain any new proposals per se. The emphasis is still firmly on progressing the recommendations of last year’s JOC report on business growth and job creation measures in towns and villages by harnessing the output of the Retail Consultation Forum and its three recently established sub working groups. That said, there is a renewed focus on training and education, with a proposal to assess new training options to enhance retail’s skills profile. Retail Ireland holds seats on two of the RCF’s new groups (digital economy and town centre revival) and we look forward to progressing our activities in these spaces throughout 2016.

Tel: 01-6051558 www.retailireland.ie Need more? For more information about Retail Ireland and details of how your retail business can benefit from our unique services and supports, please visit us at www.retailireland.ie

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Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards 2016

IRISH QUALITY FOOD AND DRINK

AWARDS 2016

SEPTEMBER 2016, DUBLIN

Recognising excellence in product development 2016 Timeline 8 – 10 March Awards launch

25 May Deadline for all entries

23 June – 15 July Judging

September Awards presentation

Over 80 food and drink categories

To register interest please visit: irish.qualityfoodawards.com For more details please contact: Lara Newton lara.newton@irishqualityfoodawards.com UK +44 (0)20 8253 8663 / Ireland +353 (0)1 8176363 Reversed

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ALPRO STEPS INTO ON-THE-GO OPPORTUNITY Alpro is stepping into new territory with the launch of two new on-the-go products, marking a significant move for the brand into the snacking and impulse sector. Alpro Go On is a single serve soya alternative to yogurt that is high in plant protein with a thick, smooth texture sitting on a layer of real fruit; while Alpro Fusion is the brand’s latest on-the-go single serve drink offer – combining soya or coconut with a fusion of fruits in a handy 330ml tetrapak. “We know there is consumer demand for more plant-based options, particularly convenient products that fit in with their busy lifestyles. That’s why we’ve created Fusion – it’s the perfect option for onthe-go refreshment with a delicious fusion of plant-based ingredients,” explains Vicky Upton, Marketing Controller at Alpro UK and Ireland. “Go On is high in plant protein, offering a thick, satisfying texture over a delicious fruit base, and is also naturally low in fat, so it makes the perfect healthy snack for any time of the day,” said Upton. In-store from February, the launches are part of Alpro’s ongoing strategy to expand its plant-based offer into new usage occasions with products featured in multiple fixtures in-store, and offering additional OOH and impulse opportunities. The move follows a hugely successful year for Alpro, which saw the brand extend its Plain big pot range of soya

alternatives to yogurt with the introduction of Plain with Coconut and Plain with Almond big pots. “Last year we established a strong position for our big pot range with a high profile marketing campaign and two new varieties designed to inspire and extend consumer usage. This has paid off with sales up by +53%. But we don’t see this as job done, far from it, in fact. That’s why we’re continuing to innovate and be first to market with ground-breaking additions such as Go On to our soya alternatives to yogurt portfolio,” said Upton. “At the same time, Fusion – a ‘grab and go’ drink – signifies our continued drive to offer consumers a growing range of plant-based solutions that are available where and when they need them on-the-go,” concluded Upton. Alpro Fusion is available in Soya, Apple and Kiwi and Coconut, Pineapple and Lemongrass varieties and will be merchandised alongside on-the-go single serve drinks. There are three different Go On fruit base varieties – Passion Fruit, Blackcurrant and Mango – which are available in 150g pots. With 87kcal per 100g, 5.0g of high quality soya protein and 0.5g of saturated fat, they offer a healthy plant-based option within the broader yogurts category. Both products are available across Ireland from February, with an MRSP of €1.59 for Go On and €2.29 for Fusion. The launches will be supported by a fully integrated marketing campaign, including advertising, shopper marketing, PR and social, as well as sampling and experiential. -Source: All figures unless otherwise stated Nielsen we 29.11.2015

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Forecourt Focus: News Applegreen Raises Almost €600,000 For Charity THE Applegreen Charitable Fund has donated a total of €593,413 to CMRF Crumlin, the fundraising body for Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, and Anam Cara, a bereavement support group for parents, during their successful two year partnership with the charities. A total of €378,752 has gone towards the refurbishment of the Radiology Department at CMRF Crumlin and €214,661 has gone to Anam Cara’s support services and information packs for distribution at groups, hospitals and clinics. The funds were partly raised from Applegreen’s one cent campaign, where 1c from every shop and fuel or shop transaction is automatically donated to the charity fund, with no additional cost to the customer. Funds were also donated through coin collection boxes placed in all Applegreen Service Stations nationwide and a large number of site events, such as car wash days and static cycles. The announcement brings the total amount donated by Applegreen to €1,244,407 since the fund began in 2009. Applegreen Charitable Fund also announced their new charity focus for 2016/17, supporting the children of Ireland, by partnering with Barnardos, ISPCC / Childline, DEBRA Ireland and Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice.

Pictured are Applegreen COO, Joe Barrett (centre) and Applegreen CEO, Bob Etchingham (right) with Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital CEO, Joe Quinsey, eight-year-old Ben Herbert Lennon and his mother Dee, and Anam Cara CEO, Sharon Vard (3rd from right) with Anam Cara parent, Angela Neiland.

Food Experts Offer Healthy Tips MAXOL has officially launched its new Moreish menu and café at Maxol Adamstown, located at Newcastle Road in Lucan. At a special lunchtime event, the Maxol service station’s Moreish staff were joined by well-known food bloggers ‘Ilovecooking.ie’, who conducted food demonstrations and offered tips to hundreds of customers for choosing healthy and delicious lunches, a key focus of Maxol’s Moreish fresh food offering. The FM104 Beetle Bug crew were also on hand to take customers through the Moreish ‘Three steps to food heaven’, as well as running customer competitions for exciting prizes, including hotel breaks, free fuel fills, car washes and other treats. Maxol Adamstown’s new store format presents customers with a bright, contemporary and comfortable environment for convenience and fresh Pictured are (l-r): Carmel Kavanagh, Store Manager; Tony O’Connor, food shopping or relaxing in the café. licensee; and Melanie May, food expert with Ilovecooking.ie.

Fuel Prices Continue to Fall

THE lifting of international sanctions on Iran recently should be good news for Ireland’s motorists. Iran is a huge oil producer and supply of oil should outweigh demand during 2016, which should see the price per litre fall even further over the course of the year.

Always FRESH MILK

and the SAME BEANS as our coffee shops

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Forecourt Focus: News Top Oil to Buy Sirio Retail Operations for 110m

TOP Oil is set to purchase the retail trading business of Sirio Retail Operations in a deal worth in excess of €10m. Sirio operates 10 service stations, predominantly in Leinster, selling 25m litres of fuel annually. The company’s 110 employees will transfer to Top Oil, bringing the total number of people employed by the company in Ireland to more than 400. Together with the flagship site at Newhall in Naas, the deal includes Sirio service stations in Ballymore Eustace, Athy and Rathangan in Co. Kildare; Newtownmountkennedy in Co. Wicklow; Stradbally in Co. Laois; Mullingar in Co. Westmeath; Stonepark in Co. Longford; JFK Drive in Dublin and Ballyvolane in Cork. “This acquisition complements Top Oil’s strategy of developing our own integrated network of service stations, whilst continuing to invest in our independently owned retailer network,” noted Gerard Boylan, Group Chief Executive, Tedcastle Holdings, Top Oil’s parent company. “This is a significant acquisition for our Top Oil business and will further build on our experience of managing retail services. We have a strong relationship with the Sirio management team, who have successfully rebranded and Gerard Boylan, Group Chief enhanced the network since acquiring it from examinership in 2013. Our plans are to Executive, Tedcastle Holdings. continue to develop this business within our overall growth strategy for Top Oil, whilst offering local consumers very competitive prices on their petrol and diesel at these new Top Oil sites. We have committed to a substantial initial financial investment to improve this new component of our business, while we continue to seek out new opportunities and acquisitions throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland.” The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of March 2016, subject to regulatory approval by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

Topaz Now Part of Couche-Tard

TOPAZ has officially joined with Alimentation Couche-Tard (“Couche-Tard”). The transaction, which was announced on December 2, 2015, has been approved by the EU Commission and all final closing requirements have now been completed. Niall Anderton, formerly the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Topaz, has been appointed Managing Director, in succession to Emmet O’Neil, who stepped down on the completion of the transaction, as was previously announced. Anderton joined Topaz as CFO a year ago. He has a strong retail background, having held senior executive positions in Primark, O2 and Brown Thomas. “We are very pleased to have closed the transaction in such a timely manner Niall Anderton, new Managing Director of and are ready to shift our focus to fully integrating Topaz into the Couche-Tard Topaz (left) is pictured with Jørn Madsen, family,” noted Jørn Madsen, Couche-Tard’s EVP for Central & Eastern Europe Couche-Tard’s EVP for Central & Eastern and responsible for their business in Ireland. “We are particularly pleased that Europe. Niall will take over as the leader of our business in Ireland. We have been working closely with Niall over the last few months and we are certain that he is the right person to lead Topaz through the next phase of its development.”

Maxol Castletroy Helps Wishes Come True

MAXOL Castletroy has been very busy of late, recently launching its new-look forecourt, following extensive refurbishment, while also working hard to raise important funds for Maxol’s official charity partner Make-A-Wish-Foundation. The Maxol staff had their aprons on and rolling pins out as they rustled up home-baked goods, which they sold in-store, as well as organising a draw, raising over €2,300 in the process. Pictured are licensee Tom Duggan (left) with members of staff Jane Walsh, Derek Domlewski, Juliann Power, Seamus Moroney and Daniel Cebernik.

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www.retailnews.ie|January / February 2016|Retail News|59

Drinks News Guinness Opens Experimental Brewery to Public

APPOINTMENT AT BARRY & FITZWILLIAM

THE Open Gate Brewery, Guinness’ experimental brewing plant at St James’ Gate, Dublin, is now officially open to the public every Thursday and Friday evening. Of particular interest to beer enthusiasts, visitors have the chance to meet the brewers in their place of work, discuss the brewing process, which will be taking place all around them, and sample what the brewers have been brewing up at The Open Gate Brewery. Stephen O’Kelly, Marketing Director, Guinness Europe, is pictured at The Open Gate Brewery.

KEVIN O’Mahony has been appointed Commercial Director of Barry & Fitzwilliam. Reporting directly to Managing Director, Michael Barry, Kevin will have overall responsibility for the complete sales and marketing functions of the company, one of Ireland’s leading independent drinks distributors.

Teeling Distillery Wins Top Award

FINDLATER’S MOTHER’S DAY SELECTION MOTHER’S Day is on Sunday, March 6 this year, and Findlater Wine & Spirit Group have a selection of wines to suit the occasion: some serious, some easydrinking, some sparkling, but all delicious. When all the stops are being pulled out, then look no further than Bollinger Rosé (pictured). Dry, powerful and very serious indeed, this highly polished wine combines notes of plum, pastry, cinnamon and spice. The Sutter Home White Zinfandel is one of the most popular and accessible White Zinfandels here in Ireland, while the fully sparkling version of the much-loved and historic Mateus Rosé, the Mateus Sparkling Brut Rosé is refined and crisp with floral nuances and pleasing aromas of apples, pears and raspberries. Miguel Torres’ Chilean Santa Digna Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé is a richer style rosé at a fantastic price (RSP €13.99), and Graham Back Vintage Sparkling Rosé ticks all the boxes for serious bubbly connoisseurs.

NEW DISTILLERY FOR DONEGAL DONEGAL is to have its first distillery for 174 years, with the news that the Sliabh Liag Distillery is to be constructed on the slopes of the Sliabh Liag sea cliffs in the Donegal Gaeltacht. The company has launched its first brand, ‘The Silkie’, a blended Irish whiskey. “The revival of the Irish whiskey industry is being felt across the island of Ireland and I’m delighted to hear of plans by James Doherty and Margaret Cunningham to open Donegal’s first distillery for 174 years, Siabh Liag Distillery,” said Miriam Mooney, Head of the Irish Whiskey Association. “The announcement is another sign that the Irish Whiskey industry is moving confidently towards double digit export growth by 2020.”

THE Teeling Whiskey Company’s Visitor Centre, at its new distillery in Newmarket in the Liberties area of Dublin City, has won the highly coveted ‘Visitor Attraction of the Year’ award at Whisky Magazine’s Icons of Whisky Rest of World Awards. The Teeling Whiskey Company will now battle it out against other regional winners for the overall global title, which will be judged by the magazine’s expert editorial panel and announced at the Whisky Magazine Awards in London on March 17. “This is a fantastic achievement for us and is testament to the unique distillery experience we offer our visitors to Dublin,” noted Jack Teeling, founder of the Teeling Whiskey Company.

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National Off Licence Association Awards

Baggot Street Wines Named Off Licence of the Year Baggot Street Wines in Dublin was named Off Licence of the Year at the National Off Licence Association Awards. BAGGOT Street Wines was named National Off Licence of the Year 2016 at the National Off Licence Association Awards 2016, held recently at The Honourable Society of King’s Inns in Dublin. Other winners on the night included the Molloy Group, Dublin, who were named Responsible Retailer of the Year 2016, and Dylan McEvoy, Gibneys Off Licence, Malahide, who won RTC Online Trainee of the Year 2016. All 38 finalists were awarded certificates of either Merit or Excellence and a Customer Service Award based on their performance. Other awards on the night included:

• • • • • • • • • • •

Specialist Off-Licence Group of the Year 2016: The O’Donovan Group, Cork; Best First Time Entrant 2016: 64 Wines, Glasthule; Food Retailer Off-Licence of the Year 2016: Shiel’s Londis, Malahide; Customer Service Award of the Year 2016: O’Donovan’s, Ballincollig; Spirit Specialist of the Year 2016: James Redmond & Sons; Beer Specialist of the Year 2016: Martins Off-Licence, Fairview; Wine Specialist of the Year 2016: Jus de Vine, Pictured are Catherine Noakes, Alison Noone, Aga Niemiec and Garret Portmarnock; Connolly of Baggot Street Wines, National Off Licence of the Year 2016. Connaught/Ulster Off-Licence of the Year 2016: McCambridge’s, Galway; Leinster Off-Licence of the Year 2016: The Wine Centre, Kilkenny; Dublin Off-Licence of the Year 2016: Blackrock Cellar; Munster Off-Licence of the Year 2016: Number 21, Midleton.

Passionate About the Trade Garrett Connolly is the owner of Baggot Street Wines, which has been trading successfully in Dublin’s city centre since 2011. A former Oddbins’ employee, Garrett and three of his colleagues set up the independent off licence when Oddbins left Ireland and it’s fair to say they haven’t looked back since. Indeed, their passionate staff have over 15 years’ experience in the European wine industry and the All the winners at the NOffLA Off Licence of the Year Awards.

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National Off Licence Association Awards he enthuses. “Alongside that, we source 700 wines from boutique areas, from unusual grape varieties, from lesser known wine areas. We are at the forefront of the Irish craft beer revolution, which is happening right now, and the Irish whiskey revolution, which is in its early days. It is about creating a niche market, where you are not just trying to be a smaller version of a supermarket. There are plenty of people engaged in a race to the bottom, trying to outprice supermarkets. It is not something that is ever going to happen. So we tried to create a store that had a vastly superior range of wines, beers and spirits to the supermarket, where quality for price is the key. It is not necessarily about selling wine at €6 a bottle. It’s about getting a €12 bottle of wine that’s significantly better than a supermarket €12 bottle of wine.”

Baggot Street Wines: National Off Licence of the Year 2016.

store was a previous winner in the National Beer Specialist of the Year category in 2013 and 2014. “We were fortunate to win the Beer Specialist of the Year twice and to win the overall award this year was a massive shock,” admits Garrett. “We are over the moon. It’s massive recognition from NOffLA, from your peers and reaffirms that you’re doing a good job. It’s a huge pat on the back for the staff, who have been with us since the beginning. This shop was part of the Oddbins chain which went into liquidation in 2011 and to go from that to being named the number one off licence in Ireland is a massive achievement.” It will also mean a boost in business, Garrett believes. “With the power of social media, the news that we won was out there as soon as it happened and we have been inundated with good wishes. Obviously, we will highlight our win, both inside the shop and externally, making sure that all of our customers know about it. It will be one of our core marketing messages in our social media and on our website. It reaffirms in the eyes of the consumer that they are dealing with one of the top shops in the country.” Independents Day? The independent off licence sector has been under huge pressure during the economic downturn, with so many stores forced to close their doors. Garrett, however, believes that the darkest days are behind us and we are starting to see some light. “We took over the business in the height of the recession. The vast majority of people who I told about it at the time thought I was crazy, but four and a half years on, it was the best thing I ever did,” the store owner says proudly. “This was always an excellent store in a great location, with massive potential. It was a struggle in those first couple of years but we overcame the challenges and it has begun to flourish. There are plenty of signs that the economy is going in the right direction: the average spend on wine is increasing; people are spending more on good quality wines; sales of Champagne are beginning to turn around.” The store owner believes that the independent off licence has an edge when dealing with today’s more discerning and more educated consumer, whether they are looking for wine, craft beer or spirits. Baggot Street Wines, for example, stock over 700 boutique wines from across the globe, 450-500 Irish and international craft beers and almost 250 spirits, the vast majority of which are Irish whiskeys. “One of our unique selling points is that we strive to provide the best quality customer service and knowledge,”

Tough Judging Process Judging for the awards began in June 2015, with the ongoing judging process culminating in a blind wine tasting, which involved participants answering questions about the unidentified wines. Final awards were allocated following this process. Now in their twentieth year, the awards recognise and showcase excellence in the off licence sector, highlighting those retailers that offer exceptional service to customers and demonstrate excellence in retail standards. “The annual awards showcase the expertise of the independent off-licence sector, recognising the personal service and high quality products offered by our highly trained members,” explained NOffLA Chairman, Gary O’Donovan. Public Health (Alcohol) Bill At the Awards Ceremony, NOffLA called on the Government to move swiftly and introduce the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill, with O’Donovan arguing that the introduction of minimum unit-pricing and affordable structural separation will ensure that alcohol is retailed Baggot Street Wines has been operating responsibly. successfully since opening in 2011. However, in order for minimum unit pricing to be truly effective, O’Donovan called on the Government to introduce a ban on the below invoice cost selling of alcohol. “The promotion of branded discounted alcohol is used as a means to drive footfall into multiples to sell other more expensive grocery products and actively encourages irresponsible retailing, which is a threat to the broader community through alcohol abuse and anti-social behaviour,” he said. Punitive excise duties also came in for criticism from the NOffLA Chairman. “As we celebrate the best that the industry has to offer, it is also important to remember that independent businesses are still operating in very challenging circumstances, despite the much talked about economic recovery,” he said. “Excise duty levels were introduced during the economic crisis as an emergency measure and we are still paying for it today. This needs to be addressed if we are to play our part and fully contribute to and partake of the ongoing recovery.”

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On The Vine

Antipodean Adventures Marlborough still has the lion’s share in terms of production levels, with 22,907 ha under vine; this is followed by Hawke’s Bay’s 4,774 ha and Central Otago, with 1,932 ha. New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc still continues to dazzle wine consumers and critics the world over, setting the benchmark with its distinctive style. New Zealand Pinot Noir also goes from strength to strength. The huge diversity of the climate and soil in New Zealand means that there are a wide range of different styles of Pinot Noir currently available on the Irish market.

Australian Wine Cassidy Wines This spring, Cassidy Wines will have three new wines in the Yalumba range. Called ‘The Galway’, ‘The Scrapper’ and the ‘The Scribbler’, they will retail as follows; The Galway Vintage (Barossa Shiraz) €16.99, The Scrapper Grenache/ Shiraz/Mataro €22.99, The Scribbler Cabernet/Shiraz €24.99. These are fine examples of good quality, premium Australian wines that are capturing the consumer’s interest. As trading up is slowly returning to this market, these wines are a good offering in the mid-price/premium Australian sector.

Jean Smullen looks at ‘must stock’ wines from Australia and New Zealand. THERE’S an Antipodean start to the wine year in Ireland with the arrival of the first of the annual generic wine fairs. As always, New Zealand got the year going with their excellent trade and consumer tasting. The size of the turnout this year from both sectors is, we hope, a good indicator for the year ahead. No less successful, a week later, the Australia Day tasting also drew a huge crowd with a lot of interest for Australian wines at a higher price point. Australia’s premium wine sector is now starting to gain traction: their latest export report for 2015 shows that the value of Australian bottled wine on the global export market increased by +17%. Wine Australia CEO, Andreas Clarke told Retail News that he was pleased to see that in 2015, Australian wine exports grew in each of the top 15 export markets. Clarke came to Dublin accompanied by Chairman of the Board of Wine Australia, Brian Walsh, who co-presented a Masterclass on the ‘History and evolution of Australian wine’ with John McDonnell. Volume sales of Australian wine on the Irish market were nudged into second place last year after 25 years. Though volume dropped, Australian wine is now achieving high price points, which have increased value sales here, helped, in part, by the exchange rate. Meanwhile over in New Zealand, volume sales globally increased from 142m litres in 2010 to 209m litres in 2015.

C&C Gleeson C&C took over the distribution of the Accolade portfolio in 2015. Hardy’s is one of the most powerful Australian wine brands in the world. Hardy’s have a good range at entry level the under the brand name Hardy’s Crest, mostly single varietal and blends. Look out for the Hardy’s Crest Chardonnay/Sauvignon Blanc on offer at €9.99 and the Hardy’s Crest Cabernet, Shiraz, Merlot at the same price. Both price reductions will be supported by in store POS material. C&C have been distributing Casella Wines’ [yellow tail] since its launch on the Irish market in 2007. This spring, look out for their SKUs at RRP €9.99 until Easter. Delegat Europe Brand new to the Irish market, New Zealand wine company Delegat has unveiled its new Australian acquisition, Barossa Valley Estate. There are two wines in the range from one of the region’s defining wineries. These wines capture the distinctive elegance, finesse and vibrant fruit flavours of the Barossa Valley wines: Barossa Valley Estate Shiraz 2012, with red plum and fresh blackberry flavours, and Barossa Valley Estate Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre 2012, with its burst of red berry fruits. Watch out for price offers on both wines in the run-up to St Patrick’s Day and Easter, with a special price point of €13, The awardreduced from €16.99, on both varietals in winning the range. D’Arenberg Febvre & Co. A must stock wine in the mid-price category is D’Arenberg D’Arrys Original Shiraz Grenache 2012 from McLaren Vale in

D’Arrys Original Shiraz Grenache 2012 from McLaren Vale in Australia.

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On The Vine Australia, winner of a NOffLA Gold Star Medal for New World Wines under €20. Chester Osborne is one of the great personalities of the wine world but never underestimate how good a winemaker he is. D’Arrys Original is a true New World icon wine: a blend of Shiraz and Grenache with complex sweet and savoury flavours, plums, liquorice, nutmeg and a hint of cedar. Findlater Wine & Spirits Group Deakin Estate will be running an Easter promotion exclusive to the independent off trade, with a price reduction from €12.99 to €10.99. Their range consists of a Cabernet, Merlot, Shiraz, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, but the most popular varietals will be the two NOffLA Award winners, Cabernet & Chardonnay, winners of Best New World Red/ White Under €10 in the Gold Star Awards. Wolf Blass are going to reprise the rugby labels from the Rugby World Cup in October and do a promotion around them for the Six Nations tournament in February and March. This means that the Yellow Label Rugby Label Limited Edition will be on offer in both multiples and independents, with the RSP reduced from €14.99 to €12. The Yellow Label Cabernet and Yellow Label Chardonnay will be the two wines in the special packaging, and 15 different labels are available, one for each rugby position, with each including a different number and illustration representing that player. Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard The iconic Jacob’s Creek range, which includes their varietal range as well as their sparkling wine range, will be on price offer during the St Patrick’s Day Festival and in the run-up to Easter. Still one of Australia’s most recognised wine brands; the competitive price offer is guaranteed to increase volume sales.

Delegat Europe Oyster Bay, one of the most sought after New Zealand wine brands in the world, will be on offer during the spring of 2016. Wholly owned by New Zealand’s Delegat family, watch out for their innovative customer sampling experience, which has helped to generate enormous recognition for their range of wines all over Ireland. The Oyster Bay still wine range includes Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Pinot Noir varietals. They also have two great quality sparkling wines, the Rosé and the Brut. All will be available at a special price offer in the run-up to the spring holidays, centred on St Patrick’s Day and Easter. Findlater Wine & Spirit Group Matua will be on offer this Easter with a price reduction for their Sauvignon Blanc from €15 to €12. Their classy Pinot Noir offer will see a reduction from €16 to €14. It’s hard to separate New Zealand and Sauvignon Blanc these days, but it was Bill & Ross Spence, founders of Matua, who were the very first to put them together back in 1969, producing the first bottles of Matua in an old tin shed which they had rented in 1974. The rest, as they say, is history, and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is one of the most popular wines enjoyed globally today. Grape Expectations A brand new importer to the Irish market, led by brother’s Anthony and Gregory Alken, Grape Expectations launched their new range of New Zealand wine, Matahiwi Estate. Matahiwi Estate is the result of Alastair Scott’s lifelong dream to own a winery. In 2002, a fortuitous meeting between Alastair and winemaker Jane Cooper saw Jane join Matahiwi as winemaker. Jane shared the same vision and passion for the region as Alastair and they set up the new business from scratch, including building a state-of-the-art winery. This premium New Zealand winery is now available on the Irish market through Grape Expectations as part of their wider portfolio of wines. The Phoenix on their labels was chosen as a proud symbol of the rebirth of winemaking in Masterton.

New Zealand Wines Classic Drinks Classic Drinks have added Marlborough winery Huia to their portfolio to complement their range of Seifried Wines from New Zealand’s Nelson region. Hermann and Agnes Seifried, from Nelson’s Seifried Estate winery, have been recognised for their contribution to the New Zealand grape and wine industry by being inducted as Fellows of New Zealand Winegrowers. This is the first time in this history that a husband and wife team have been recognised, and the first time a woman has been awarded this honour. Seifried Estate is celebrating 40 years this year. Sweet Agnes is the most awarded sweet wine in New Zealand. The popular Huia range of wines has been awarded Natural Biodynamic Winery of the year in 2015.

Cloudy Bay, along with the new 2015 vintage. In 1985, Cloudy Bay captivated the wine world with its aromatic and vibrant Sauvignon Blanc. With an innovative spirit and devotion to quality, Cloudy Bay put New Zealand wine on the map and that first Sauvignon Blanc, exported initially to Australia and the UK, secured its place in wine history. Today, building on that reputation for excellence in New Zealand wine, the estate has expanded its portfolio to include expressive Pinot Noir wines from its collection of premium Pinot Noir vineyards.

Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Pinot Noir: hugely popular with Irish wine drinkers.

Edward Dillon & Co. Ltd The iconic Cloudy Bay is 30 years old this year! To celebrate the 30th anniversary vintage of Cloudy Bay’s flagship Sauvignon Blanc, an exclusive vertical tasting was held at the Hilton Hotel, Dublin, on January 21. Invited guests, including trade customers and media, were given the opportunity to taste a selection of rare back-vintages of

Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard Brancott Estate is owned by Pernod Ricard and has a varietal range that includes Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris, Pinot Grigio, and Pinot Noir. The wine range will be on price offer during the St Patrick’s Festival and in the run-up to Easter. One of the leading New Zealand wine brands on the Irish market, this is a must stock wine. C&C Gleeson C&C have been distributing Hunter’s Wines on the Irish market for over a decade. Jane Hunter is one of New Zealand’s best known winemakers. Her late husband was originally from Belfast, so the wine has an Irish connection, perfect as a sales point around St Patrick’s Day. This spring, look out for Hunter’s Sauvignon Blanc on offer at €13.99 and their Pinot Noir at €17. Both price reductions will be supported by in-store POS material.

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What’s New KEEPING CUSTOMERS SATISFIED OVER 50 delegates attended Lambert Smith Hampton’s inaugural marketing conference at The Lyric Theatre in Belfast recently. The event was designed to improve the consumer experience in the shopping centre. Attendees heard from global experts in the fields of marketing, branding and customer service and learned how best to respond to an ‘ultra-digital’ era. Pictured are (l-r): Belinda Moran, Marketing Manager at Lambert Smith Hampton, with Dan Germain, Head of Creative and Brand at innocent Drinks.

KING OF GIANTS BENSON & Hedges Gold is not only Ireland’s leading cigarette SKU, but also has the fastest growing Big Box SKUs in the market (Source: AC Nielsen Scantrack 52 WE 27/12/2015). B&H Gold was first to introduce both Big Box, in December 2011, now offering 23 cigarettes priced at €11.50, and Maxi Box, in August 2014, with 30 cigarettes at €14.75. Benson & Hedges: inspiring respect.

NEW NAME, SAME MARKET LEADING TASTE MAYFAIR, the market’s leader in the value sector, as well as Ireland’s fastest growing RMC brand (Source: ACNielsen Scantrack, 52 WE 28/12/2014 and 52 WE 27/12/2015), now offers even greater value with Mayfair Big Box Original 25’s. Priced at €11.00, Mayfair Big Box Original 25’s offers market leading quality, at a competitive price, in recognition of the changing behaviour of existing adult smokers. Mayfair – a modern expression of quality.

DISCOVER THE KEY TO CLASSIC STYLE PRESENTING the new range of limited edition packs from Ireland’s leading cigarette SKU, Benson & Hedges Gold (Source: AC Nielsen Scantrack 52 WE 27/12/2015). The collection features three exquisite pack designs, with complementing coloured inner frames, which reflect both the craft and heritage associated with Benson & Hedges Gold. Inspired by elegant and intriguing patterns, the packs bring B&H’s heritage to life. Follow the keys and unlock the secrets of classic style. The B&H Gold Member’s Edition series of limited edition packs are available in king size 20’s only whilst stocks last.

SET SAIL FOR PARADISE VITA Coco Coconut Water has launched its biggest and best competition yet that will see a lucky winner jetting off to their very own private island paradise. By simply entering a unique prize code, which is displayed on the neck tag of each bottle, Vita Coco Coconut Water customers have the opportunity to win this exclusive tropical getaway, to ‘Simple Island’, where the weather is good and life is simple! The promotion captures the essence of the brand’s simplicity - just natural hydration, just like sticking a straw into a green coconut!

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What’s New TIC TAC MIXES UP SUGAR CATEGORY TIC TAC, currently worth €1.3m and growing ahead of the sugar confectionery category (Source: Nielsen ROI, Value Sales MAT up to 01/11/2015), is set to reinvigorate the market by extending its range to provide a flavour-changing experience for its consumers. New Tic Tac Mixers are available in two flavours, Cherry Cola and Peach Lemonade. Both variants melt from their sweet fruit layer into a sparkling secondary flavour, i.e. Cherry to Cola and Peach to Lemonade. After a successful launch in the UK less than six months ago, the product has already brought new shoppers to the sugar confectionery category, thanks to its unique proposition. Supported by a heavyweight media investment, the launch will be widely seen by the target audience of 18 year olds upwards, driving awareness and encouraging trial. A combination of TV, video on demand and digital will communicate the uniqueness of the new products.

SUPER CONVENIENT SWEET POTATO FRIES SWEET potato fries have become a hot trend over the last year but many find it tricky to perfect that crispy texture: well fear not! Irish start-up, Handy Food, has introduced its first product, Strong Roots, to the market. This healthy-alternative, ovenbaked, sweet potato will cut out the delicate prep, resulting in crispy mouth-watering fries in 25 minutes. Strong Roots sweet potato fries are gluten free, low in saturated fat and a low salt alternative to traditional oven chips. With their rice flour batter, the chips bake to a firm, delicious and crisp texture when done and are suitable for a variety of uses, both sweet and savoury. Founder and CEO of Handy Food, Sam Dennigan, is pictured with the new product.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND OFFICIAL STICKER COLLECTION PANINI are excited to announce the launch of their brand new Republic of Ireland Sticker Collection. This awesome new sticker album from Panini includes a 32 page album, with a total of 204 stickers to collect. Collectors can get their collection off to a flying start with a starter pack which includes an album and 31 stickers, retailing for €3.99. Sticker packets contain five stickers each and are priced at €0.70. There are a total of 24 of the soughtafter shiny stickers to look out for. Jessica Tadmor, Head of Marketing at Panini UK, says, “The collection is the perfect tribute to the success of the team so far. We’re also busy working with the FAI on exciting launch plans for the Official UEFA Euro 2016 trading card and sticker collections that will be launching in the coming months.”

MOY PARK EXTENDS ROAST IN THE BAG RANGE MOY Park has launched a new variation of its award winning Moy Park ‘Good Kitchen’ roast in the bag product range. The new line, which contains Pork, Sage and Onion stuffing, will now be available alongside the Extra Tasty and Garlic and Herb whole chicken products. Moy Park was the first company to use thermoformed packaging technology for its range of innovative roast in the bag products, first launched in April last year. The state of the art packaging is a printed, sealed pack that can go straight into the oven, without piercing, and selfbastes during the cooking process. “The range was developed to target a growing market for added-value fresh chicken products,” explained Briege Finnegan, Brand Marketing Manager, Moy Park.

MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC PHOTO KIOSK MITSUBISHI Electric is launching a new Smart Kiosk Gifts, a mini all-in-one self-service photo kiosk for retailers, stores and copy shops that are big on ideas but short on space. The kiosk slots into a counter top space less than quarter of a square metre, yet produces high-quality prints in a choice of formats, creating instant photo books, albums, greeting cards, calendars and framed pictures. The Smart Kiosk Gifts Plus is available as an all-in one counter system, with the customer selfservice interface and printer coming as a single unit. Alternatively, for stores preferring a modular system, the Smart Kiosk Gifts provides the flexibility to position the self-service customer interface on the counter and locate the printer behind for staff access only.

CHEESY ROMANCE FOR VALENTINE’S DAY CONSUMERS were being encouraged to show their cheesy romantic side this Valentine’s Day. The Discover Farmhouse Cheese programme, an EU co-funded campaign organised by Bord Bia, to celebrate farmhouse cheese in Ireland, urged couples to end their romantic meal on a high with an elegantly-matched selection of farmhouse cheeses. Sharing a mouthwatering farmhouse cheese board with beautifully matched wine, while snuggling by the fireplace, was the perfect way to get the temperatures racing this Valentine’s Day. For more information tips and recipes, visit: www.DiscoverFarmhouseCheese.ie.

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Shelf Life GLANBIA Consumer Foods Ireland posted record sales of Avonmore cream over Christmas, with 3.5m pots of fresh cream sold in the month of December alone, with the key selling period immediately before Christmas representing a 24% increase year-on-year. The week before Christmas saw the highest ever volume of Avonmore cream dispatched in a single day, while December 2015 was an overall record breaker, with the highest ever volume of cream dispatched in a single week and a single month. The performance was driven by increased consumer demand and growth across all Avonmore’s major distribution channels, including retail, food service and home deliveries.

THE fourth annual Alltech Craft Brews and Food Fair at the Convention Centre Dublin not only attracted more than 10,000 visitors but it officially became a world record breaker. The Guinness World Record for the world’s largest beer tasting was smashed on the opening evening, February 5, and Ireland now holds the record, with 729 people simultaneously tasting three beers. The awards continued at the festival, as Rye River won the Dublin Craft Beer Cup for McGargles Francis’ Big Bangin IPA, while Orpens won the Dublin Craft Cider Cup for their Fresh Pressed Apple Cider. The team at Orpens are pictured receiving the Cup from Gearoid Cahill, Head of Brewing Science, Alltech (far left) and Dr. Pearse Lyons, Founder & President, Alltech (far right).

KINETIC Ireland, the Out of Home (OOH) media agency, is pleased to announce the appointment of Aoife Hudson as Strategic Business Director. Aoife, a graduate of IT Tallaght, joined Kinetic in 2012, working with clients including Heineken, Paramount Pictures and Vhi Healthcare. In her new role, Aoife will encourage creativity and innovation across the Kinetic client and agency portfolio. She will explore clever and innovative ways of using new technologies and how to combine them with both digital OOH and traditional OOH.

MUSGRAVE Group has announced the acquisition of Wexford-based foodservice business C.J. O’Loughlin Quality Foods, conditional on clearance from the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. “C.J. O’Loughlin Quality Foods is an excellent strategic fit for our business and complements our market-leading foodservice offer,” noted Chris Martin, Musgrave Group CEO. “As a long-standing successful family business, C.J. O’Loughlin Quality Foods has much in common with Musgrave and we look forward to working with Charlie and all of the team as we build on the success of the business and work together to support our customers.” ASDA has joined EMD, one of Europe’s leading buying and marketing groups, operating in 15 countries. The Walmart owned supermarket retailer has an annual turnover of 31 billion euro and employs about 170,000 people. The 15 members of EMD include about 500 grocery retailers with more than 150,000 points of sale in all types of distribution, mainly in food retail, and EMD Group turnover is now €178 billion. “With the newly acquired partner Asda, EMD affirms its leadership among the purchasing and marketing alliances operating all over Europe,” said EMD Managing Director Philippe Gruyters (pictured). MINDTREE, a leading digital transformation and technology services company, has launched its new Flooresense platform to increase in-store conversions for retailers. The solution will enable retailers to enhance customer experience and improve the productivity of store associates. A big challenge faced by brick and mortar stores today is identifying and engaging a high potential shopper needing assistance to make a purchase decision, among a crowd of shoppers. Flooresense helps retailers identify real-time sales floor opportunities to enhance shopper experience and optimise sales time. The cloud-based platform, which runs on Microsoft Azure, offers intelligent recommendations that connect the right store associate with high potential shoppers needing assistance. The solution identifies and prioritises potential shoppers using video feeds and custom algorithms while maintaining shopper anonymity. CLONMEL drinks manufacturer, Robert A. Merry & Co. has completed a €2.5m investment in its production and warehousing facilities and flagship brand, Merrys Irish Cream Liqueur. The company now exports to 20+ countries worldwide and has recently won a tender to supply its Merrys White Chocolate Liqueur to the official state-run liquor chain of 346 shops in Sweden.

KEELINGS had Valentine’s Day covered, with heart-shaped fruit boxes in-store at EUROSPAR, Dunnes and Tesco in the run-up to the big day, with an RSP of €2.50.

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MAXI BOX STILL 30 STICKS NOW €14.75

BIG BOX NOW 23 STICKS STILL €11.50

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