60|Retail News|October 2020|www.retailnews.ie
Shelf Life EMER Lawn has been appointed Managing Director of Starcom, part of Core, Ireland’s largest marketing communications company. Emer joined Starcom in August of last year as Deputy Managing Director to work closely with the existing Board, including MD Geoff McGrath, Anna Doyle and Aisling O’Sullivan. Prior to joining Starcom, Emer was a director of Mediaworks, also part of Core. In her time there, Emer established and expanded the agency’s digital communication solutions. She also led the team that won the Grand Prix at the 2018 Media Awards. Before this, she was responsible for establishing Core’s social media offering, which went on to win Social Media Agency of the Year three years in a row. IRISH crisps, popcorn and potato manufacturer Keogh’s has appointed Data Revolution as its data integration, reporting and insight partner. Data Revolution will be providing Keogh’s with regular automated data reports, which will provide them with a quicker, more detailed understanding of retail sales performance than ever before. One of the key areas of insight Data Revolution will focus on for Keogh’s is store-level reporting, which could include, for example, identifying distribution opportunities, identifying and fixing any store-level issues, prioritising retail outlets and ensuring sales reps have the most efficient call file. “By working with Data Revolution, we can ensure we are receiving reliable, consistent, accurate and detailed sales data that we can trust, which enables us to clearly understand how our products are performing within the Irish market. It has taken all the data preparation work out of our business, saving us time and energy, and driving operational efficiencies” said Richard Marles, Marketing Manager, Keogh’s.
PRIMELINE Sales and Marketing has developed a new beverages strategy, supporting high-potential brand launches in the health & wellness and sustainability sectors of the FMCG market. The company has recently agreed distribution and marketing deals with two Irish-owned emerging brands in the functional beverages sector, as well as securing distribution for the Swedish owned Nocco range, from the health and exerciseoriented No Carbs Company. Among the new healthier options now marketed by Primeline is SynerChi, a flavoured kombucha drink which focuses on gut health and wellness, produced in Gweedore, Co. Donegal. Primeline is also logistics and marketing partner to Defiant, a new seven-times filtered still water offering, aiming to create a Millennial lifestyle brand that disrupts the bottled water category. AUSTRALIAN brand Pimp My Salad has launched in SuperValu, following strong sales Down Under and successful UK launches in Holland & Barrett, Ocado, Planet Organic and Selfridges. Pimp My Salad offers a range of exciting meal toppers, including Coconut Bacon, Cashew Parmesan and Activated Super Seeds. Having been carefully created by brand founders Alex Komarov and Olga Plotnikova, the toppers use only the best ingredients, sourced from ethical suppliers, and are vegan, gluten free and keto/paleo friendly.
GOOD Food Ireland, the food provenance brand, has announced the appointment of Paul Carey as Director of Quality Assurance. Paul brings a wealth of experience to the role, having worked in the food and tourism hospitality industry for over 30 years, both in Ireland and internationally. He is a qualified Chef, HACCP Manager and Graduate of Shannon College of Hotel Management. “This is my dream job and I very much look forward to working with the team to continue raising standards and giving recognition to businesses for what they do so very well,” said Carey.
THE Private Label Manufacturers Association is taking its World of Private Label International Trade Show online for four days, from December 1-4, with each day emphasising a specific group of food and non-food categories. The theme of the event, ‘Life is Good in Private Label’, was never more appropriate than it is now, according to the show’s organisers. Private label market share in Europe is nearly 40% or more in eight countries and with major shifts in purchasing, and supply chains under enormous stress, competition is fierce everywhere. But the opportunities for new products and expanding own-brand business remain extraordinary, because consumers will continue to turn to retailers first for value, while maintaining their quality of life in these unprecedented times. You can request a registration link at www.plma.nl/visitonline. ROWNTREE’S Fruit Pastilles is becoming vegan friendly. The new vegan friendly recipe will be used across the full range of Fruit Pastilles sweets, starting with sharing bags from October. Fruit Pastilles join Nestlé’s expanding range of vegan products, which include Jelly Tots, Carnation vegan condensed milk and Nescafé Gold dairy alternative lattes. Nestlé technicians trialled over 30 recipes before arriving at the new formulation. Their mission was to remove the gelatin, while ensuring the sweets retained the fruity flavour and iconic chew they are famous for. “In developing the new formulation, we were very conscious of our responsibility as custodians of this much-loved brand and its long history,” revealed Maria McKenna, Marketing Manager for Nestlé Ireland Confectionery. “Through this recipe change, we’ve made the sweets slightly softer, which we know has been a market trend for a number of years. However, our priority was to preserve the fabulously fruity chew that has made Fruit Pastilles a classic for almost a century and a half.” TAYTO Snacks has officially been certified as a Great Place to Work. To achieve the certification, the company, which is based in Ashbourne, Co. Meath, engaged in a process that examined employee feedback and the workplace culture at Tayto Snacks. A specific highlight was the development of a bespoke colleague recognition programme, Tag’ed, which gives recognition for living the company values to colleagues, by colleagues. “We are delighted to have officially been recognised as a Great Place to Work’ said Annamarie O’Connor, People & Culture Director at Tayto Snacks (pictured). “This wouldn’t have been possible without the feedback and engagement from our colleagues.”
