Retail News October 2008

October Cover

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October 2008

THE NEW LOOK

NO COMPROMISE

GOLDEN BALANCED AROMATIC

This communication is for the information of tobacco traders only.

SMOKERS DIE YOUNGER Irish Government Warning

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■ inside view

Causes for Celebration?

With the ‘R’ word on everyone’s lips and the credit crisis in full swing, it’s easy to get caught up in doom and gloom prophecies, but particularly in the current cimate, it’s good to have some reasons to celebrate.

This month, we have more than a few in RETAIL NEWS. Gala celebrates its tenth anniversary in the Irish market and its success over its first decade in operation has been nothing short of spectacular. We reflect on the group’s first ten years in operation (Page 26).

CELEBRATE 10 YEARS OF GALA

WIN ONE OF FIVE HAMPERS

Last month’s SHOP 2008 event proved another cause for optimism, with more than 4,000 industry heavyweights attending the premier exhibition for Ireland’s food, retail and forecourt industries. See our report on page 28.

ADM Londis, at its Annual Retail Conference, reported strong growth for 2007 and outlined how its retailers can continue to prosper, despite increasingly challenging conditions within the grocery sector (Page 32). The group also unveiled a host of brand new store innovations at its Monaghan outlet, which are highlighted on Page 54.

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Gala recently ran a hugely successful ‘Take Ten With Gala’ promotion, whereby with every s10 spent in any Gala store, each customer received a special promotional scratch card, with instant prizes including an amazing Volkswagen Polo, a fabulous Five Star Holiday to Vilamoura, Portugal, or some of the s10,000 worth of Gala goodies.

Elsewhere, retail consultant Karen Meenan looks at autumnal sellers in the newsagency, from craft titles to kids’ collectables (Page 20), Maura Howe from the National Pensions Action Campaign reports on the worryingly low take-up of pensions amongst workers in the retail and wholesale sectors (Page 30), while Anjali Pathak reports on her family company, Patak’s success in Ireland and the continued growth of Indian food (Page 34).

Gala Supermarkets are 100% Irish owned and totally focused on supplying their customers with high quality, excellent value, locally sourced produce. This commitment is key to the Gala Group’s on-going success and their 10th Birthday Celebration is designed to reward customers with amazing prizes . . . in an instant!

“Celebrating 50 Kathleen Belton, Editorial & Marketing Director.

years serving the

To be in with a chance of winning, just answer the following question.

Irish grocery trade.”

Managing Director: Fergus Farrell Editorial & Marketing Director: Kathleen Belton, email: kathleenbelton@tarapublishingco.com Editor: John Walshe

As part of its celebrations, Retail News readers have the chance to win one of five stunning hampers, courtesy of Gala.

johnwalshe@tarapublishingco.com

Chief News Reporter: Pavel Barter

Wine Correspondent: Jean Smullen

Financial Correspondent: Carmel Linnane

Advertising Manager: Aaron Stewart

Advertising Executive: Steven Larkin, David Kelly

T A R A Published by: Tara Publishing Co. Ltd., Poolbeg House, 1/2 Poolbeg Street, Dublin 2.

What country is Vilamoura in?

Send your answer, along with your name, address and telephone number, to retailnews@tarapublishingco.com or on a postcard to

Gala Hamper Giveaway, Tara Publishing Co. Ltd, Poolbeg House, 1-2 Poolbeg Street, Dublin 2.

Tel: (01) 2413095. Fax: (01) 2413010. ISDN: 01 2413050 Web: www.retailnews.ie Email: retailnews@tarapublishingco.com Subscription to Retail News: €110 plus VAT Email: tracy@tarapublishingco.com Origination by: Rooney Media Graphics

Printed by: Graham & Heslip

Closing date November 18.

Judge’s decision is final.

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News 4 Planning Guidelines

26

the course of the three-day event.

cash, with value for money a key concern.

Pensions 30 Recent CSO figures

Londis Store Innovations 54 ADM Londis plc has just

Under the Microscope.

5 Heineken Wins Beamish Bid.

show that only 36% of employees in the wholesale and retail sector have private pension coverage.

6 FSAI Calls for Changes to Food Labelling; Superquinn Buyout Rumours Denied.

7 New Enterprise Ireland Strategy for Prepared Consumer Foods; Alcohol Sales Fall; Beverage Council Calls for Changes to VAT.

8 Retailers Competing on Own Brands; New Battery Recycling Legislation; Food Prices Fall.

9 Retail Market to Become Saturated? Appointment at Safefood; Planning Issues.

Shop Profile 14 The stunning new 2,800

want to celebrate life’s occasions, usually with a glass of bubbly, writes Jean Smullen.

Karen Meenan’s Top Tips 20 Retail Consultant Karen Meenan advises on the seasonality of some products in the News-rack, and predicts some sure-fire winners this autumn.

Gala’s 10th Anniversary 26 The Gala Group is cur-

ADM Londis Retailer Conference 32 At its recent Annual Retailer Conference, ADM Londis commended its retailers’ performance and outlined how they can continue to prosper.

Money Matters 62 Carmel Linnane provides a host of tips on how to improve your business performance.

Shelf Life 68 All the latest news and gossip from the trade.

Ethnic Foods 34 Brand ambassador Anjali Pathak on the success of the Patak’s brand and the rise of Indian food in Ireland.

Convenience Foods 39 Doolittles celebrates its

square feet Centra store forms the centrepiece of the incredible new development at Central Park, Sandyford, Dublin 18.

rently celebrating 10 phenomenal years in the Irish market.

Shop 2008 28 SHOP 2008 proved a

Consumer Spending 45 A new survey reveals

On The Vine 18 Despite the economic

massive success for all concerned, attracting 4,000 visitors to the RDS over

that Irish consumers are really starting to look at where they spend their

outlook, consumers still

introduced a host of new store innovations, which will roll-out across the country throughout 2009.

fifth birthday.

Regulars 10 Industry News 16 Drinks News 65 What’s New 66 Update Sectoral Reports 36 Ethnic Foods 40 Frozen Foods 46 Biscuits & Cakes 51 Jams, Spreads & Preserves 56 Soup 60 Home Baking

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Planning Guidelines Under the Microscope THE first major assessment of the Retail Planning Guidelines has been undertaken, revealing a 275% increase in shopping centre floor space over the last six years. The Guidelines have been in effect since 2001 and were amended in 2005 to remove the floor space cap on retail warehouses. The 90-page report was commissioned by RGDATA and undertaken by planners MacCabe Durney and Barnes Consulting. As part of the survey, MacCabe Durney and Barnes examined the location, size and pattern of retail development over the last eight years.

“RGDATA commissioned this study because RGDATA supports and promotes retail development that is sustainable, promotes vibrant towns and villages and ensures local self-sufficiency,” Tara Buckley, RGDATA Director General, told RETAIL NEWS. “Independent retailers support shops that people can walk to, a diversity of shops, locally owned shops and a market place where small players can compete with big global players on a level playing field.”

The report is broadly supportive of the system. It reveals the rapid and extensive growth in new supermarkets and retail warehouses in Ireland over the last eight years. Shopping centre accommodation has more than trebled in the last five years - from 400,000 square metres to 1,500,000 square metres (“or enough space to create 118 new Croke Park pitches”). Retail warehouse accommodation has increased from 185,000 square metres to 800,000 square metres over the same period. According to current planning permissions and building plans, the shopping centre and retail warehouse sector is expected to grow by a further 40% in the medium to long term.

The discounters have proven a major driver of growth in the retail grocery sector: Aldi and Lidl have opened 135 stores, with a combined floor space of 193,200 square metres, since 2000.

Simultaneously, Tesco has increased by 64,400 square metres its floor space since 1997 with 22 new stores.

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MacCabe Durney and Barnes Consulting suggest the retail planning guidelines are not inhibiting competition. The fact that the discounters “have achieved such scale of operations over such a short period suggests that Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government the planning system John Gormley TD (second from right) accepts a copy of the is facilitating comMacCabe Durney & Barnes Consulting Study into the Effectiveness of the Retail Planning Guidelines, from petition and leading RGDATA Director General Tara Buckley (centre). Also to the emergence of price players in the pictured are Fergal McCabe, Terry Durney and Jerry Barnes.

“Other countries that have allowed a market place.” free-for-all in retail development have However, it was not all good news, ended up with very large out-of-town with employment failing to increase in developments on greenfield sites, which expediential terms alongside the physhave closed down the traditional town ical growth of the sector. In 2002, for centre shops and local village shops. This example, 14.2% of the total workforce is a completely unsustainable type of was employed in retail/warehousing development that is entirely dependent activities. In 2006, the workforce on car journeys at a time when we need employed in these activities was 14.3%. to address our wider environmental Furthermore, local authorities appear impact and develop a more sustainable to adopt inconsistent approaches to way of living,” she noted. town centre and out-of-town retailing, “A free-for-all in planning is not good many of them competing for large retail for consumers, for choice, for diversity, developments in their area for the purfor quality, for access to locally produced pose of rates gains and development food and goods and for facilitating local levy bonuses. entrepreneurship. It will just make a As part of the survey, five Irish towns handful of the biggest global players were reviewed. While Sligo, Athlone and even bigger and wipe out all the compeEnniscorthy successfully integrated the tition.” existing town centre function with the What is the position of the provision of new facilities, Donegal Town Department of the Environment, “failed to apply the Retail Planning Heritage and Local Government, in Guidelines in several applications for regards to edge of town retail developplanning permission for shops and had ment? John Whelan, a spokesman for the grants of permission overturned by the Department, told RETAIL NEWS that An Bord Pleanala on a number of occasions”. such matters are left in the hands of local In Youghal, “the local authority has government. granted permission for extensive edge of “Adoption of a development plan is a town retail development which has had reserved function of planning authorities negative consequences for the vitality and, as such, the Department has no role and viability of the town centre”. in this,” he said. “The Department sees According to Tara Buckley, this is the these aspects of forward planning as first step to the corrosion of the indevery much part and parcel of local govpendent retail sector in Ireland and illusernment and, as such, has no particular trates the importance of the guidelines. position on planning authority policy-

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making as long as it conforms to proper planning and sustainable development, and the provisions of the Planning and Development Act 2000.”

However, local authority tactics clearly require greater consistency. The survey revealed that many local town parking schemes push customers away from the town centre and towards out-oftown shops, where free surface car parking is often available. In this respect, national guidance may be welcomed.

Overall, the survey suggests that the Retail Planning Guidelines are working.

Fergal MacCabe, co-author of the report, said that “by taking an active and plan led approach to the development of new shopping facilities, Ireland has managed to avoid the very worst excesses of outof-town retailing that have been witnessed elsewhere in Europe, the UK and the US. And we have achieved this while encouraging competition and new entrants to the market”.

Tara Buckley added: “This study shows that where the Guidelines have been applied, they have been very successful in promoting vibrant retail centres, excellent choice for consumers and a good competitive environment where people can genuinely shop around.”

John Gormley TD, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, recently announced a review of the Retail Planning Guidelines for 2009. The review will be guided by certain principles, the Department’s John Whelan told RETAIL NEWS. For example: competition should be maintained and enhanced; existing retail development definitions and relevant floor space limits will be assessed; preferred locations for retail development should continue to be guided by considerations of sustainable land use, including access by public transport. In particular, new retail development should be encouraged to contribute to the vitality and vibrancy of town and village centres.

Does the Department foresee changes made to the guidelines?

“It would be safe to assume that there will be some changes to the existing guidelines,” concluded Whelan.

“Settlement and demographic patterns have changed quite dramatically in Ireland over the last number of years and our forward planning must reflect changed and changing circumstances.”

Heineken Wins Beamish Bid BEAMISH brands will not be sold off following the Competition Authority’s approval of Heineken’s acquisition of Beamish & Crawford, a Heineken Ireland spokesperson has told RETAIL NEWS. “We didn’t buy Beamish brands to sell them,” said Declan Farmer, Corporate Alf Smiddy, who resigned as Chairman and Managing Affairs Manager at Director of Beamish & Crawford, following a period of 20 years with the company which he joined as Heineken Ireland. “We Financial Controller. consider them a very entities. We have to get an insight as valuable asset and believe they will to what Beamish is about.” complement the Heineken Ireland For the retailer and consumer, the portfolio. We are very positive about merger can only be beneficial, he them: we’re equally positive in terms added. “One of the biggest opportuniof investing in, promoting and marties for the Beamish brands is they are keting those brands. We are commitnow going to obtain the benefit of ted to that as part of the integration Heineken’s wider distribution in the process.” marketplace. That means a wider After a six-month, in-depth review choice for the retailer and consumer process, conducted by the Irish and a greater marketing spend. The Competition Authority, Heineken Heineken brand portfolio is marketed Ireland was notified of the acquision a national basis: that will now be tion’s unconditional approval on complemented by the Beamish & October 3.

Crawford brand portfolio. This can “We welcome the decision,” said only be positive for everybody.”

Farmer. “Due process was taken by the Meanwhile, Alf Smiddy has Authority to ensure that this acquisidecided to resign as Chairman and tion would not lessen competition in Managing Director of Beamish & the marketplace. Beamish & Crawford Crawford, following a period of 20 currently command 9%; we command years with the company which he 21%. So we’re looking at a combined joined as Financial Controller. The entity market share of approximately company will now be headed by the 30% of the beer market. When you Managing Director of Heineken compare that to the dominant player Ireland, Gerrit van Loo. Smiddy has [Diageo], they are 60%: we are half the agreed to provide assistance to size.”

Heineken Ireland and Beamish & However, Farmer appeared elusive Crawford on a consultancy basis when asked whether or not the acquiover the coming months to assist sition may lead to redundancies. with the process of combining the “While the Competition Authority two companies. was conducting its review, we have “I am encouraged that the business had no visibility of the Beamish & and brands developed so successfully by Crawford operation. As a matter of my colleagues and I over the past 20 urgency, we are currently setting up years are now joining a superb business meetings to immediately engage with that presents considerable opportuniBeamish & Crawford in terms of an ties for the future,” Smiddy noted. integration strategy, merging both 5

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FSAI Calls for Changes to Food Labelling FOOD labelling legislation should be changed to prevent misleading products, a Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) spokesperson has told RETAIL NEWS. “We certainly think it would be in the consumer’s interests for the country of origin to be clear on foodstuff labelling,” said Wayne Anderson, chief specialist in food science at the FSAI. “We encounter a lot of complaints about misleading food labelling. The big problem is that the legislation is very grey in this area. As such, there is a lack of legislation on which to base prosecution.”

Anderson said that the problem of misleading labelling, which primarily pertains to meat products, can be compared to the success over recent changes to beef labelling rules. Now beef ’s various origins must be described on the product’s label. For example, if a steer was raised in Ireland, went to Northern Ireland for slaughter, was cut in the UK, and returned to Ireland for sale, this history will be openly revealed on the label.

But under existing EU laws, food that is grown or produced abroad can be imported and declared Irish if it is changed or added to in Ireland.

“We consider the beef labelling legislation as an example of how it can be clear for the consumer where their food is coming from,” said Anderson. “That is one option that seems to be working and is much easier to enforce than the current grey area with most other foods.”

The Minister for Food and Horticulture, and Green Party TD, Trevor Sargent TD recently took up the issue after the closure of Cappoquin Chickens. “One of the main reasons cited behind the closure was the increased import of foreign-bred meat,” he said.

“Consumers must be free to make their own choice when it comes to buying food.

However, I believe they are being misled if the bulk of a food product, particularly meat such as chicken, was reared and produced abroad, but can be labelled Irish if breadcrumbs or seasoning is added in Ireland. By introducing proper labelling, we can help protect Irish pro6

duce and ensure the consumer is adequately informed.”

Under labelling legislation, a manufacturer must put the origin of a foodstuff on the product. The problem is, the labelling legislation does not specify the definition of “origin”.

According to Wayne Anderson, whenever the FSAI have questioned the EU on this matter, the Commission cites the Customs Code Regulations and the concept of substantial transformation.

This test is intended to identify the country where the “most significant” manufacturing or processing operation took place – i.e. the country in which the product was given its essential character.

“Effectively, if you have a product brought into the country and something is done to it that adds value, you can effectively call it Irish,” explained Anderson. “If a prosecution is taken to court over misleading labelling, the court would have to decide if the changes made to the product were substantial and economically justified. These are grey concepts to ascertain in a prosecution.

Effectively, it would be preferable if the legislation was tightened up in this area.

If legislation was bought in for other meats, as it is for beef labelling, then the route the product took to reach the consumer would be clear.”

Unlike the UK, where the FSA are involved in writing legislation, the FSAI are effectively powerless. Instead, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health have responsibility for labelling, with the FSAI enforcing their laws. In the case of legislative changes, however, the FSAI may be asked for advice. “Of course, they can take or leave that advice,” says Anderson. “But once that legislation is black and white, it is much easier to enforce.”

The Green Party’s Minister Sargent appears to be taking an active role in this matter. At the recent National Ploughing Championships, the party handed out postcards to visitors, adorned with the slogan “We need to know where our food comes from”. The party asked people to post them to EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva, calling for a change in EU law.

Superquinn Buyout Rumours Denied IN light of media reports that Superquinn is for sale, Executive Chairman Simon Burke has denied an offer is on the table. He also denies that Goldman Sachs, an advisor to Superquinn’s consortium ownership, Select Retail Holdings, has been appointed as a buyer.

According to rumours, two UK supermarkets approached the grocer about buying the business, with Asda supposedly a contender, given the retail giant’s proximity to the Irish market.

Burke has stated, “One day Superquinn will be sold, but this isn't it”. Nevertheless, workers in the retail trade have responded with concern, leading the Mandate trade union to ask Burke for reassurance.

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EI Strategy for Prepared Consumer Foods

Tánaiste, Mary Coughlan TD; Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith TD; and Mike Feeney, Enterprise Ireland, are pictured at the launch of the Enterprise Ireland strategy.

THE Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan TD and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith TD, together launched Enterprise Ireland's strategy for the accelerated growth and international development of Ireland's prepared consumer foods industry.

At the launch, Tánaiste Mary Coughlan announced that the Government, through Enterprise Ireland, expects to provide around €30m over the next five years to progressive companies in the prepared consumer food sector through its R&D and Growth funds.

"Working in partnership with the other state food development agencies, including Bord Bia, BIM and Teagasc, Enterprise Ireland has identified the prepared consumer foods sector as a key area of growth,” Minister Coughlan said. “Exports for this sector grew by 6% to €1.8bn last

year with further growth anticipated this year. Irish companies such as Green Isle, Rye Valley and Dawn Fresh Foods are already leading the way in the development of healthy, wholesome and tasty convenience foods and the sector offers real opportunity for further success in the future. Through this strategy, Enterprise Ireland will work with companies to realise this sector's full international growth and export potential.”

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith TD, urged Irish food companies to consider partnerships with other food companies and/or third level institutions. “Industry led research partnerships will create research with commercial applications,” he said, “and exploit the world leading food science research that is already taking place in our third level institutions and food research institutes.”

Beverage Council Calls for Changes to VAT THE Beverage Council of Ireland (BCI) has called on Finance Minister Brian Lenihan to review the current rate of VAT as applied to bottled water and fruit juices. The soft drinks industry has been beleaguered by tax woes for a number of years, specifically in regard to the 21% VAT on bottled water and fruit juice.

“A reduction in the VAT rate from 21% to 13.5% would reduce the retail price of bottled water and fruit juice by 6% – a saving which our members are committed to passing on in full to consumers,” said Bernard Murphy, BCI Executive Director.

“What we’re asking for is a level playing field across the non-alcoholic drinks categories. How can you reasonably argue that bottled water is an extravagance which should be taxed at 21%, while a non-indigenous luxury item like coffee is a necessary food group with no VAT added at all?”

Meanwhile, the BCI has appointed a new President. John Galvin, Managing Director of John J. Galvin & Son Ltd, Listowel, Co. Kerry, was elected to the position for a two-year term at the BCI’s Annual Conference in Kildare. During his Presidency, Galvin plans to increase the BCI’s level of service to members, reinforcing its role as an innovative representative voice of the beverage industry in Ireland.

Alcohol Sales Fall ALCOHOL sales dropped 7% in the first eight months of 2008, and are down 14% in August, compared to the same month last year, according to excise receipts from the Revenue Commissioners. The Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) have attributed this to a sharp decline in consumption levels – due to a weakening economy and a high cost base for alcohol producers and retailers.

“We’re being hit by the double whammy of high costs and a weakening economy,” said Michael Patten, DIGI Chairman (pictured). “This is worrying news for jobs in the domestic alcohol manufacturers in particular and for the traditional high-employment retail sector.”

John Galvin, the new President of the BCI.

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Retailers Competing on Own Brands COMPETITION amongst Irish retail’s heaviest hitters is focusing on the own brand sector, a new survey reveals. The latest National Consumer Agency (NCA) grocery price report covers branded and own brand goods across multiples, symbol groups and discounters, revealing a narrowing in the price difference between multiples and discounters, Aldi and Lidl.

According to the survey, multiples are competing with discounters in the realm of own brand goods due to “increased publicity around lower prices offered by the discounters, influencing price conscious consumers to split their baskets and seek out best value”. The report surveyed Dunnes Stores, Superquinn, Tesco, Supervalu, Spar, Centra, EUROSPAR, Aldi and Lidl, finding that consumers require increased competition amongst branded goods.

“There is evidence that the price gap

Ann Fitzgerald, Chief Executive of the National Consumer Agency.

between the multiples on a basket of 72 branded goods is tightening, with only 0.3% difference between Tesco, Dunnes and Superquinn in August, compared to 1.02% in December 2007,” said Ann

New Battery Recycling Legislation “There is strong conRETAILERS who sell sensus in support of batteries are now promoting a culture required to take waste of recycling in Ireland batteries under new regand we are confident ulations. As part of the that this can be new EU Waste Battery achieved through Directive, smaller retailongoing collaboration ers will receive a frontand co-operation of-shop collection box, among manufacturwhile larger outlets will ers, retailers and the be provided with barrels general public. to allow for collection.

“All our members Ireland is one of the first will apply the regulafour countries in Europe tions, which will con- along with Spain, Martin Tobin, General tribute greatly Finland and Austria - to Manager of European Recycling Platform, and towards meeting the implement the new Pippa O’Connor gear up target of recycling directive, as part of the for the EU Waste Battery 25% of all batteries European Recycling Directive. placed on the market Platform (ERP). by 2012 and 45% by 2016. We “This directive represents an imporbelieve it is possible to make this tant step forward for the retailers and happen through our collective consumers of Ireland,” said Torlach efforts.”

Denihan, Director, Retail Ireland.

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Fitzgerald, Chief Executive of the NCA. The NCA discovered that a basket of own brand goods, at Tesco, Dunnes Stores, Aldi and Lidl, increased in price between December 2007 and August 2008, yet all the retailers decreased from June to August this year. The largest decrease was evident from Tesco, with a drop of 4.48% from June to August 2008.

“While the multiples have increased the number of special offers and promotions over recent months, we are not seeing a long term drop in the prices of the staple branded goods in our basket across any of the retailers,” said Ann Fitzgerald. “We would urge consumers to exercise caution when taking advantage of special offers as they can often be for discretionary goods, rather than the staples that make up the weekly shop. Our advice is to draw up a shopping list and not be unduly swayed by promotions and special offers.”

Food Prices Fall NEW CSO figures reveal a 0.4% fall in the cost of food prices in August, compared to July. Products that fell in price included eggs, flour, tea, butter and meat products. Meanwhile, cereals, fruit juice and cooking oils increased.

C&C Sells Findlater Grants C&C has sold its distribution arm FindlaterGrants to DCC for about €9.6m. According to a report in the Irish Independent, “DCC expected to generate significant cost and revenue benefits from combining FindlaterGrants with its Woodford Bourne wine distribution division”. Meanwhile, C&C Chief Executive Maurice Pratt resigned from his position following the poor performance of their Magners brand in the UK.

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Retail Market to Become Saturated?

THE overall retail market in Ireland will be saturated by 2015 if all developments in the pipeline proceed as planned. This conclusion was reached by UK marketing analyst CACI, having surveyed consumer spend in 381 retail destinations in the 12 months leading up to August 2008.

The analysis covered shopping centres such as Belfast’s Victoria Square and Dublin’s Liffey Valley, and while predicting growth in centres in other cities like Waterford, Cork and Wexford, it said that a further 1.6m square metres is planned, leading to a potential oversaturation of the market.

Nielsen Harrap, Principal Consultant in Location Strategy at CACI, who headed the research, told RETAIL NEWS that the grocery market in Ireland still has plenty of opportunity.

“There are a lot more convenience based operators, so there is a lot more

maturity available in the market, certainly when you compare it to Great Britain.

It’s more like Great Britain was 30 years ago. I don’t think there will be saturation in the grocery market: it operates very differently.

With the amount of population growth, that will always need to be serviced.”

Nevertheless, larger retailers should take note of the research.

“Fundamentally, retailers need to understand that the market is a lot tougher and it is going to get tougher over the coming years. A predicted population spend growth is encouraging for Ireland, placing the country in a better position than others in terms of riding out the current economic crisis. With such a huge amount of retail space, it is important for retailers and property investors to differentiate their offer and think about the experience they are offering consumers.”

Tesco’s Irish Support TESCO’S position in Ireland is further cemented with the release of a new study, revealing the benefits of the retail giant to the Irish economy. The study, carried out by independent group Indecon Economic Consultants, found that the retailer exports €655m of Irish food to its overseas stores every year.

Furthermore, the retailer is worth €2.5 billion to the economy every year and employs around 27,000, in both direct and indirect capacities.

One such benefactor is Dublin Meath Growers (DMG) at Kilshane Cross, Co. Dublin, which has been supplying Tesco Ireland with fresh produce for the past 11 years, growing its turnover from €3m to €30m in the process. “And most importantly in these challenging economic times, the number of people working here has increased from 25 to 80, with 12 new jobs added during the past year,” Tesco Ireland marketing director Kenny Jacobs recently told the Irish Examiner.

Appointment at Safefood DERMOT Moriarty has been appointed Marketing & Communications Manager with safefood.

Dermot will facilitate the development and implementation of safefood’s communications strategies, which involves the promotion and understanding of core food safety and nutrition messages among consumers on the island of Ireland.

Specifically, Dermot will manage the Advertising, Public Relations and Market Research functions. Dermot has worked with safefood since February 2006, formerly as Communications Executive with the organisation.

Planning Issues THE environment is at the forefront of retail minds this month, as Tesco Ireland has opened its first “eco” store in Tramore, County Waterford. The 30,000 square feet outlet uses 45% less energy than equivalent supermarkets, using high levels of insulation throughout the building.

The outlet also recycles over 70% of the heat used in the store’s ventilation system, saving 420 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum, a 30% annual reduction, in the process. Lighting costs are minimised via skylights and solar panels power the cash registers. An environmentally friendly carbon dioxide refrigeration system is used in all fridges and freezers, using 15% less energy than a conventional system.

“As a business, we are committed to reducing our environmental impact and last year we set ourselves a number of goals, including a 50% reduction in carbon use by 2020,” said Dermot Breen, Director of Corporate Affairs. “The programme also includes an investment of €30m in environmental measures throughout our business.”

Tesco’s expansion continues apace, with the opening of its first hypermarket in Belfast, located in Knocknagoney in east Belfast. An attempt to open a store in Banbridge, however, has been rejected by local authorities.

Meanwhile, across the water, the discounter Aldi is planning on opening 200 stores in London, capitalising on its popularity during the current time of economic woe.

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Winning Streak Dream Ticket DERMOT Griffin, Chief Executive, National Lottery, is pictured with TV presenters Aidan Power and Kathryn Thomas at the launch of Winning Streak Dream Ticket, the new scratch card and TV game-show from the National Lottery. The Winning Streak Dream Ticket Scratch Card gives players three ways to win super prizes – instantly on the Scratch Card, on the TV game-show and by collecting the letters D-R-E-A-M from the Scratch Card. Players can win instant cash prizes on Winning Streak Dream Ticket Scratch Cards ranging from €5 to an amazing €100,000.

Superquinn Raises Over €40k for Barretstown PICTURED are volunteer staff from Superquinn Sutton: Liam Farrell, baker, Nadine Preston, Gordon O' Connor, Manager, Gillian Mc Mahon and Joe Cole (baker). Superquinn’s first major fundraising initiative for Barretstown, as part of its three year partnership with the charity, was a huge success, as the retailer successfully raised over €40,000 between its 24 stores around the country. The Superquinn national Family Fun Day featured face painters and entertainers, special Barretstown cakes baked

by Superquinn’s expert bakers, samples of the famous Superquinn sausages, and volunteers with collection boxes to take donations from shoppers.

Topaz Signs Up with Fairtrade Coffee PETER Gaynor, Executive Director of Fairtrade Ireland, Danny Murray, CEO of Topaz and Frank Gleeson, Retail Director of Topaz, are pictured at the announcement that Fairtrade coffee will now be available through the Topaz network, in one of the country’s largest ever Fairtrade deals, where four million cups of coffee will be sold every year. The order – for 30 tonnes of coffee beans a year - is one of the largest orders ever secured through Fairtrade and will directly benefit local producers in Brazil.

New Managing Director for Mace BWG Group has announced the appointment of Willie O’Byrne to the newly created position of Managing Director for Mace. In his new role, O’Byrne will be responsible for the newly expanded Mace operation in Ireland – following BWG’s acquisition of Mangans Wholesale earlier this year. In total, he will manage over 290 convenience stores throughout Ireland, encompassing both Mace and Vivo brands.

O’Byrne joins BWG from O2 Ireland, where he was Head of Wholesale Business. Prior to that, he held senior positions with Transaer, Irish Distillers and BWG, where he was Cash & Carry Director in the mid-1990s.

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Special K Diet Survey PICTURED are (l-r): Kellogg’s Special K Brand Manager Nicola Samons and model Nicole Pickering at the launch of the Kellogg’s Special K Diet Survey. The study, commissioned by Kellogg’s Special K and conducted by Lansdowne Market Research, reveals that men and women have very different approaches when it comes to managing their shape.

Irish women who are dieting tend to count calories, while Irish men focus on the fat content of what they eat and are more concerned with the medical implications of their diet.

Clearly the message that people who eat low fat breakfast cereals tend to be slimmer than those who don’t is hitting home with more people claiming to eat breakfast while dieting (88%) than when not dieting (78%).

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October08Industry News

The Sunday Times Sponsors Tubridy Tonight THE Sunday Times, one of Ireland’s top selling Sunday newspapers, is the sponsor of the current season of Tubridy Tonight. The Sunday Times, which has 343,000 readers every week, is the second most read Sunday broadsheet in the Irish marketplace (Source: JNRS Figures, July 2007 to June 2008). The publication recently underwent a complete redesign, incorporating new modern typefaces, colour coding of individual sections and an expanded comments section.

Pictured are (l-r): Oliver Keeneghan, GM of News International; Ryan Tubridy; and Emma Daly, Mindshare.

Superquinn Supplier Named Lamb Producer of the Year 2008 MICHAEL Doyle, a long time supplier of Quality Assured lamb to Superquinn, has won the prestigious Bord Bia ‘Lamb Producer of the Year Award 2008’. Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Trevor Sargent TD presented the award to Michael at the recent Bord Bia awards ceremony in City West Hotel, Dublin. Michael is pictured with his award, alongside Aidan Cotter, Chief Executive, Bord Bia; Minister of State, Department of Agriculture and Food, Trevor Sargent TD; Geraldine Doyle and Liam O'Neill, Irish Farmers Journal.

Irish Pride Sponsors Q102’s Breakfast Show THE More Music Breakfast, the hugely popular breakfast show on Dublin radio station Q102, has secured a 12-month sponsorship deal with Irish Pride, the second largest bakery company in the Republic of Ireland. Claire McTigue, Marketing Manger with Irish Pride, said, “We are delighted to be sponsoring the More Music Breakfast Show on Q102. We believe that the fun and entertaining style of the show is a very good fit with our brand and we hope that the sponsorship will raise the profile of our brand within the Dublin market.” Dave Harrington and Debbie Allen, presenters of The More Music Breakfast, are pictured with Declan Heavy from Irish Pride.

Musgrave Retail Partners Sell €12.5m in Coffee

NSAI Keeping an Eye on Security Industry

MUSGRAVE Retail Partners has announced that it will sell €12.5m worth of coffee this year, representing sales of 160,000 cups of coffee in its SuperValu and Centra stores each week. The company has also announced that approximately 70% of these sales will comprise of Fairtrade coffee, following a deal to award its ‘Hot Beverages to Go’ contract for its SuperValu and Centra stores to Irish coffee supplier, Bewley’s. Centra Good to Go Fairtrade coffee is being rolled out to over 200 stores initially, while SuperValu Fairtrade coffee will be unveiled in stores across the country towards the end of the year. Jim Corbett, MD, Bewley’s and Donal Horgan, MD, Musgrave Retail Partners Ireland, are pictured at the contract announcement.

PICTURED at launch of the new certification programme for CCTV installers at NSAI (National Standards Authority of Ireland) head office in Santry, is Maurice Buckley, CEO, NSAI. At the event, Buckley said NSAI will be targeting the €350m security industry sector and its growing demand for technical standards, with the roll-out of training programmes, standards and certifications for the industry. “CCTV is deemed to be a vital tool in the prevention and detection of crime. There have been expressions of concern that many CCTV videos are inadmissible in court due to poor quality or because of inadequate installation. We believe that the programmes launched today will go a long way to help alleviate this problem by introducing CCTV installers to a certification process which requires assessment against best practices,” said Buckley.

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Shop Profile

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Page 1

Profile

Centra Stars in Central Park The stunning new 2,800 square feet Centra store forms the centrepiece of the incredible new development at Central Park, Sandyford, Dublin 18.

The

brand new Centra in Central Park in Sandyford, Dublin 18, is a stunning development, incorporating the latest Centra branding, services and innovations. The Central Park development consists of both office space and apartments, with the new Centra store forming the centrepiece of the development.

Owners Hugh Hunt and Shane Horrigan identified the tremendous potential in the site and knew a Centra store would not only be an ideal feature on the site, but would help them realise the full potential of the site and their business plan.

Hugh and Shane opened their first Centra store in Wicklow in 2005 on the main street. Working with the Centra team at Musgrave Retail Partners Ireland, their first business grew quickly. However, with both men living in Dublin, they always had a plan to expand and open a shop closer to home. Their successful and strong working relationship with Musgrave ensured their second store was also opened under the Centra banner.

Hugh tells RETAIL NEWS, “We are both local to this area and we had been looking around for an opportunity to open a second shop. When we found this location, it was originally divided into two units, one earmarked for a shop and the other for a pub or restaurant. Shane and I did not want to do anything by half measures and we wanted both units, in order to have enough space to develop the state-of-the-art convenience store you see here today.”

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One of the two store owners, Hugh Hunt, is pictured outside the new Centra.

Bright Ideas for Everyday Living The store owners had both seen the new Centra look and feel, which was unveiled at the Centra conference in Killarney and were suitably impressed.

“From then on, there was no doubt that our next shop would be a Centra and that it would look just as good if not better than what we saw at Conference. Centra is seen by the consumer as bright and energetic and very much in tune with the demands of their busy, modern lifestyles, which was reflected in the new brand imagery and communications. The ‘Bright Ideas for Everyday Living’ concept shaped everything around the brand,” explains Hugh.

“Once we were able to secure both units, we knew we were on the way and had made the right choice with Centra.”

A little under three months after the lease was signed and keys exchanged, the new shop was ready for business.

“The design team from Centra was absolutely fantastic,” enthuses Hugh. “Shane and myself had decided to invest

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significantly in this project. When you’re making that big an investment, it’s very reassuring to have a lot of support and expertise backing you up. It was extremely exciting watching the shop come together, especially considering how radically different the new Centra image looks compared to previous incarnations.”

Focus on Food-To-Go RETAIL NEWS has already reviewed the latest Centra package on a couple of prior occasions, yet it gets no less impressive with repeated viewings: not just because of how well the new branding looks, but because of the almost bewildering array of services that the latest package provides for ‘Good to Go’ hot and cold food sales.

Hugh explains that, “Given our location, we chose to focus on food-to-go rather than pure grocery sales. The new package suits our business plan perfectly. We deliberately kept the deli area large and introduced additional freestanding units, providing additional food-to-go. The deli offers panninis, wraps, smoothies, wokery and pizza, alongside sandwiches and rolls. We also have hot and cold freestanding self-service units. We are the first Centra with the new image to have the freestanding hot self-service unit.

“The hot and cold freestanding units offer a full breakfast offering in the morning; with a buffet style breakfast laid out on the hot unit, which is proving very popular,” he continues. “However, the cold offering is also proving increasingly popular and a real winner with customers looking for a healthier choice for their morning meal, as it has cereal, fruit, honey, yogurt etc.”

Profile

Lunchtime sees the food offerings in the freestanding units change radically, however, with pasta, curry dishes etc. on offer from the hot plate and healthier options from the cold unit. “If you list off all the different types of food we can offer customers, then you will find something for everybody,” Hugh boasts. “We have everything from sushi to sausage roles.”

Hugh and Shane have already established contracts with many of companies located at Central Park, offering top quality catering for business breakfasts or lunches.

They have also discovered how strong demand is for impromptu office parties: cava and sparkling wines are de rigueur for staff celebrations, alongside strong sales of adult snacks, such as gourmet crisps and nut selections.

As yet, the Central Park development has not completed many residential units. As a result, the shop has only a small grocery section for such a large unit. According to Hugh, “We will be keeping an eye on how the area develops.

When there are more residential units and the extension to the LUAS line is finished, we may need to provide a larger grocery offering. However, for the moment, a strong focus on grocery would not suit the sales pattern here.”

The Right Staff According to Hugh, the final element in their store plan is ensuring they have the right staff: “Centra is very strong on providing training and focusing on top quality customer service. Both Shane and myself see it as a priority, as well.

After all the time and attention paid to developing the latest package from Centra, it could all be let down so easily by rude or poorly trained staff. We regularly take advantage of Centra training courses to keep our staff up to the incredibly high standards set by the Musgrave retail training team.”

Central Park is a cutting edge development. Hugh and Shane Horrigan’s Centra is every bit as cutting edge, incorporating all of the latest developments in groFA C T F I L E cery retail, to proOwner: Hugh Hunt & Shane Horrigan duce a store that Location: Central Park, Sandyford not only looks Size: 2,800 square feet fantastic but Number of provides the Staff: 15 full time & part time two retailers Opening with everything hours: 06:30-21:00, Mondaythey need to build a successful busiFriday;08:00-18:00, Saturday. ness into the future.

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Drinks News.

15/10/2008

10:02

October08Drinks

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News

Tipperary Water Hits the Saddle PICTURED at the launch of the Sean Kelly Tour of Waterford are (l-r): Billy Cashin, Tipperary Water Regional Sales Manager, New Ross, and cycling legend Seán Kelly. This was the second year of the Seán Kelly Tour of Waterford, where Tipperary Water quenched the thirst of the almost 2,000 leisure cyclists who signed up for this great event. Almost every county in Ireland was represented, while this year also saw a huge increase in overseas entries, including those from the UK, Europe, the US and Canada. The tour is part of a wider objective which aims to make County Waterford an extremely cycle-friendly place to visit at any time of year.

Caribbean Flavour at Cois Fharraige DESPITE the bad weather, model Lorraine Turner did not let the rain put her off as she enjoyed a bit of the Caribbean at the Malibu 'Get Your Island On' bar, new to this year’s Cois Fharraige festival, which took place in Kilkee, Co. Clare, recently. Travis, Supergrass, The Zutons and The Futureheads are just some of the acts who played at Ireland's number one surf and music festival this year.

Diageo to Build WorldClass Brewery in Leixlip DIAGEO Ireland has entered into agreements to acquire a 73-acre greenfield site in Leixlip, Co. Kildare, with the intention to build a new state-ofthe art brewery. The proposed site has important historical links to Arthur Guinness and his first brewery. This development represents the next stage of the €650m capital investment in its brewing operations in Ireland announced

by Diageo Plc in May 2008. It is anticipated that the new brewery will be completed by 2013 and will be called the Arthur Guinness Brewery. Once commissioned, the new brewery - in conjunction with the remodelled St James’s Gate brewery - will transform Diageo Ireland’s current brewing operations into a two-brewery centre of excellence to support the growth and development of its domestic and global beer business.

Absolut Vodka Moves to Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard IRISH Distillers Pernod Ricard has assumed total marketing and distribution responsibilities for Absolut Vodka since October 1, 2008. This transfer in Ireland follows on from the recent announcement of the early termination of global distribution by Maxxium, of Absolut. The addition of Absolut will complement the Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard portfolio of vodkas (Huzzar, Wyborowa, Zubrowka) and will greatly strengthen the company’s position in the dynamic vodka category where it has outperformed the market in 2008.

€5m Irish Marketing Campaign for Jameson IRISH Distillers Pernod Ricard has launched a major €5m marketing drive in support of the company’s flagship brand, Jameson. The campaign encapsulates the charismatic and confident personality of Jameson by evoking the inherent witty attitude of the Irish, with the slogan, “It’s a Jameson Thing”. The integrated campaign will include advertising on outdoor, on-line, national press and premium lifestyle print. Additional media such as 3D special 48-sheets and new ‘metropole’ sites will be used to further enhance the campaign.

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Bulmers International Comedy Festival

PICTURED at the hugely successful Bulmers International Comedy Festival, which took place in Dublin recently, are Barry Moran, Bulmers, David Chalke, and Marcus Goodwin, Bulmers.

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Pen RetailNews 307x220.indd 1

14/10/2008 12:20:38

On the Vine

RN

15/10/2008

October08On

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The Vine

Putting the Sparkle into Sales Despite the economic outlook, consumers still want to celebrate life’s occasions, usually with a glass of bubbly, writes wine correspondent Jean Smullen.

One

of the key features of the economic boom was the huge increase in sales of Champagne and sparkling wines in Ireland. As spending increased, sales of sparkling wines surged and this wine style became more of an everyday drink, rather than a drink only for special occasions. The year long credit crunch has changed all that and as the latest Wine Board figures to May 2008 show that sales of Champagne and Sparkling wine dropped by 13.3% to May 2008, with the overall MAT figures from May 2007 v May 2008 showing a total decrease of 1.5%.

During the boom times, Champagne in particular was very hard to get because many of the big Champagne houses offered their premium products to their Irish importers on an allocation basis. The good news is that these wines are no longer on allocation because of the slowdown in the US, UK and Far East markets, and therefore there is now more available in Ireland.

However, what people should remember is that while the good times do not last forever, neither do the lean times. We can anticipate that before too long, the markets will recover and once again the consumer will start spending. One of the keys to selling Champagne and Sparkling wine is the fact that it has long been used as a celebratory drink. The average consumer will still have occasions to celebrate, such as weddings, christenings, graduations, engagements and promotions, so the retailer must

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remember that people will still want to buy something to celebrate these milestones, and that will usually involve a wine with bubbles.

That said, this cool wet summer of 2008 has impacted on the harvest and many of the Champagne houses are predicting a substantially lower yield this year. However, the French wine region of Champagne is trying to combat the lower yield, with a change in the wine law, which will allow them to increase their overall production levels over the coming years, by extending the areas where the grapes are permitted to grow.

Good Value Sparkling Wines The New World wine-makers have also jumped at the chance to make sparkling wines and some of the best value is currently to be found in the Southern Hemisphere, from countries like Australia, who are fast becoming the source of well made affordable sparkling wines for everyday occasions.

A good example of this wine style is Green Point, which is distributed in Ireland by Edward Dillon & Co. This wine is made by Domaine Chandon and is produced in Coldstream in Victoria. The style is dry and the wine is made using methode champenoise from 47% Chardonnay, 51% Pinot Noir and 2% Pinot Meunier. Sparkling wines, which are dominated by Pinot Noir, tend to have a drier, crisper style, and this is no exception. They also have a

Krug Grand Cuvee: a bold, confident Champagne that balances richness and power, freshness and finesse.

new innovation closure called a crown seal, which looks like a beer bottle cap. Crown seal is the Stelvin closure for sparkling wine (similar to the screw cap in still wine) and is one of the latest innovations from the New World. Expect more big news from Domain Chandon by the summer of 2009.

Another great Australian sparkling wine style comes from Jacob's Creek, which is distributed in Ireland by Irish Distillers/Pernod Ricard. Their RosĂŠ version is perhaps one of the best value sparkling wines currently on the Irish market.

Gilbey's Wines also have a stunning sparkler from New Zealand called Miru Miru, a Pinot/Chardonnay blend made in New Zealand by Jane Hunter. Miru

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Miru means bubbles in Maori and this Pinot/Chardonnay blend is aged on its lees for two years.

But value is not only to be found from the New World, European sparkling wine styles are also leading the way, with Cava from Spain, Prosecco from Italy and Sekt from Germany also offering great value, especially now with the consumer being much more cost conscious about what they spend.

Champagnes One of the biggest selling Champagnes on the Irish market is Moet & Chandon, which is distributed

by Edward Dillon, who also sell Veuve Clicquot, and Krug. These are big names from the Champagne world and are ‘must haves’ on any shelf.

This November, Moet & Chandon will be launching their Moet Grand Vintage 2003, which is the 68th from the house. This is a powerful wine. Its maturity is very apparent. Deep and structured, the Grant Vintage 2003 is a blend of 43% Pinot Meunier; 29% Pinot Noir and 28% Chardonnay. The wines comes from an extraordinary year and for those who wish to celebrate Christmas 2008 in style, no matter how gloomy the news, this is the wine to do it with.

Another Champagne worth a look comes from the house of Bruno Paillard, which is now distributed

by High Spirits Wine Company.

Bruno Paillard started his business in 1981, when he created his own Champagne House at the age of 27 by selling his old MK2 Jaguar to raise the capital. In the Champagne region, there had been no new house for over a century. However, the wines of Bruno Paillard soon caused a stir. In 1988 Hugh Johnson gave the wine a high rating, which created greater awareness within the wine world, and today the company sells 500,000 bottles annually.

family since 1819, Louis Roederer is today one of the last major Champagne Houses to be an independent family affair. The annual production of its range of wines (Brut Premier, Brut Vintage, Brut Rose, Blanc de Blanc and the world famous Cristal) represents almost 3m bottles.

Roederer is a family company. They own many of their own vineyards and their philosophy is that as a family company, they like to deal with family companies, which would explain why they have had a 45-year relationship with the Searson family.

Searsons Wine Merchants have been the sole distributor of Louis Roederer Champagne since Frank Searson sealed the deal with a handshake all those years ago. His son Charles, who now runs the business, has an equally strong relationship with Frederic Rouzaud, who took over the company from his father in January 2006.

Cristal, which is now one of the best know Champagnes in the world, was in fact “the world's first luxury cuvee”, having been produced at the request of Tsar Alexander II in 1817.

This supremely fine, elegant wine is dominated by chardonnay grown in Roederer's enviably well-located vineyards. At a recent tasting lunch in Gordon Ramsey's restaurant at the

Louis Roederer Finally, we turn to one of the most famous of all the champagnes, the house of Louis Roederer. Founded in 1776, and the property of the same

One of the biggest selling Champagnes on the Irish market: Moet & Chandon.

The Vine

Ritz Carlton in Powerscourt, we tried a range of the Roederer Champagne styles with a very impressive tasting menu. It proves that Champagne can be recommended as an accompaniment to all food styles.

The outstanding wine was the Vintage 1996 Cristal. 1996 was one of the greatest of all champagne vintages and this wine was sublime.

Cristal retails at just over €200 a bottle but everyone knows the name. This is a mighty serious wine in its own right but it elevates the wine Jacob's Creek style, because it Sparkling Rosé: one creates a broadof the best value er recognition. sparkling wines Within the currently on the Irish market.

Louis Roederer range are a slew of wonderful wines. The Brut Premier retails at about €50 a bottle and as premium champagne goes, this is definitely worth stocking. Made from a high proportion of oak-aged reserve wines, this Pinot Noir dominated nonvintage blend manages to combine complexity and balance with freshness and verve. As with all great champagnes, the aromas are complex and underpinned by hazelnut and brioche.

Champagne is a serious wine which does not take itself too seriously and in these straitened times, it is worth remembering that people still want to enjoy life and the occasional treats. Whether you look to Champagne or New World sparkling wines, the retailer should remember that these are worth stocking because the customer will still celebrate life’s big occasions, usually with a glass of bubbly.

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Karen Meenan's Top Tips

15/10/2008

October08Karen

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Meenan’s Top Tips

Season’s Greetings Retail consultant Karen Meenan advises on understanding the seasonal nature of the Newsagency, with some top tips on autumnal sellers.

On

your magazine stand, the seasons should be considered to give your customers a different offering at each turning point of the year – even if the changes you make are small and barely noticeable. When you define the seasons on your magazine stand, you will be giving a subliminal message to your customer that you are aware of the changing nature of their interests throughout the year. And in so doing, you are creating more opportunities for extra sales: welcome news in recessionary times.

Now it is autumn, children are back to school, colleges have re-opened and the hour will go back at the end of this month to give us another long awaited “extra hour” in bed.

titles, which you probably never ordered. However, there is a reason for this. Crafters are 99% female, usually middle aged, so if you have that profile of customer, then you can create a new sub-sector on your stand which is wholly attractive to them.

Interest in crafts and crafting is bigger than you think – the knitting and stitching show in the RDS has an enormous following with loyal crafters, who often arrive home with arms full of magazines which they cannot buy in their local shop. Why? Because you won’t stock these titles for them - you see these titles as “boxouts” and return full parcels of magazines unopened, so you never got a chance to find out if any of these titles would actually sell in your store.

Knitting, in particular, is the craft to watch. The media is buzzing with knitting related stories – there are knitting supplements in broadsheet newspapers; Julia Roberts has been signed up to star in The Friday Night Knitters Club; Nestlé have used grannies knitting Shreddies in a clever TV ad campaign; and Innocent Smoothies are just about to launch their annual Big Knit – knitted hats

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for their smoothie bottles with part of the profit going to Help the Aged.

Knitting magazines have grown by 94% since last year – so stock up with knitting titles and watch them sell!

Needlecraft is the longest established and the second biggest sub-sector in the craft category. The majority of titles are cross stitching – some of which have been around for over 15 years – the number one title is Cross Stitcher.

The largest sub-category is Craft – it has a 58% share of the market and the time to sell Craft magazines is now. In a recession, statistics prove that home-made presents increase, all under the guise that “I thought about what to buy you and then I thought that you mean so much to me that I made it for you instead...”

Gift-Making

Autumnal Sellers So what magazines are your customers buying in the autumn season? Crafts are very popular now: you might have noticed that you have been getting deliveries of knitting and stitching

Simply Knitting, hugely popular with craft aficionados.

PaperCraft Inspirations, the bestselling title in the growing papercraft sector.

So over the next two months, you will see lots of newspaper articles and TV programmes about how special it would be if you made gifts instead of buying them this year. Of course, the truth is that we have maxed out on our credit cards and are up to our ears in personal debt, but that is not the point: we are staying in anyway because we

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Karen Meenan's Top Tips

15/10/2008

October08Karen

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Meenan’s Top Tips

the spring – this time to prepare for Valentine’s Day, Mothers Day and Easter. These peak issues are usually the ones with the best gifts displayed on the covers. Covermounts are very important in this sub-category, so please ensure that you merchandise these titles with a full facing to maximise the sales opportunity.

You can replace this sub-category with Sports or Gardening in spring, when the hour goes forward again and we change our hobbies and interests and you, our local retailer, are gearing up for another seasonal opportunity on the magazine stand.

Cross Stitcher, the number one title in the needlecraft sector.

cannot afford to go out, so we may as well pass the time making gifts!

So watch for an increase through your letter-box this year of homemade Christmas Cards. The growing interest in card-making has been reflected by the launch of many successful paper-crafting magazines.

The market leader in this sector is PaperCraft Inspirations. An interesting development in the crafting sector is the growth of highvalue titles. You Can Craft, with a price point of over €10, offers a complete package to your customer across a variety of crafts and allows you 25% gross margin! A seasonal title with a high value is music to any retailer’s ears!

Maximise the sales opportunity by locating these titles next to Women’s lifestyle magazines (Essentials, Prima) and remember that crafters don’t cross purchase. These customers knit, sew or make papercrafts – so make sure to stock the best sellers in each of these categories. The best time for sales is the run-up to Christmas with another little lift in

Match Attax WWE Slam Attax High School Musical FA Premier League Scottish Premier League

Seasonality of Children’s Titles There are seasons in the newsagency for children too. The peak time for collecting is during term-time, when school-yard crazes drive children (particularly boys) into your stores asking for collector cards such as Match Attax. Remember last year when the biggest problem was actually getting your hands on stock?

For retailers to make the most of collectables, it’s important to understand that these are crazes – kids will buy packets week after week until the collection is complete. And kids are persistent. They will keep asking if you have Match Attax – daily – so get stocked up now to meet the demands head-on. You don’t even have to see many kids in your shop to sell Match Attax: research shows that 66% of purchases were made by parents.

Adults see these collectables as lowcost rewards for good behaviour in the mode of “treats not sweets”.

During the last phase of Match Attax, much was made in the media here in Ireland of the social aspect of collector cards. Last year, kids put down their PSP and Nintendo DS games and actually played with each other, swapping cards and comparing

The phenomenally popular Match Attax series.

albums. There are free promotional posters provided by Topps in each display box: use this poster in your window to highlight to the children in your neighbourhood that you are listening to them and you have what they want in stock in your shop.

Topps had another collector series last year called WWE which, following the success of Match Attax, is being re-launched in October as the WWE Slam Attax trading card game.

Merchandise the starter pack beside boys’ comics to gain extra sales.

For the girls, High School Musical 3, the third film in these incredibly successful Disney phenomenon, is about to be released so watch for a sticker collection – High School Musical 3 to follow this film launch too.

Top Crafts Titles Cross Stitcher

About the Author RETAIL consultant Karen Meenan runs her own consultancy business, Results Training & Marketing, focusing on net profit and how to maximise profit for the retailer. For more information, contact Karen on 086 6027711 or by email kmeenan@eircom.net.

Results Training & Marketing When Results Really Matter

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Top Collector Series

World of Cross Stitch Simply Knitting Papercraft Inspirations Card Making and Papercraft You Can Craft Crafts Beautiful

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Collectibles

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Industry Overview

The Collectables Craze Licensed collectables can mean big business for retailers, with Topps launching three massive titles over the coming months.

Currently

, magazine sales are falling as consumers feel the effects of the credit crunch. However, licensed collectables are bucking the trend, with sales showing consistent increases, so much so that many wholesalers are focusing heavily on collectables in their future strategies. This is clearly an area where there is money to be made.

The success of licensed products is driven by fast moving trends and Topps takes full advantage of the hottest properties around. Premier League Match Attax, High School Musical and WWE Slam Attax all promise to huge properties moving into 2009 and Topps will be launching new trading card collections for each of these in October.

Massive Opportunity For retailers to make the most of these opportunities, it is important to understand that collectables are crazes and that kids will buy packets week after week until they finish their collection. Therefore, retailers must ensure they have plenty of stock on display for the lifetime of the collection.

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Match Attax has proved a massive success with boys, and retailers should ensure they have plenty of stock on display for the lifetime of the collection.

By having stock in a prominent location in the store, a retailer becomes the destination for collectables – kids will go back every week to find the cards or stickers they still need, and when a new product is launched, they will go there as they know it will be on the counter.

But it isn’t enough to just have the stock; collectors need to know about it. Retailers should make sure display boxes are visible on or behind the counter, and make use of the free promotional posters provided in each display box.

There are additional, auxiliary products in collections that are fantastic revenue drivers. Albums and starter packs should be stocked and offered to kids who come into buy cards or stickers. In the case of Match Attax, there’s also a collector guide that can be placed next to football magazines like Kick, Match and Match of the Day. The primary market for collectables is boys aged 7-12 years.

However, collectables are a low value, high reward product and research shows that 66% of purchases are made by parents and gift givers, usually on impulse. This demonstrates how parents are

responding to promotional items and displays of collectables when they visit a retailer to purchase other items. This clearly emphasises the importance of making collections highly visible on shop counters.

To p p s P ro d u c t s a n d Launches The most popular sporting events in 2008 and into 2009 will continue to be the FA Premier League and WWE. The most popular film is predicted to be High School Musical 3, which will build on the phenomenal success of the first two films.

In response to these events and trends, Topps Europe Limited has launched its new WWE Slam Attax collection, the much anticipated second Match Attax collection, followed by the Merlin’s Premier League Sticker Collection 08/09 in December 2008. High School Musical 3 game cards and collector tins will be available from November 2008, shortly after the film’s release.

Retailers should make sure they maximise the sale or return opportunity of the year with all three SKUs – cards, starter packs and collector guides.

Pat The Baker

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Wishing GALA a very happy

10th birthday Congratulations to Gala on 10 years of success from

Gala 10th Anniversary

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10th Anniversary

Phenomenal Decade for Gala Gala celebrates its 10th year in business with a busy year of activity.

As

one of Ireland’s fastest growing convenience retailers of the last decade, Gala has had a phenomenal 10th year in business. Ranging from increased store numbers, to a healthy uplift in sales and incorporating the Group’s first-ever TV sponsorship, the year has certainly been a Gala event.

Substantial Marketing In April, Gala announced its plans to renew its title sponsorship of the Gala All-Ireland Camogie Championships in a six-figure deal. The partnership with the Camogie Association has been extremely successful for the Group, as many of its 200 stores’ customers, family and employees play the sport. The award-winning sponsorship celebrates one of Ireland’s most played female sports and its set to grow and grow. This year, Cork were victorious and were crowned the Gala All-Ireland Senior Camogie Champions, while Clare’s determination and commitment to the game witnessed the team picking up the Junior title.

lent return on investment and furthering building the Gala brand.

Downtown at Gala A key aspect of the Group’s biggest-ever year in terms of marketing is the new series of Gala radio ads for 2008.

‘Downtown’ by Petula Clark was chosen as the theme due to its timeless qualities. A modern take of the old classic was remixed and tailored Kiernan’s Gala, Store of the Year winners (l-r): specifically to support each of Derek Mooney, Gallagher’s; Gary Desmond, Gala’s planned marketing CEO, Gala; Regina and Paul Kiernan, Kiernan’s Gala, Winners of the Gala Store of the activities. The ad has gained Year; Liam Peters, Chairman, Gala; with MC momentum and has been widefor the evening, Caroline Morahan. ly hailed by retailers as a resounding success, due to substantial from across the country, who were positive customer feedback instantly the proud new owners of one of five Volkswagen Comfortline Polos or luxury breaks to The Algarve. In Take Ten with Gala addition, Gala’s four key partners for With a massive prize fund of the promotion – Cadbury’s, Coca Cola €250,000, the Take Ten with Gala Sprite, Kellogg’s and Tayto Hunky promotion was the most recent addiDory – gave away thousands of prodtion to the Group’s strategic marketucts to customers over the two-week ing campaign. For every €10 spent in period. a Gala store, between September 29 To complement the in-store promoand October 10, customers were given tion and offer customers even more a complimentary ‘Reveal to Win’ card. chances to win, Gala teamed up with There were 10 star prize winners TV3’s Ireland AM for one of the station’s largest-ever promotions in its history. Aidan Cooney joined Gala in Portugal to launch the promotion and an additional five Volkswagen Polos and five 5* breaks to Vilamoura, were given away, live on air.

Conference News

TV Sponsorship To further highlight the Group’s commitment to its communities, Gala embarked on its first TV sponsorship with TV3’s National Event Guide. The one-year deal has resulted in Gala stings being aired an average of 50 times per week, resulting in an excel26

Pictured are (l-r): Eddie Tobin, Winner of Forecourt Greater than 1500 square feet and Mystery Shopper Award, with Peter Flanagan, National Sales Manager, Gala Retail Services.

Over 200 retailers and suppliers attended Gala’s 10th birthday conference, which took place in Vilamoura in The Algarve, Portugal. The conference was a celebration of how much the Group has achieved in such a short space of time and in an increasingly competitive retail environment.

The group were joined by comedian

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October08Gala’s

David Orange, Winner of Food Markets less than 1500 square feet and Best Newcomer.

Alan Short, MC for the evening, Caroline Morahan and Aidan Cooney from TV3, who was there on filming duties from TV3. Gala’s Chief Executive, Gary Desmond, spoke of the Group’s astounding progress throughout the last 10 years and plans for the future.

Gala Store of the Year Awards The annual Gala Store of the Year awards took place and as ever, the competition was of the highest standard. The four finalists for Gala Store of the Year were David Orange, Gala, Balrothery, Co. Dublin; Kiernan's Gala, Enfield, Co. Meath; Mulrooney’s Gala, Ballywilliam; and Tobin's Gala, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal.

Pictured are (l-r): Shane Mulrooney from Mulrooney’s Gala, which won the Gala Award for a Forecourt less than 1500 square feet and a Special Merit Award; Peter Flanagan, National Sales Manager for Gala; and Sean Mulrooney from Mulrooney’s Gala, Ballywilliam.

10th Anniversary

Paul and Regina Kiernan from Enfield took away the title of Gala Store of the Year for the first time.

Pipped to the post in last year's Store of the Year awards, Kiernan's Gala, Enfield, was a worthy winner, demonstrating continuously exemplary standards since its opening in Pictured launching the ‘Take Ten With Gala’ promotion 2005. in The Algarve are Gary Desmond, Gala CEO, with “Throughout the Portuguese model, Susana Dias, 21. year, Kiernan's Gala was a high achiever in the ongoing Tobin's Gala, Letterkenny, Co. store audits and this is a credit to its Donegal. owners Paul and Regina, and the staff • Gala Fresh Food Award: Harris' who are committed to excellence,” notGala, Convoy, Co. Donegal. ed Gary Desmond, CEO of Gala. “The • Gala Award for Information store has grown alongside Gala over Technology and Stock Control: the past couple of years and is now Kiernan's Gala, Co. Meath. firmly established as one of our flag• Gala Food Hygiene Award: ship stores in the Gala group.

Emmet Stores, Gala, “Stemming from Paul and Mountmellick .

Regina's enthusiasm for the develop• Gala Award for Community ment of the Gala brand, promotions, involvement: Durkin's Gala, standards and new initiatives are Louisburgh, Co. Mayo. implemented to the highest standard • Gala Special Merit: Mulrooney's and this is reflected by the store’s Gala, Ballywilliam. year-on-year sales growth.”

Following the success of the year to date for Gala, exciting times lie ahead.

Other Category One thing’s for sure, with dedicated Winners retailers, a sophisticated new look, and Other category winners at the event a second-to-none marketing strategy, included: sit back and watch the Gala Group • Food Markets less than 1500 grow into the next decade and beyond! square feet: David Orange, Gala, For more information on Gala visit Balrothery, Co. Dublin. www.gala.ie • Food Market Greater than 1500 square feet: Kiernan's Gala, Enfield, Co. Meath.

• Forecourt less than 1500 square • Gala currently sources feet: Mulrooney's Gala, €200m worth of goods from Ballywilliam.

Irish suppliers.

• Forecourt Greater than 1500 • Gala Retail Services, through square feet: Tobin's Gala, the company’s association with Letterkenny, Co. Donegal. the Stonehouse buying group has access to buying power in Additional Gala store excess of €2 billion. winners 2008: • Gala is title sponsor of the • Gala Most Improved Store: John Gala All-Ireland Camogie McGloin, Gala, Foxford, Co. Mayo.

Championships and has • Gala Best Newcomer: David recently pledged to raise Orange, Gala, Balrothery, Co. €250,000 for the Jack and Jill Dublin.

Foundation.

• Gala Mystery Shopper Award: 27

Shop 2008 Preview

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SHOP Success!

SHOP 2008 proved a massive success for all concerned, attracting 4,000 visitors to the RDS over the course of the three-day event. “

SHOP

unites all those in the food and drink industry, allowing exhibitors to develop new business, launch new products, network and gather the best information in the industry.” So said Minister for Food and Horticulture, Trevor Sargent TD, at the official opening of SHOP 2008, the main trade event of the year for the Retail, Food and Drink sectors.

The three-day event welcomed approximately 4,000 focused buyers and decision-makers, including multiples buyers, forecourt owners, independent retailers, convenience store owners, symbol group buyers, and buyers from supermarkets, wholesalers and delis.

World Cheese Awards For the first time, SHOP 2008 hosted the world’s largest cheese competition, the prestigious World Cheese Awards.

Judges tasted and evaluated an incredible 2,500 cheeses from 25 countries including the USA, Canada, South Africa, Australasia and mainland Europe, before awarding Gold, Silver and Bronze merits. The Supreme Jury then tasted the gold award winning cheeses a second and a third time to identify the national champions and finally, the World

Minister for Food and Horticulture, Trevor Sargent TD, is pictured with chocolatiers Helena Hemeryck and Ferdinand Vandaele from Chez Emily, Fine Handmade Chocolates.

Champion Cheese 2008. Over 120 experts from around the world were flown to Dublin for their place on the prestigious WCA judging panel. Judges included celebrity chef Anthony Worrall Thompson; founder of the renowned London celebrity eatery ‘The Ivy’, Mark Hicks; and Irish Chef Richard Corrigan.

Following the closest ever final for these awards, which were held outside the UK for the first time ever, a co-operative of 50 partners from the Canary Islands, the Sociedad Canaria de Formento, was awarded the World Champion crown for its ‘Queso Arico Curado Pimentón’ cheese.

Co-operative Secretary, Antonio Gonzales Bravo, commented: “We all feel like children at Christmas. It’s a dream come true for our co-operative – we simply can’t believe it!”

‘Best Irish Cheese’, sponsored by Bord Bia, went to ‘Wicklow Blue’ produced by Wicklow Farmhouse Cheese.

Artisan Exhibitors Pictured receiving the Overall National Organic Award 2008 is Vincent Cleary, Managing Director of Glenisk, who won the award for their new Glenisk Organic Irish Butter; Trevor Sargent TD, Minister for Food and Horticulture at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food; and Eileen Bentley, Manager of Small Business Department, Bord Bia.

28

This year’s show saw an increase of 25% in the number of artisan exhibitors. SHOP devotes an entire section of the show to the County Enterprise Boards as a showcase for ingenuity and innovation in food and drink on a local level – a section that proved hugely popular, with 18 Enterprise Boards bringing a mix of 49 businesses.

Joint Managing Director of Expo Events, Garret Buckley, said: “Shop 08 was the biggest exhibition in its 26-

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year history. Advanced bookings were substantially up and it seems that in these uncertain times, SHOP is a welcome source of information and business development for all those in the sector.”

A further endorsement of the calibre of SHOP was the fact that The Guild of Fine Food organised The Great Taste Gourmet Food Hall at this year’s event. The Guild is the British association for speciality food retailers and producers, who also publish Fine Food Digest for the retail trade and Artisan for producers.

PRODUCT OF THE SHOW AWARDS THIS year saw the overall ‘Product of the Show Winner’ going to Burren Smokehouse Ltd with their ‘Honey Whiskey & Fennel Glazed Cold Smoked Organic Irish Salmon’. This is not the first time the company have received this prestigious honour - at SHOP 2007, their unique Organic Honey-glazed Hot Smoked Salmon with Lemon & Crushed Pepper also won the 'Best Product of the Show Award'.

National Organic Awards

The other winners were.

SHOP 2008 also saw the presentation of the National Organic Awards, organised by Bord Bia in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, which attracted over 100 entries from organic companies nationwide.

The Overall National Organic Award 2008 went to Glenisk Irish Organic Butter, which was also named Best Organic Chilled/Frozen Product. Accepting the award, Vincent Cleary, Managing Director, Glenisk, said, “We are delighted to receive this award, particularly because our new butter will be the only Irish organic butter on the market. With each new product that Glenisk launches, we aim to achieve the high standard our customers expect, while also growing the organic dairy sector and thus helping to secure the future for dedicated organic family farms across Ireland.”

The individual category award winners were as follows: Best Organic Grocery Product went to Solaris Botanicals Presentation Box of Teas; Lily O’Brien’s Organic Collection won Best Organic Sweet, Flour and Chocolate Confectionery; Best Organic Meat Product was awarded to Oliver Carty’s Organic Loin of Bacon with a Citrus Topping.

“It is encouraging to see the high standard of entries this year and it strengthens my belief that the future is bright for organic food and farming in Ireland,” commented Minister Sargent, at the awards presentation.

BEST IRISH PRODUCT OF THE SHOW Winner: Burren Smokehouse Ltd for their Honey Whiskey & Fennel Glaced Cold Smoked Organic Irish Salmon.

Highly Commended: Aine Handmade Chocolates for their Hegagonal Chocolate Box. Commended: Bia Kid Ltd for Bia Kid ‘We Love Soup’.

Pictured are (l-r): John O‘Brien, MD of O’Brien & Associates; Dermot O’ Connell, Senior Buyer, Tesco Ireland; Birgitta HedinCurtin from Burren Smokehouse Ltd, winner of the Product of the Show Award for their Honey Whiskey & Fennel Glazed Cold Smoked Organic Irish Salmon; and Garret Buckley, Joint Managing Director of Expo Events.

BEST OVERSEAS PRODUCT OF THE SHOW Winner: BioGrape UK for BioGrape Fruit Pastes.

Highly Commended: Condor Marketing & Promotions for Sitia Olive Oil. Commended: The British Curry Co. Ltd for Bombay Authentic Tikka Masala Luxury Curry.

BEST CONFECTIONERY PRODUCT OF THE SHOW Winner: Delicious - the Gluten Free Bakery for Gluten Free, Wheat Free Chocolate Tiffin.

Highly Commended: The Scullery for Individual Christmas Puddings, gift set.

Commended: Aine Handmade Chocolate for their Hexagonal Chocolate Box. Commended: Wilde Irish for Wilde Irish Artisan Chocolate Bars.

BEST GROCERY PRODUCT OF THE SHOW Winner: Irwin’s Bakery for their Christmas Pudding - Rankin Selection Matured.

Highly Commended: Kinsale Distribution Company for Real Chips.

Commended: Caribbean Enterprises for Rasta Pasta Sauce.

BEST CHILLED/FROZEN PRODUCT OF THE SHOW Winner: Burren Smokehouse Ltd for Honey Whiskey & Fennel Glaced Cold Smoked Organic Irish Salmon.

Highly Commended: Kelly’s Organic Dairy Products for Una - Organic Fresh Cheese with Organic Sundried Tomatoes & Olives.

Commended: The Just Food Company for Chicken Liver Pate (organic).

BEST WINE/BEVERAGE PRODUCT OF THE SHOW Winner: Ballycross Apple Farm for their Apple Juices.

Highly Commended: Café de Cuba for Fixx Coffee.

Commended: Solaris Botanicals for Silken Tea Presentation Box.

BEST RETAIL TECHNOLOGY PRODUCT OF THE SHOW Winner: AV Direct for Bio Flat Mop System.

Highly Commended: Porto Media for Movie Key & Kiosk.

Commended: YQ International for the Genesis Self Service Kiosk.

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Pensions

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Retail Staff Not Planning for Retirement Recent CSO figures show that only 36% of employees in the wholesale and retail sector have private pension coverage, a worrying statistic, according to Maura Howe, National Pensions Action Campaign.

Shopping

has become more popular in Ireland over the last few years and first-hand witnesses to this are our retailers. However, while consumers have been spending, retailers don’t seem to have been saving, certainly not for the long term. Recent CSO pension update figures show that only 36% of those employed in the retail and wholesale industries have private pension coverage, a decrease of 2% on 2007.

The decision to start a pension lies with the individual: however, it is understood that those who have been introduced to a pension through the workplace demonstrate greater propensity to take-up a pension.

30

A man retiring at 65 now can expect to live to 85 and a woman retiring at 65 can expect to live to 88.

Given the physically demanding elements of working in the retail and wholesale industry, for most, retiring at 65 years would be the preferred option. This basically means that you/ your employees/ colleagues will need to save enough over a working lifetime to fund a retirement of perhaps 20 to 23 or more years – best get into the savings habit!

Pensions Made Simple The word ‘pension’ in itself can be offputting for a lot of people, especially young people, as they tend to think pensions are too complicated. Pensions are more simple than many realise, comprising of three basic elements: The individual’s personal contributions + The employer’s contributions (if they make any) + Government support (by tax relief) = Your Pension

Employers’ Legal Obligations Employers are obliged, by law, to provide their employees with access to a Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) provider, allow them time to see the provider and to make the relevant deductions from payroll, but they are not obliged to contribute to an employee’s pension. The Pensions Board will issue on-the-spot fines and prosecute any businesses found in breach of their obligations: check-out the Pensions’ Board’s Trustee and Employer Checklist on www.pensionsboard.ie for a more complete list of obligations and further information. Ask your employer about access to a PRSA provider today.

Government Support The Government is keen to encourage the individual to save for their own personal pension. As a result, the Government allows for pension contributions to be deducted from the wage/ salary before tax. In other words, if someone wanted to put €100 into a pension and they’re on the higher rate of tax (41%) the cost to them is €59; if they’re on the lower rate of tax (20%), the cost to them is €80. Put simply, by contributing to a pension, the individ-

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ual pays less tax. PAYE employees can also receive relief from the PRSI and the health levy.

•

An enhanced reputation and respect as a good employer;

•

A workforce that feels valued and important;

•

Increased loyalty and commitment from staff;

•

An enhanced staff recruitment, reward and retention package.

A Good Deal for Your Business As mentioned, there is no obligation on any business to contribute to a pension scheme. However, a pension scheme has been long recognised as an important asset for both the business and its employees. With a pension scheme in place, your business benefits from having:

individual should check-out the Pensions Calculator available at www.pensionsboard.ie.

For those unsure as to their pension options, or what a PRSA is, or who the providers are, or for those who would just like further information, log onto the Pensions Board web-site, www.pensionsboard.ie, or call them on LoCall: 1890 65 65 65.

Then talk to your employer, trade union, bank, insurance company, building society or financial advisor about starting a pension.

More Information To better understand how pensions work, the employer, employee and

PENSIONS CALCULATOR The calculator allows you to estimate the amount of money you would need to contribute to your pension in relation to your age and current yearly salary, to end up with the level of pension you expect in retirement.

Sample Details

How Your Pension Is Made Up

Sex:

Female

Current age

Estimate Private Pension at age 65

3,388

Estimate State Pension at age 65 *

11,612

Estimate Total Pension at age 65

15,000

25

Current Salary

30,000

** Target Pension as % of Pre-Retirement Salary

50 %

Notes: Sample is based upon today’s money and pension starting at age 65.

The Age You Start Your Contributions

Age 25

Age 30

Age 35

Age 40

Yearly as % of Salary :

4%

5%

6%

7%

Yearly Contributions :

1,200

1,500

1,800

2,100

Gross per Month :

100

125

150

175

Less Tax Reliefs :

( 20)

( 25)

( 30)

( 35)

100

120

140

Net Contributions Per Month :

*

If you currently have a pension fund, this entry is the current value of this fund.

Additional Relief: Contributions will also be relieved from PRSI and the Health levy, if you pay these charges.

This calculator only gives a sample indication of the funding contributions for your pension and no reliance should be placed on it. This calculator does not take into account any contributions an employer might make to

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** Entitlement to a full contributory state social welfare pension is assumed and is included as part of the target pension. The current state social welfare pension is €11,611.60 per year (or €223.30 per week) as of January 2008. your pension. For a full and accurate assessment of your personal finances and any tax relief you may be entitled to on your pension contributions, always consult with a professional financial adviser.

Take Action -Visit the online Pensions Calculator at www.pensionsboard.ie 31

Londis Conference

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Londis Retailer Conference

Londis Plans Ahead At its Annual Retailer Conference, ADM Londis outlined how its retailers can continue to prosper.

ADM

Londis plc recently held its Annual Retail Conference at the Heritage Golf and Spa Resort, Killenard, where Stephen O’Riordan, Joint Chief Executive, commended Londis retailers’ performance and outlined how independent retailers can continue to prosper, despite increasingly challenging conditions within the grocery retail industry.

ADM Londis also announced its most recent strategic acquisition of a Londis store, forecourt and pharmacy in Ferbane, Co. Offaly for €3m and updated its retailer network on the nationwide roll-out across Texoil forecourts.

With profit before tax of €6.1m (up 20%) reported for 2007 earlier this year, Stephen O’Riordan congratulated the strong 2007 performance of Londis retailers, who now account for over 370 stores nationwide. Nevertheless, the Joint Chief Executive recognised the more challenging operating environment within which all independent retailers are now working.

Commenting on the increasingly competitive dynamic within the retail industry and largely increased cost pressures on independent retailers, O’Riordan said, “There has been much comment about the need for a new large scale entrant in the Irish retail market, at a time when more and more independent retailers are being forced out of business due to increased costs

32

and competition and the lack of support from the banking sector. This unbalanced focus on the multiples ignores the vital contribution of the estimated 5,300 independent retailers, who reinvest in the Irish economy and provide competition, service and employment in every town and village in Ireland, and will lead to Stephen O'Riordan, Joint Chief Executive, ADM reduced consumer choice in Londis; pictured with keynote speakers at the ADM Londis Annual Retailer Conference: Ivan Yates, the long term.

Former Minister and Founder and CEO of Celtic “These retailers underpin Bookmakers; Niall Mellon of the South Africa local economies right across Townships Trust; and Jim Power, Chief Economist, the country and are consisFriends First. tently innovating despite increasingly challenging market presThe new store innovations are the culsures,” he continued. “In a consolidatmination of a 12- month project ing market, we believe ADM Londis between the Londis Group and its offers independent retailers significant retailers. Focusing on key areas of procurement, marketing and technolostore layout and design, as well as catgy savings, whilst enabling retailers to egory and product innovation, the new retain ownership and autonomy. ADM format is currently being rolled out Londis is Ireland’s only unlisted plc in and is aimed at striking a balance the grocery retail sector and as such between enhancing the consumer’s inoffers ownership and profit sharing store experience and ensuring operaopportunities to new retailers. Since tional effectiveness is maximised. the Group’s conversion to plc status in The development of the Londis in2005, our shareholders have enjoyed a store offering comes on the back of the 77% increase in the value of their joint announcement with Texoil made investment.” earlier this year, which will see the Group’s forecourt presence swell to over 100 locations throughout Ireland, New Store Format positioning Londis to the forefront of Emphasising continued innovation, forecourt retailing. The Texoil ADM Londis also unveiled its latest announcement will result in the crestore offering at its Annual Conference. ation of an additional 300 jobs and add an additional €50m in retail turnover for ADM Londis over the next two years. Since the announcement, two Londis stores have been rolled out in Texoil forecourts, with a further five planned between now and December, with 12 remaining stores coming on stream in 2009.

Pictured at the ADM Londis Annual Retailer Conference are: Jerry McDonnell, Head of Sales, ADM Londis; Josephine O'Reilly, Staff Member of the Year from Kennedy's Ballyconnell; Stephen O'Riordan, Joint Chief Executive, ADM Londis; and MC for the evening Marty Whelan.

Keynote Speakers Over 350 delegates from Londis stores all over the country attended the Londis Conference in Killenard.

Delegates were treated to a range of retail orientated presentations.

These included the economist Jim

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Power, who provided a measured view on the economic environment facing the retail industry, whilst also highlighting how stores must evolve to thrive in this more challenging environment. Speaking directly to retailers, Power pointed out two key areas which deserved immediate attention: a focus on quality (in particular, customer service) and on cost-efficiency.

Ruth Norton, Group Marketing Manager ADM Londis, brought attending delegates through the in-store innovations developed by the Londis Group over the past 12 months, partic-

Pictured at the ADM Londis Annual Retailer Conference are: Stephen O'Riordan, Joint Chief Executive, ADM Londis; Martin Mulligan, Londis Athlone and President National Association of Retail Newsagents; Roger Ainscough, Aincsough's Londis, Cork Airport; and MC for the evening Marty Whelan.

Londis Retailer Conference

Pictured at the ADM Londis Annual Retailer Conference are: Jerry McDonnell, Head of Sales, ADM Londis; Sheila Gillan, Gillan's Londis, Summerhill, Co. Meath; Stephen O'Riordan, Joint Chief Executive, ADM Londis; and MC for the evening Marty Whelan.

Ruth Norton, Group Marketing Manager ADM Londis, is pictured addressing delegates.

ularly in terms of stock ordering and processing. She also highlighted the introduction of new Londis brands which will deliver excellent opportunities on both quality and cost efficiency for the Group as a whole. Foremost among these were the introduction of Plantation Coffee, the Juiceberry brand and Londis Fresh.

Ivan Yates, Founder and Managing Director of Celtic Bookmakers, provided some stirring insights to delegates from his own business experience to emphasise

skills which he felt were fundamentally important to business success.

Finally, Niall Mellon of the South Africa Townships Trust finished the strong line-up of presenters, giving a motivating speech on his own tremendous achievements in South Africa. He highlighted Nelson Mandela’s deep sense of gratitude for the generosity shown by Irish people over the last number of years and outlined his aim to build even more homes for those in need in the impoverished townships of South Africa.

Award Winners Certificates of Achievement Yan’s Retail, Londis, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10.

Sheehan’s Londis, Parkgate St, Dublin 7.

Browne’s Londis, Kilcock, Co. Kildare.

Flynn’s Londis, Gardiner St, Dublin 1.

Digan’s Londis, Moate, Co. Westmeath.

Byrne’s Londis, Aughrim, Co. Wicklow.

Fahy’s Londis, Batterstown, Co. Meath.

Griffin’s Londis, Lwr O’Connell St, Dublin 1.

Dunne’s Londis, Bellurgan, Co. Louth.

Griffin’s Londis, Westmoreland St, Dublin 2.

Griffin’s Londis, Lwr College Green, Dublin 2.

O’Leary’s Londis, Bunclody, Co. Wexford.

Flynn’s Londis, Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford.

Looby’s Londis, Walkinstown, Dublin 12.

Mulhall’s Londis, Portlaoise, Co. Laois.

Sheil’s Londis, Malahide, Co. Dublin.

Timothy’s Londis Plus, Abbeytown, Co. Roscommon.

Quinn’s Londis, Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan.

Category Award Winners Staff Member of the Year: Syra Neilan

Retail Staff Member of the Year: Josephine O’Reilly, Kennedy’s Londis Plus, Ballyconnell, Co. Cavan.

Fruit & Veg. Overall Winner: Kennedy’s Londis Plus, Ballyconnell, Co. Cavan.

Off Licence Winner: Timothy’s Londis Plus, Abbeytown, Co. Roscommon.

Food Safety Overall Winner: M & K Londis, Cleveragh Rd, Co. Sligo.

Customer Service Award: Keating’s Londis Plus, Cobh, Co. Cork.

News & Mags Overall Winner: Ainscough’s Londis, Cork Airport, Co. Cork.

Deli & Hot Food Overall Winner: Griffin’s Londis, Grafton St, Dublin 2.

Retail Excellence Awards O’Kelly’s Londis, Cleveragh Rd, Sligo.

Lowthe’s Londis, Duleek, Co. Meath.

Griffin’s Londis, Grafton St, Dublin 2.

Gillan’s Londis, Summerhill, Co. Meath.

Duffy’s Londis, South Circular Rd. \ Dublin 8.

Kennedy’s Londis Plus, Ballyconnell Co. Cavan.

Corrigan’s Londis, Kilmuckridge, Co. Wexford.

Reape’s Londis, Enniscrone, Co. Mayo.

Dixon’s Londis, Quay St, Dundalk, Co. Louth.

Keating’s Londis Plus, Cobh, Co. Cork.

Grace’s Londis, Loughrea, Co. Galway.

Kelly’s Londis, Milltown Co. Kerry.

Canavan’s Londis, Inch, Co. Wexford.

Waters Londis, Athenry, Co. Galway.

Roche’s Londis, Doneraile, Co. Cork.

Corrigan’s Londis, Blackwater, Co. Wexford.

Griffin’s Londis, Sandyford, Dublin 16.

Linscheid’s Londis, Drogheda, Co. Louth.

Mooney’s Londis, Holy Cross Service Station, Co. Waterford.

Gillen’s Londis, Dublin Rd, Trim.

Griffin’s Londis, Oak Rd. Parkwest, Dublin 12.

McDermott’s Londis, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.

Dillon’s Londis, Fethard-on-Sea, Co. Wexford.

Griffin’s Londis, St Stephens Green, Dublin 2.

Mooney’s Londis, Swinford, Co. Mayo.

Griffin’s Londis, Baggot St, Dublin 4.

Boggan’s Londis, Rosslare, Co. Wexford.

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Pictured are (l-r): Anjali Pathak, Brand Ambassador, Pataks Foods, with Ishthara Larkin, aged six, from Celbridge, and William Rochford, Marketing Director, BR Foods.

An Indian Summer Anjali Pathak on the success of her family’s Patak’s brand, and the popularity of Indian food in Ireland.

With

around 25,000 Indian people currently living in Ireland, and an ethnic food market valued at €30m, of which the Indian segment makes up a significant chunk, Irish consumers are increasingly turning to the east for culinary delights. Patak’s, the UK-based manufacturers, which are distributed in Ireland by BR Foods, are at the top end of Indian products available for retail, delivering authentic foods that are quick and easy to prepare. Patak’s variants at retail level include cooking sauces, curry pastes, chutneys, pickles, naan bread and pappadums. Sold in over 40 countries - including Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the United States – the brand is now picking up pace in Ireland.

Patak’s strongest calling card is its family-run ethos. On a recent visit to Ireland, Anjali Pathak, grand-daughter of the brand’s founder, tells RETAIL NEWS that new Patak’s products were being launched under the mantle of Meena’s Range, which is named after 34

her mother and inspired by her mother’s travels across India.

“She was very fortunate to have seen the whole of the country as a child because her father was in the army. She absorbed a lot of Indian culture and this is a culmination of all her experiences,” Anjali explains.

“We have the usual variants that everyone expects: Tikka Masala, Balti, Korma. They are a premium range, so they’re priced a little bit over our regular sauces, just over the €3 market. They will be launched with a range of accompaniments: a new mango chutney, a raita and a tomato & onion relish.

“In Ireland, people tend to favour the indulgent side of Indian cuisine,” Anjali continues. “Your first stop is usually your local Indian restaurant.

That is where the indulgent Indian food is found - the Bangladeshi restaurants, which tend to use a lot more cream in their food. They have heavier, sauce-based curries.”

Television chefs have also popu-

larised the food, and an increasing amount of people have been visiting India and tasting the cuisine for themselves.

Diwali – the Festival of Lights Ethnic food also has a strong cultural calling card: as evident in India as it is in other Eastern countries like China. So, on October 28 this year, certain corners of Ireland will be celebrating Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights, a Hindu festival that marks the beginning of the lunar New Year.

“Diwali is like the Indian Christmas,” explains Anjali. “As with other religions, food is one of the main focal points. If you go to India, it is not uncommon to find people eating all day every day around this festival. It’s a five-day festival so that’s a lot of eating!”

In celebration of 2008’s Diwali, Patak’s will be undertaking promotional activity and launching a new

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“In Ireland, people tend to favour the indulgent side of Indian cuisine. Your first stop is usually your local Indian restaurant. That is where the indulgent Indian food is found the Bangladeshi restaurants, which tend to use a lot more cream in their food.” range of recipes, specific to the festival, on their website.

Strong Heritage Anjali and her family have the heritage to support their products. Patak’s was founded by Anjali’s grandfather, L.G. Pathak, 51 years ago. Arriving in London in 1957, Mr Pathak began selling authentic Indian snacks and sweets to support his family. The following year, he was able to open a small shop in Euston’s Drummond Street. As a small boy, Anjali’s father, Kirit Pathak, would help out in the family business by delivering parcels of Indian treats.

When he was 17, Kirit joined the business full-time, and spearheaded the

company’s meteoric expansion. In 1976, Kirit married Anjali’s mother, Meena, who later joined the business. Meena, who studied Hotel Management in Mumbai, where she grew up, created the Pataks recipes that are now the bedrocks of the business.

Unsurprisingly, growing up in the Pathak family gave Anjali an appreciation for food from an early age: “Because my mother was director of product development, she would bring home all of her test products. We were really fortunate as children to get so many tastes of different cultures.

Indian food, with all its vibrant flavours, really opens up your taste buds to everything else. My mother would ask us what we thought of her latest recipes.

Even though we were too young to have any commercial views, we were the best critics you could find.

Who else is going to tell you the truth but your children?”

At first, Anjali wanted to join her father’s side of the business, and all the travel it entailed. On the other hand, her mum was in the kitchen all day: “I would think, ‘that doesn’t sound like fun’. Whereas in reality, I think the most creative part of the business is being in the kitchen and creating the recipes.” She took a business degree and after a year of traveling, at the age of 22, she decided to enter the family business, at first, in the product development department.

“I learned how to take a recipe from concept into production,” she says.

“That was always the hardest thing to

“I think, the future will steer away from the heavier based curries and there will be more awareness around the healthier side of Indian cuisine. You’ll still get all the indulgent foods, but it doesn’t have to contain cream – you can use yogurt. That is more reflective of how Indians eat in India.”

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do. Now I’m more in the creative side of the business: I’m in charge of culinary development. I do a lot of PR, television appearances; I write recipes for magazines. I want everyone to experience India – it really is about the vibrancy, the colours. People are travelling there more than ever, which is why as a brand, we have been quite successful.

“India is a real inspiration to me,” she continues. “I’m constantly trying to absorb all there is to know about Indian food. It’s such a huge country with such diversity, I’m constantly learning. I’m always watching cookery programmes and reading food magazines to learn as much as possible about different cuisines too. I also like to experiment and come up with ideas of my own.”

The Future of the Market Patak’s put care into their products – taking traditional Indian recipes and re-appropriating them for the Western market. While there is no compromise as to the taste, the company has added the element of convenience. Simultaneously, Patak’s is pioneering new formats for the ethnic market. But where to from here?

How does Anjali envisage the Indian market changing?

“I think it will steer away from the heavier based curries and there will be more awareness around the healthier side of Indian cuisine,” she notes. “You’ll still get all the indulgent foods, but it doesn’t have to contain cream – you can use yogurt. That is more reflective of how Indians eat in India. I’m pretty slim and I eat Indian food three times a day! There is a lot more to Indian food that we have yet to experience – the regionality of Indian food in particular.”

In India, people tend to avoid meat, and as awareness about the country’s cuisine spreads, vegetarian offshoots are likely to become more popular in Ireland. But the true strength of Indian food, and the Patak’s brand itself, is the huge amount of recipes and flavours that emanate from the country. “You could eat an Indian food every day of the week and never taste the same dish twice,” boasts Anjali. “The permutations are endless.”

For more information and recipe ideas: www.pataks.co.uk 35

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World Service Irish consumers are increasingly seeking out authentic ethnic cuisine, which is good news for both manufacturers and retailers.

The

to recreate authentic ethnic meals at home, particularly when it comes to noodles.

However, at present users are confused as to the best way to incorporate noodles into their diet. Educating users on usage occasions, the convenience of noodles and suggesting recipe ideas will allow this segment of the market to expand and increase profitability.

The fact that so many Irish consumers already consume ethnic food in some format, be it in restaurants, take-aways or by cooking at home, points to even more scope for increasing this valuable sector over the coming months and years.

The Patak’s range includes popular accompaniments: Mint Raita, Spicy Onion and Tomato Relish and Mango Chutney.

premium perceptions and on-shelf ethnic foods market in Ireland stand-out. Each jar has an evocative continues to grow, with consumers story on its front face about how the becoming increasingly familiar with Patak’s recipe was inspired. The range also Chinese, Thai, Indian and Mexican To build on the success of the Patak’s includes three popular accompanidishes in particular. Irish consumers’ family sauce range in Ireland, Patak’s ments, including Mint Raita, Spicy willingness to experiment with differhave just launched a range of premium Onion and Tomato Relish and Mango ent food types is well documented, and Indian sauces and accompaniments.

Chutney. is contributing to market growth, as is The range, which suits consumers The launch will be supported by the wealth of new product development who want great tasting authentic food targeted consumer advertising and infrom manufacturers, who are increasconveniently, has been inspired by the store sampling and promotion ingly tailoring specific products to the travels of Meena Pathak throughout throughout October and November.

Irish/UK market or focusing on premiIndia and includes a core selection of The range is distributed by BR Foods um, authentic ethnic foods. four of the most popular sauces, in Ireland and is now available in The significant category growth in including Creamy Korma, Spicy stores nationwide. the sector is driven by two key factors; Jalfrezi, Aromatic Balti and Tikka firstly, consumers are travelling the Masala. The new jar shape improves world more widely and are Amoy therefore increasingly exposed The Oriental market is one of the to new cuisines and flavours. fastest growing areas within the Secondly, consumers’ desire for Irish grocery sector and the healthy, convenient meal Amoy brand is very much on options is on the increase. trend, offering consumers Shoppers are looking for new, healthy, tasty and convenient interesting flavours and texfood through its range of stir fry tures, which allow them greater sauces, soy sauces, noodles and control over what they eat, ingredients. whilst still offering a quick and Consumers are constantly lookeasy option, which many ethnic ing for ways to experiment with cuisines and cooking methods different food types but in a way provide. that does not demand too much of There remains strong potentheir free-time, especially during Patak’s have just launched a range of premium tial for growth within the marthe week. The Stir Fry Sensations Indian sauces, perfect for consumers who want great ket, however, as consumers seek range from Amoy offers an extentasting authentic food conveniently.

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range combines an easy-to-use shatterproof (plastic) format with popular take-away flavours. Designed to be enjoyed at home - indoors and outdoors - this new authentic-tasting range (manufactured in Thailand and Malaysia) is set to further facilitate the stretching of Oriental flavours outside of the Oriental aisle and into the condiments sector.

Blue Dragon has experienced huge growth in the noodle category in the past year, which in part is down to instore promotions and a consumerdirected education campaign, providing consumers with recipes to illustrate the convenience of using noodles. In order to maintain this growth, Blue Dragon continues to educate consumers via on-pack recipe suggestions, providing usage occasions for Amoy Stir Fry Sensations, including both wet and dry noodles, which Succulent Szechuan Tomato, help allows retailers to drive profits by tapconsumers to create tasty meals in ping into consumers increased interminutes. est in Oriental cuisine.

The brand also performs extremesive range of varieties, from traditional ly well in the Coconut Milk Aromatic Sweet and Sour and Cream market, delivering through to Thai Green Curry, on taste and consistency, Roasted Peanut Satay and which leads to repeat purSucculent Szechuan Tomato, that chase. The brand has extendhelp consumers to create tasty ed its core variant of Blue meals in minutes.

Dragon Coconut Milk as a The Amoy ‘Straight to Wok’ result of its popularity to Noodle range provides a helping include; Coconut Milk Light, hand to create delicious stir Thick & Creamy Premium fries in minutes. There are four Coconut Milk, Coconut tempting varieties to chose Cream, Coconut Powder, from: Fine/Thread, Medium Coconut Block as well as Traditional, Thick/Udon and Organic Creamed Coconut spice infused Singapore Block and Organic Coconut Noodles, all of which are the Milk, which are sourced from perfect accompaniment to Amoy Sri Lanka.

Stir-fry Sensations sauces and Blue Dragon is committed vegetables. to creating innovative NPD to The Amoy Soy Sauce range reflect consumer demand and offers much by way of choice provide increased choice. 2008 including Reduced Salt and Blue Dragon’s new premium range of stir-fry sachet sauces Light Soy varieties, in addition adds value to the Oriental sauces category by encouraging has already seen Blue Dragon launch two new premium stirto Dark Soy and a variety consumers to trade up within the premium sauces range. fry jar flavours within its infused with Chilli.

Chinese range, which hit Amoy also offers an extenshelves in January ’08: Blue Dragon extended its dipping sauce offering sive range of stir-fry ingredients, Hoi Sin & Sesame Sauce and Blue with the introduction of four new including Chinese Stir-fry Vegetables, Dragon Soy, Honey & Garlic Sauce. squeezy variants. Blue Dragon Thai Stir-fry Vegetables, Beansprouts, Recent Blue Dragon NPD in squeezy Thai Sweet Chilli – Hot, Water Chestnuts, Baby Corn Cobs sauces include the introduction of the Malaysian Satay, Chinese BBQ and and Coconut milk.

200g jar stir-fry sauces (Satay, Honey Chinese Sweet & Sour have been & Cashew, Golden Plum & Chilli) and added to the original Blue Dragon Blue Dragon a premium range of stir-fry sachet squeezy Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce.

One of the reasons for Blue Dragon’s sauces (Sticky Plum, Sweet Soy & The new Blue Dragon squeezy sauce phenomenal success across the oriental category is the brand’s commitment to producing authentic oriental products. For example, the ingredients for Blue Dragon’s Premium Curry Pastes are sourced in Thailand and the ingredients for Blue Dragon’s Premium Stir-fry Sauce range are sourced in Malaysia.

In the Oriental Stir-Fry Sauce segment, Blue Dragon has grown its presence through successful promotional activity on the well-established 120g sachets, as well as attracting new buyers with innovative new ranges in the form of premium sachets and premium jar stir-fry ranges.

Blue Dragon has recently increased its range of Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauces to include Hot and Kaffir Lime variants. Sweet Chilli is an immensely popular dipping sauce flavour and so extending variations on this core variant is proving very popular with consumers.

Most recently, Blue Dragon

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its product range, responding to consumer demands and changing trends with new products tailored to consumer tastes, including their ‘Stir Fry’ sauce range, which includes five flavours across Oriental and Thai cuisines.

Discovery Discovery, from Premier Foods Ireland, relies on the quality, authenticity and originality of its products to grow the brand further.

The company operates a ‘no nasties’ policy, and crams its sauces full of wholesome ingredients (tomatoes, peppers, onions, etc.), instead of bulking them up with starches and thickeners. Their two-step sauces Blue Dragon is committed to creating innovative NPD to reflect consumer have proven to be particularly popudemand and provide increased choice, such as the introduction of its Sweet Soy & lar with more discerning palates.

Roasted Red Chilli Stir Fry Sauce.

The combination of the pure herbs ty meal solutions which can be ready and spices, used to infuse flavour Roasted Red Chilli, Black Bean with in minutes. into meat and vegetables, before Roasted Garlic & Chilli, Chinese Uncle Ben’s sauce range claims to adding the sauce, has been welcomed Mushroom & Garlic and Tangy Lemon be the top seller in ethnic sauces. by consumers looking for more with Ginger & Cracked Pepper). The flavoursome meals. new range adds value to the “With more and Oriental sauces categomore consumers ry by encouraging conwanting to create sumers to trade up quality ethnic foods within the premium at home, we will sauces range. continue to develop The brand has also new sauces that recently refreshed its appeal to both the Blue Dragon Thai more adventurous Green Curry Paste and palate and the more Blue Dragon Thai Red health-conscious, Curry Paste. These pretime-conscious conmium pastes are part of sumer,” commented the Thai product range Recent growth in the rice category has been particularly driven by innovation a company and are sourced and in the Uncle Ben’s product range, including Uncle Ben's Express Rice. spokesperson. manufactured in Thailand.

Their impressive range includes Uncle Ben’s Oriental, Indian Uncle Ben’s from Mars Ireland claims and Mexican brand leadership of in the ethnic cuisines. Though sauce and rice categories, growing by continuously creat4.5% and 8.5% respectively (MAT, ing new flavours, September). Recent growth in the rice Uncle Ben’s are category has been particularly driven still very focused by innovation in its product range, on their profitable which includes Uncle Ben's Express hero products – Rice and Express Risotto, both Sweet and Sour launched in the last two years. and Medium Curry With no artificial colours, sauces. flavours, preservatives or monosodiUncle Ben’s um glutamate (MSG), Uncle Ben’s The Discovery brand continues to grow in popularity thanks continues to bring sauces are perfect for busy families to the quality, authenticity and originality of its products. new innovation to who demand great tasting high quali38

Do-Littles

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Doolittles’ Celebrates 5th Birthday In just five years, Doolittles has grown from a local coffee shop to a nationwide distributor of home-made convenience foods.

This

year marks the fifth anniversary of Doolittles, which has transformed itself, in just half a decade, from a local coffee shop to a key player in a growing and competitive food sector, with a nationwide distribution network and deals with some of Ireland’s leading retailers, including SPAR, ADM Londis, Bon Expresso and Aldi.

At a press conference to mark Doolittles’ 5th anniversary, attended

by An Tánaiste, Mary Coughlan TD, and Michael Carey, Executive Chairman of Jacob Fruitfield, founder Jenni Timony has championed consumer choice in the fast growing fresh convenience foods sector.

Timony contended that this sector is one of the fastest growing in Ireland’s food market, with the prepacked sandwich industry alone being worth €110m per annum, and growing at a rate of 11% every year. As one of Ireland’s largest pre-packed sandwich producers, Doolittles accounts for a significant portion of this growth and recently announced it is on target to attain a turnover of €9m by 2010.

Rise in Competition Fuelled by time-poor, quality seeking

consumers, the sector’s growth has meant greater retail space has been given over to convenience products, which in turn has generated a rise in competition that Doolittles has embraced.

“Market share” said Timony, “should be determined by consumer preference, not retailer deference. And despite some of the larger food groups’ willingness to deploy uncompetitive tactics, quality will always prevail as long as consumers have access to choice.”

With a nationwide distribution network, a newly launched mobile food unit and new customer channels, such as the recently announced deal with Aer Arann, Timony believes that the visibility and accessibility of Dootlittles’ product range offers consumers that choice.

Jenni Timony championed innovation as a key tenet of successful entrepreneurship in Ireland’s current economic climate. As well as its innovative mobile unit, Doolittles’ new recyclable packaging, made from renewable sources, was cited as additional testament to the company’s successful innovative approach to business.

Doolittles’ founder Jenni Timony is pictured with An Tánaiste, Mary Coughlan TD.

Future Industry Growth It is this innovative and entrepreneurial spirit which Jacob Fruitfield’s Executive Chairman, Michael Carey, said accounted for Doolittles’ position at the forefront of the food industry’s future. “Future industry growth,” he said “would be determined by entrepreneurial owners, risk takers that will provide the fuel for the regeneration of the food sector.”

According to Carey, “There are just a handful of small Irish food businesses that have the potential to become really serious businesses with the necessary scale to grow and prosper. Doolittles is, I believe, on the top of that list of high growth potential food firms and can become a major player in the Irish fresh convenience food sector.”

Fact File

Doolittles product range includes sandwiches, rolls, wraps, paninis and salads, all of which are freshly made using locally sourced fresh Irish ingredients where possible.

• Jenni Timony was a finalist in the 2007 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.

• Headquartered in Donegal, Doolittles began life as a local coffee shop in 2001, quickly developing into a food production business and moving into a purpose built facility in 2003.

• Each day, Doolittles produce about 8,000 handmade sandwiches one by one and distributes to 200 forecourts, cafes, retail outlets, universities, hospitals, schools and catering companies nationally.

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The Big Freeze Frozen food is big business in Ireland, with the market worth over €380m.

Ireland

loves frozen food. The consumer loves it for its convenience, without compromising on quality, while retailers love the fact that the Irish frozen processed food market is worth in the region of €385m per year.

Indeed, the market for frozen food in Ireland increased between 2001-2006, growing at an average annual rate of 4.3%, which is ahead of the rest of the world, which grew at 3.3%.

The biggest challenge facing the frozen food sector over the last few years has been coping with consumer concerns over health issues, and the frozen food industry has come out well, with high profile campaigns promoting the nutrition facts about frozen food, as well as the continued growth of low fat options across the entire frozen food spectrum, from potato products to ready meals.

Manufacturers are making a concerted effort to cut back on the levels of salt, sugar and fat contained in food, and are repositioning their brands in order to better reflect changing attitudes towards food and nutrition in general.

The launch of the ‘It’s All Good’ campaign reinforces McCain’s reputation for making good, tasty, favourite food from simple natural ingredients.

ACNielsen). The launch of the ‘It’s All Good’ campaign reinforces McCain’s reputation for making good, tasty, favourite food from simple natural ingredients. This has been supported with heavyweight advertising, a new pack design (highlighting Traffic Light labelling and Guideline Daily Amounts), and a move to sunflower oil across the McCain range.

The wide range of McCain products, including McCain Home Fries, Oven Chips, Crispy French Fries, Micro Chips, Potato Winners Wedges, Home Roasts, Chunky Croquettes, Smiles and much more, guarantees there is something to meet every consumer taste.

McCain Simply Gorgeous Chunky Chips, basted in sumptuous Beef Dripping, are the ultimate in chip indulgence.

McCain McCain continues to dominate the frozen potato sector, claiming a 69% value share of the frozen oven chip market, and a 28% value share of the potato specialities sector (Source: 40

McCain Home Fries, the nation’s favourite chip, continues to bring new consumers into the oven chip category. Their unique crispy coating gives

Simply Gorgeous Goose Fat Roast Potatoes will take frozen roast potatoes to a completely new level.

them a real scrumptious taste that makes McCain Home Fries a family favourite. The recent relaunch of McCain Home Fries saw a repositioning of the brand as: ‘Chips as chips should be’ – crispy on the outside, fluffy in the middle. This also involved brand new packaging, reinforcing the product quality and taste credentials, and ensuring greater stand-out in section.

McCain continues to innovate and drive growth within the frozen potato category with the introduction of new

INDULGE YOUR SALES

Simply Gorgeous. It’s the only way to describe the new range from McCain. Real roast potatoes, basted in sumptuous goose fat or chunky chips in luxurious beef dripping. And wrapped in an eye catching silver foil, guaranteed to stand out in the frozen aisle. The only thing more mouth watering will be the sales.

Look out for our launch campaign in the press, outdoor, instore activity and magazines in November.

McCain Simply Gorgeous.

M3001A01259 SG Retail news A4.indd 1

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ethnic varieties. The range has everything to offer consumers who are seeking to lead a healthy lifestyle but who expect not to compromise on taste.

Jus Rol Pastry is one of the best quality, convenient, ready-made pastries on the market.

The Weight Watchers from Heinz frozen ready meal range offers an their decline in market share, 1st extensive range of popular recipes, Choice Unislim Healthy Oven Chips such as Chicken Tikka Masala, Ocean continue to enlist new and bring back Pie and Tomato & Basil Chicken. lapsed chip customers into the marForthcoming additions to the range ket. With less than 4% fat, it claims will further establish the Weight brand leadership of the healthy secWatchers from Heinz brand as the tor, and is complemented by their number one brand in the frozen ready Family Chunky Chips range, which meals category. All products within contain less than 3% fat. Both chip the Weight Watchers from Heinz products are gluten free and offer secrange feature the Weight Watchers tor leading cash margin, according to points classification for each serving distributors, Clayton Love. on pack.

Synonymous with healthy eating and quality, 1st Choice frozen vegetables offer a trusted range of premium quality vegetables, rich in vitamins and minerals, Heinz and also offering a very Weight Watchers from Heinz healthy cash margin. claims leadership of the frozen 1st Choice Chicken prodready meal sector, with 76.6% valucts continue to grow market ue share of healthy frozen ready share, with the ever popular meals and 23.5% value share of 1st Choice American Hot the total ready meals market, valChicken Wings, and the deliued at €17.2m (Source: TNS, cious and unique 1st Choice September 2008), making it the Chicken Skewers: a tasty undisputed leading brand in the snack from the microwave or healthy eating sector, according to 1st Choice frozen vegetables offer a trusted range of oven.

Heinz. Manufactured in Dundalk, premium quality vegetables, rich in vitamins and Findus Pancakes are the County Louth, the Weight Watchers minerals, and also offering a very healthy cash original and are now even better from Heinz range of frozen ready margin. value. Offering a quick and conmeals continues to drive the frozen venient snack, they are available in ready meals category with convenient Clayton Love traditional Minced Beef, and Chicken meal solutions in both traditional and The sumptuous range of Ready Meals and Sweetcorn variants. The remainfrom 1st Choice and Unislim, der of the Findus range, including includes a delicious Chicken Chicken Curry, Shepherds Pie, and Casserole, Sweet and Sour the ever popular, original and best Chicken, Chicken Curry and a Findus pancakes, have all had a fresh tasty Vegetable Pie! Each prodmakeover over recent months, along uct carries its own Unislim units with Roast Beef Slices. and is preservative free. Both Rosies Broadway Bagels are one of Chicken Casserole and Sweet the great success stores in frozen food and Sour Chicken are gluten free this year. These products are the most also! Supported nationwide by a authentic American Bagels available, network of classes run by according to Clayton Love, made with Ireland’s slimming club, passion in Dungaravan, Co. Unislim, all meals are ultra conThe Weight Watchers from Heinz frozen ready venient and can be microwaved Waterford, and healthy too. Low in fat meal range offers an extensive range of and low in cholesterol, they offer a in minutes. popular recipes, including Chicken Tikka great new profit opportunity for all As the fried chips continue lines such as Rustic Oven Chips – simply made from real potatoes with their skins left on and sunflower oil, they are perfect for those consumers looking for a more wholesome and healthier chip.

McCain is launching a brand new luxury range of frozen potato products this November. McCain Simply Gorgeous is a range of high quality, premium chips and roast potatoes that offer a truly indulgent taste experience. Simply Gorgeous Chunky Chips, basted in sumptuous Beef Dripping, are the ultimate in chip indulgence. Simply Gorgeous Goose Fat Roast Potatoes will “take frozen roast potatoes to a completely new level”, according to the company, who also predict that they are guaranteed to bring new consumers into the category. With more consumers choosing to eat in nowadays, McCain Simply Gorgeous are perfectly positioned to meet this consumer trend, offering an eating out experience at home.

Masala.

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The benefit of these products to parents is that children and teenagers can prepare Big Al’s Express Range themselves within seconds, with minimum fuss and mess. The range is already proving to be successful with listings secured in major retailers.

Isle in the freezer and will be a winner with consumers this winter. It can be cooked straight from frozen and is ideal with Salmon, Poultry, Game and Cold Meats. Not only are both Red Cabbage and Beetroot delicious and low in calories, the contain phytonutrients called flavonoids, which are responsible for the deep red colours of these vegetables. They Green Isle provide powerful detoxification and The Green Isle brand has been antioxidant properties that ensure enjoyed by Irish consumers for the super goodness for your body. Red past 30 years, with a continuously Cabbage and Beetroot are also very growing range of products across sevrich in Vitamin C, helping you to fight illness and are a source of Fibre.

Green Isle are introducing a second onion ring product onto the Irish market, Natural Onion Rings. This new product is made up of whole onion rings in a light crispy batter. They are a both tasty and versatile and can be cooked in both the oven and deep fryer.

Big Al’s Green Isle have a very strong focus on new product development and Building on from the Kepak Convenience Foods all their recent launches are in line with the changing consumer success of the current has recently launched the focus on healthier foods and a desire to add more vegetables into 450g Country Mix, Green Big Al’s Express Range. their diets.

Isle are bringing out this The company plans to take vegetable category winner in a larger the cooked category by storm, aiming eral frozen food categories. Green Isle family size 1kg bag. The Country Mix to double the market’s value in the have a very strong focus on new prodis made up of Carrots, Cauliflower next two years. uct development and all their recent and Broccoli and is rich in Vitamins A The range of microwavable burglaunches are in line with the changand C. ers and sausages are ideal snacks ing consumer focus on healthier foods The latest additions to the Green and meals for both adults and chiland a desire to add more vegetables Isle potato range are two tasty new dren alike. Research found that due into their diets.

Potato Dauphinoise products. The to the hectic nature of family life, conGreen Isle have added another first variety is made up of thinly venience products are always on the nutritious product to the Super Foods sliced potatoes with fresh cream, shopping list. Packaging was range, Red Cabbage with Apple. The cheese and a hint of garlic. The secdesigned to clearly communicate the Red Cabbage is a savoury mix of red ond provides a completely different product concept to consumers, reincabbage, apple and a subtle addition flavour and is made from thinly sliced force quality cues and clearly commuof finely chopped beetroot. This is a potatoes with fresh cream, cheese and nicate the Irish meat provenance. unique product offering from Green chopped Rosemary & Thyme. There are four generous individual servings per pack and they are ready in 25 minutes.

Green Isle are launching a new addition to the chip range – a low fat oven chip with the lowest calorie count on the market at 118 calories per 100g and only 2.5% saturated fat.

Their new Low Fat Chips still taste great, however, and as they’re available in a 1.5kg bag, there are plenty Kepak Convenience Foods has recently launched the Big Al’s Express Range: of chips for all the family. All Green microwavable burgers and sausages, which are ideal snacks and meals for both Isle chips are made with just potatoes adults and children alike store types, according to the company.

Now Rosie has added two new products, Pizza Bagel Three Cheese and Pizza Bagel Pepperoni, to further tempt consumers.

There is no substitute for Jus Rol Pastry, one of the best quality, convenient, ready-made pastries on the market. It claims leadership of its sector and Delia Smith has put her name to their newest product – 12 Puff Pastry Individual Rounds. For recipes see Delia’s website and latest cookery book. Clayton Love advise retailers to stock up now, as 50% of annual volume of Jus Rol sells from October to December.

Clayton Love have also added the superb range of Linda Mc Cartney Vegetarian products to their portfolio, offering convenience, value and choice in this fast growing sector.

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Frozen Foods

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Foods

Donegal Catch have unveiled a fresh, new look for their core product range.

and sunflower oil and contain no artificial flavourings, colourings or preservatives.

Donegal Catch From this month, watch out for the fresh new look from Donegal Catch.

Donegal Catch continues to maintain its position as brand leader in frozen fish with a market share of over 62% of the frozen fish market (Source: ACNielsen, Aug 14, 2008). In keeping with consumer trends, the brand has always created excitement in the frozen fish category through the launch of innovative products.

However, they have not forgotten about the core of their business, which is their breaded and battered products.

This month sees the company rolling out new packaging for their Cod, Haddock, Whiting and Plaice lines, as well as relaunching their scampi with a fresh new look. Their existing Battered Cod is being refreshed with not only a

new look but also a new and improved product recipe. “We felt that after five years, these products needed refreshing and modernising,” noted a company spokesperson. “On these new designs, the hero of the pack is the product, quality images of natural fillets which Donegal Catch is synonymous for.

“We have kept the foil bags too as these are a unique selling proposition for Donegal Catch and our consumers love them! So look out for these new designs over the coming months.”

tional-style thin crust, they ensure that there is a pizza consumers can trust and enjoy, whatever their taste.

Paying attention to changing consumer behaviour has allowed Goodfella’s to continually re-invigorate the sector and provide successful innovations that keep consumers coming back to the freezer. In 2005, research showed that a growing number of consumers were eating alone and had little time to prepare meals, and in response Solos single serve pizzas were launched, which have a cooking time of just 10 minutes, providing the right portion size, speed and choice that people were looking for. Solos was the

Goodfella’s The Goodfella’s range of pizzas was first launched in 1993, and has since become Ireland’s number one brand of frozen pizza with a current market share of 67% (Source: ACNielsen MAT, May ‘08). Currently the only major manufacturer with products in each category, from deep pan and stonebaked ciabatta pizzas, to restaurant quality individual pizza and tradi-

biggest launch the frozen pizza category has seen in four years and was one of the fastest growing products of 2006.

Early in 2008, Goodfella’s launched Friday Fever, which resembles a takeaway pizza box and taps into the social occasions that people eat pizza. The packaging is fun and light hearted, and the pizza is the perfect size to share with family and friends.

Point Of Sale Information Dispenser SOME of the biggest frozen food brands in the country, including Birds Eye, Carte D’Or and Hazelbrook Farm, are using PopNsell, the innovative new Point of Sale information dispenser from InSight Marketing. PopNsell was specifically designed for use in the frozen food sector, where siting of traditional and non-cluttering POS continues to be a major on-going category issue.

By combining zero residue adhesive, a vinyl backer section and a clear dispensing unit, PopNsell can deliver 50-500 coupons, recipes, promotional entry forms or any other form of communication directly into the consumer’s hand, by affixing directly to any type of freezer, fridge, chilled unit or glass door.

Once the promotional activity finishes, the empty unit is peeled off, leaving no damage or residue behind.

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There has been huge support for PopNsell in the trade, including Dunnes Stores, Superquinn, SuperValu, Londis, EUROSPAR and many more.

The unique attributes of PopNsell were recognised in the 2007 APMC Star Awards, where it received an award in Best Visibility at Point Of Purchase and was the outright winner of Best Promotional Innovation category.

With an all-time high redemption level of 29% recorded on coupons dispensed from PopNsell units at the frozen food section, as well as dramatically increased sales, more and more brands are switching to this innovative and effective marketing tool. For more information, see www.insightmarketing.ie.

Consumer Spending

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Spending

Consumers Cutting Back A new survey by BT reveals that Irish consumers are really starting to look at where they spend their cash, with value for money a key concern.

70%

of Irish people have started looking more closely at their spending and 73% believe that they can take greater control and make savings, according to new research from leading communications provider, BT. According to the research, which was launched to highlight greater flexibility and choice in BT’s broadband and talk packages, 96% of people living in Portlaoise, 77% of Corkonians, 70% of people living in Waterford and 67% of Mayo residents have started looking more closely at their spending. This is followed by 62% in Dublin, 57% in Galway and 47% in Limerick.

Of the 70% of Irish people now taking a closer look at their spending: • 19% state that rising fuel costs are the biggest reason for this (43% in Limerick, 22% in Galway and 20% in Dublin); • 15% cite general inflation as the major factor (48% of people in Waterford, 25% in Dublin and 20% in Cork give inflation as the reason); • 12% state that a need to find the

best value for them, media reports and a need to start saving have inspired renewed scrutiny of their personal spending.

•

•

• • •

In efforts to make greater savings: 29% of Irish people have started to pay close attention to their household bills; 26% are reading more price and finance-related articles in national and local newspapers; 16% have started to ask friends and family for advice; 16% are now doing research online to find better deals; Some 8% are calling competitors for quotes and only 7% are actively seeking the advice of experts;

Where the Cuts are Coming According to the research, 16% of Irish people feel that socialising offers one of the best areas to start making savings, 12% believe that they need to reduce their mobile phone bills and 11% think that cuts to their grocery shopping bill will help them make savings.

Coffee shops and restaurants look most likely to suffer in the current economic climate: • 26% of Irish people plan to completely cut out their regular purchases of coffee-to-go; • 18% are planning to sacrifice visits to restaurants; Irish people are also committing to making other changes in efforts to make greater savings: • Discounters Lidl and Aldi look to benefit as 21% of the Irish population has stated that they will start shopping in these stores; 13% also plan to buy fewer takeaways or ready made meals; 10% plan to be very organised and take their own lunch to work.

Looking for Value According to the research, in looking

for savings, it is not just about price for Irish people with only 20% claiming to be looking for best price only: • Some 45% state that they are looking for a combination of price and value for money; • 29% of Irish people (58% of Dubliners) are looking for options to suit their own budget; • Looking for value for money is still difficult for 35% of the population, who find the whole process confusing; • This compares to 65% of Irish people who find shopping around either easy or very easy; • Some 34% claim to never look for savings online, compared to 63% who use the internet to shop around weekly and 3% who do so occasionally.

Cost Conscious Commenting on the research, Emer Kennedy, BT Director of Consumer said, “Our latest research is timely and highlights how Irish people are increasingly cost-conscious and looking at how they can make savings and control their spending. It is also interesting that consumers continue to look for value, as opposed to price alone, and for packages that suit their particular needs. The fact that Irish consumers are optimistic about being able to take greater control of their spending is very positive in the current climate.”

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Biscuits

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& Cakes

Sweet Dreams Ireland’s love affair with biscuits and cakes continues apace, with almost every household in the country indulging in these sweet treats.

Ireland’s

love affair with all things sweet shows no signs of abating. Indeed, the Irish biscuit market is currently valued at a whopping €160m, and continues to grow, up from €153m this time last year.

Cakes too are extremely popular, with growth coming particularly in the realm of individual cake portions.

However, changes in consumer attitudes towards healthy eating and a growing preference for indulgent treats reveal a different landscape for the Irish market in 2008.

Manufacturers have responded both to calls to change the formulation of products to make them healthier, as well as altering how these products are marketed.

The rise in indulgent products continues apace in both biscuits and cakes, with premium, quality ingredients and new flavours fuelling consumer demand for sweet treats.

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New Jacob's Cookies From The Kitchen are slow baked in small batches to bring an authentic homemade taste and wonderfully crumbly texture.

Jacob’s

Crackers, Jacob’s Mediterraneo range and Tuc. At the luxury end of the biscuit market, Jacob’s holds the number one position with its Elite brand claiming 24% value market share. The Elite range includes Chocolate Kimberley, Chocolate Teacakes, Chocolate Dreams, Chocolate Rings and Chocolate Shortbread.

They have also recently launched their exciting new premium Cookie range.

Jacob's Cookies From The Kitchen have been carefully prepared from their own special recipe, and are slow baked in small batches to bring an authentic home-made taste and wonderfully crumbly texture. Baked in West Cork and delivered fresh from the kitchen, these deliciously indulgent Cookies are packed with only the finest baking ingredients. The new range consists of three scrumptious varieties: Indulgent Chocolate Chunk, Hazelnut & Chocolate Chunk and Cranberry & White Chocolate.

As Irelands’ number one biscuit brand, Jacob’s continues to grow from Burton’s strength to strength. Figures from Two of the nation’s favourite treats ACNielsen confirm that the Irish bishave been transformed into seriously cuit market is currently valued at €160m. Jacob’s are the clear market leaders with a 34% share of the market, growing from 2007 (Source: ACNielsen, Market Track, June ’08) Jacob Fruitfield Food Group claims a leadership position in the majority of biscuit sectors and continues to enjoy success with iconic brands such as Fig Rolls, Kimberley, Mikado and Coconut Creams, dominating their respective segments with over 85% value share in each.

Jacob’s also claims the number one position in the savoury biscuit New Jammie Dodger Snack Bars are jamcategory, with an impressive 49% packed with cereal goodness and also include value share of the sector. Key fruit pieces and a tasty layer of Jammie brands include Jacob’s Cream Dodger fruit filling.

Flanagans

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Flanagans Sales & Marketing, D3, Riverview Business Park, Nangor Road, Dublin 12 Tel: 01 4506100 Fax: 01 4080230

Biscuits

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& Cakes

offers retailers the opportunity to respond to consumers growing health concerns by being one of the only children’s biscuits made without artificial colours or flavours. The product doesn’t contain any GM ingredients and is also free from all hydrogenated fats. The Burton’s range is distributed by Flanagan’s Sales & Marketing.

McVitie’s

chased every 4.7 seconds.

In addition to the popular Digestive range, other successful McVitie’s products include Rich Tea, Penguin, Jaffa Cakes, Hob Nobs, Boasters, Carr’s and Go Ahead!

McVitie’s recognises the consumer demand for high quality and good value biscuits and is strongly committed to product innovation in order to broaden its appeal and boost the brand’s position in the marketplace.

This has been most notably evident over the last 12 months, with the launch of McVitie’s Fig Rolls, Cream Crackers and Milk Chocolate Teacakes into the Irish market.

Furthermore, McVitie’s recently became the first mainstream biscuit brand to enter the organic market through its delicious new range, McVitie’s Yumbles.

The McVitie’s brand has been enjoyed by Irish consumers for generations and today it claims an impressive 19% market share New Maryland Munch Bars are packed with through a stable of iconic cookie pieces, wholegrain cereals and delicious chocolate chips. brands.

Within its portfolio is Ireland’s number one biscuit brand: delicious snack bars, ideal for lunchMcVitie’s Digestive (Source: boxes or after school treats. Jammie ACNielsen 52we MAT Scantrack: Dodgers and Maryland Cookies can 23.03.08). McVitie’s accounts for 85% now be unwrapped and enjoyed.

Fox’s Biscuits of all Digestive sales in Ireland, For years, the Jammie Dodger has Fox’s Biscuits continue to enjoy equating to one packet being purbeen a national treasure and the growth in the biscuit market in 2008, Snack Bars (each pack contains 6 x 23g bars) bring the brand bang up to date. These light and crispy bars are jam-packed with cereal goodness and also include fruit pieces and a tasty layer of Jammie Dodger fruit filling.

Perfect for kids of all ages, the new bars will be the talk of the playgrounds and parks nationwide.

Maryland Munch Bars (each pack contains 6 x 24g bars) are packed with cookie pieces, wholegrain cereals and New Fox’s Whipped Creams are top end creams in two variants: Lustful Lemon delicious chocolate chips. Available in and Sinful Strawberry. two great tasting varieties – Choc Chip and Choc Chip & Hazelnut – Maryland Munch Bars are guaranfollowing their heavyweight teed to hit the spot!

‘Biscwith’ TV campaign this Jammie Dodgers are summer. made by Burton's The past couple of Biscuits, who produce a months have seen the wide range of biscuits introduction of the new but are best known for Fox’s logo, along with a their highly individual vibrant packaging rollbrands like Jammie out program, which has Dodgers, Wagon Wheels heightened focus of the and Viscount, all iconic brand. On-shelf visibility biscuit brands in their has proved greater and own rights. the new look carries all of the Jammie Dodgers are brand’s quality craftsmanship simple in concept: a sandwich of credentials. 'jam' and two shortcake biscuits with As we approach the back end of a heart shaped hole in the upper bisthe year, a number of key retail mileThe McVitie’s brand has been enjoyed cuit to reveal the jam. The brand is a stones take place. First up was the

by Irish consumers for generations, long-term kids’ favourite, and also ‘Back to School’ period and Fox’s heavwith its stable of iconic brands.

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New Fox’s Halloween Party Rings are based on the existing Party Rings product and are coloured in black and orange icing, specifically for the Halloween period.

ily promoted their Chocolate Biscuit Bars (Rocky & Classic ranges) and Organic products to meet the ‘school snack’ requirement.

This month, the trade place a sig-

nificant emphasis on Halloween.

This year Fox’s are introducing a dedicated Halloween line, Fox’s Halloween Party Rings. These are based on the existing Party Rings product and are coloured in black and orange icing, specifically for the Halloween period.

October also sees the introduction of the new Fox’s Whipped Creams, top end creams in two variants: Lustful Lemon and Sinful Strawberry. Extensive research indicates that consumers will be flocking to buy these delicious treats as they hit stores in the coming weeks.

Finally, October also sees the start of the Christmas ranges breaking in store and Fox’s will be featuring its totally refreshed seasonal range for 2008.

Premier Foods Ireland Premier Foods Ireland distribute the brand leaders in the cake sector: Gateaux, Mr. Kipling and Cadbury’s Cakes.

& Cakes

Gateaux is the biggest selling cake brand in the Irish market and is one of Ireland’s best-loved brands. Old favourites such as Gateaux Swiss Roll and Gateaux Logs are constant big sellers, as are Gateaux’s Sponge Cakes, Trifle Sponges, Queen Cakes and Battenbergs. Gateaux have recently introduced new 50% extra free packs to their range of Swiss Rolls, so there’s even more for the whole family to enjoy. 2008 saw a new through-the-line marketing campaign for Gateaux, which used the concept of bringing back the famous and much loved ‘Gotta Getta Gateaux’ jingle.

This Christmas, Gateaux’s new look range of whole cakes and puddings are definite Yuletide essentials and watch out for the new delicious recipes on the Tea Cakes and Yule Log. Famous for its ‘exceedingly good’ Apple Pies, French Fancies and Slices, Mr. Kipling is the brand leader in the small cakes sector. Mr. Kipling recently introduced new Cake Bites to

Mr. Kipling recently introduced new Cake Bites to the Irish market in three flavours, Strawberry & Vanilla, Caramel and Lemon.

Gateaux have recently introduced new 50% extra free packs to their range of Swiss Rolls, so there’s even more for the whole family to enjoy.

the Irish market. A range of delicious, individually wrapped bitesize cakes that are perfect for sharing, these tempting squares of iced coated and colourful sponge cakes are available in three flavours, Strawberry & Vanilla, Caramel and Lemon.

Mr. Kipling also has a fresh new look on its numerous seasonal products including Mince Pies, Pudding Slices and Orange and Cranberry Mini Classics. The improved, fluted Mr. Kipling’s Mince Pies are even more delicious. New this winter, Mr. Kipling Winter Warmers is a variety pack of non-mince tarts featuring delicious winter flavours like Apple & 49

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& Cakes

Cadbury Cake Bites are the latest addition to the range and come in a handy resealable tub in three delicious flavours: Caramel, Choc Chip and Triple Choc Crisp.

Cranberry, Plum, Pear & Cinnamon and Rhubarb.

The Cadbury’s Cakes range is hugely popular with Irish consumers.

Cadbury Mini Rolls, which contain generous amounts of Cadbury milk chocolate and layers of moist sponge, are also available in jam and caramel flavours. Cadbury Cake Bars offer a wide variety of flavours, including Chocolate, Caramel, Orange Crisp, Mint Crisp and Fruit & Nut. For those looking for a smaller treat, Cadbury Cake Bites are the latest addition to the range and come in a handy resealable tub. Available in three delicious flavours, including Caramel, Choc Chip and Triple Choc Crisp, they’re sure to be an instant hit.

For Christmas, the Cadbury Yule Log, Mini Yule Logs and Mint and Orange Crisp Bites are hugely popular and have new, lively packaging for 2008. The Crisp Bites range is now in a resealable tub format, great to share among the family. New offers include a festive Selection Cake Box, featuring a choice of everyone’s favourite Cadbury Cakes and Christmas Curl Cakes, chocolate sponges with a rich chocolate cream filling, topped with white chocolate curls. For Flake lovers, new Festive Flake Cake should prove popular for Christmas 2008.

O ’ H a r a ’s o f F o x f o rd O’Hara’s of Foxford is a family owned bakery and confectionery company founded in 1951. Its portfolio of bread and cake products enjoys nationwide distribution. The company prides itself on “Care in the Making, Care in the Baking”. To this end, they have removed all hydrogenated fats, all artificial 50

colours and artificial flavours from their cake products, while maintaining their signature great taste and quality.

“We continue to improve and innovate showing our commitment to delivering excellent products to our customers,” noted a company spokesperson. “O’Hara’s cakes are amongst the top sellers in the categories they compete in. In the larger cake sector, the Madeira cake is one of the top performers and within the Traditional Fruit cake sector, the Fruit, Sultana, and Foxford Lunch are market leaders.”

2008 is proving to be an exciting time for the O’Hara’s of Foxford brand. The latter part of the year will see a complete redesign of the cake range, with new packaging on Standard, Halloween and Christmas ranges.

Foxford Lunch, one of the star performers in the O’Hara’s of Foxford cake portfolio.

BALANCING ACT SEXY scientist Georgia Salpa weighs up the chocolatey credentials of delicious new McVitie’s teacakes with Darren Abbott of United Biscuits Ireland at their launch in Merrion Square. The teacakes contain 40% milk chocolate yet only have 75 kcals each, proving that Ireland’s chocolate lovers can have their teacake and eat it too. The new teacakes are expected to be a hit in the Irish market, following research that suggests Ireland is a nation of chocoholics, devouring 15% more chocolatebased biscuits than the UK.

Jams & Spreads

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Spreads & Preserves

Preserving Market Share The market for jams, marmalades, spreads and preserves remains strong, with a multitude of loyal consumers.

The

Irish jams, marmalades, spreads and preserves market continues to grow, albeit at a relatively modest 1%. New consumer demands are fuelling changes in the sector, with many consumers seeking out lower fat spreads, while others are trading up to premium offerings. The fact that many Irish adults are eating breakfast out of the home is also effecting the market, yet this sector has an extremely loyal customer base.

The spreads sector includes no fewer than six sub-categories: jams & preserves (including marmalade), honey, nut-based spreads, chocolate spreads, savoury spreads and yellow fats. The jams and preserves market is still dominant, but generally shows the lowest growth rates due to its maturity. The advent of organic options and super-premium products, however, are adding extra vitality to the sector, while nut-based spreads have been showing the most dynamic growth in value terms, albeit from a low base.

Fruitfield The Fruitfield brand can be traced back all the way to 1853 when the Lamb Brothers started making jams and marmalades for the Irish market.

The massively popular marmalade range from Fruitfield.

Fruitfield also has a tasty range of Fruitfield is the dominant brand in jams, with popular varieties of the marmalade market, claiming Strawberry, Raspberry and approximately 50% market share.

Blackcurrant.

Fruitfield Old Time Irish The Fruitfield brand is owned and Marmalade consists of a range of mardistributed by the Jacob Fruitfield malades with intense Seville orange Food Group – flavour, packed with thickly cut slices www.jacobfruitfield.com. of orange peel for full flavour. Old Time Irish Coarse Cut is the single biggest-selling marmalade in Ireland.

Real Irish Food In addition to this traditional Company favourite, there are also Fine Cut and The Real Irish Food Company is a No Peel varieties available. quality “artisan” style brand which The Little Chip Marmalade range supplies top quality preserves to the tends to have bittersweet citrus Irish market. Launched in 2006 The flavours and finely cut fruit pieces for a Real Irish Food Company is 100% smooth spreadable marmalade. Little Irish owned and the products are Chip Orange Fine Cut is the second made in the manufacturing facility in best-selling product in the market and Drogheda, Co. Louth. Only the finest is another must-stock item for retailquality ingredients are used to make ers. As well as this family favourite, The Real Irish Food Company prodthere are also Lemon, Lemon & Lime ucts and there are absolutely no artiand Orange No Peel varieties available.

The Fruitfield marmalade range consists of Spanish Gold and Orange.

For the health conscious, there are Fruitfield Reduced Sugar and Only the finest quality ingredients are used to make The Real Diabetic maraIrish Food Company products and there are absolutely no malades. artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.

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Spreads & Preserves

Valley Group, with its unique ficial colours, flavours or design and ‘home made’ preservatives. image, really stands out inThere are five different store and appears very attracpreserves to choose from in tive to consumers. Irish conThe Real Irish Food sumers are trading up to preCompany range: the ever mium offerings in jam, with popular strawberry, raspan emphasis on quality, and berry and blackcurrant Bonne Maman jams are perjams, along with Irish fectly positioned to meet this Breakfast Marmalade and trend, boasting a minimum of Irish Whiskey Marmalade.

50% whole fruit per 100g of The Real Irish Food jam product.

Company preserves are Bonne Maman is availholders of many Great New from Boyne Valley Honey are a range of varietal honeys in able in Strawberry, Apricot, Taste Awards, including 350g squeezy, including Organic Acacia, Wildflower, Orange Blackcurrant, Blackberry, gold awards for the Irish Blossom and Eucalyptus.

Raspberry, Peach, Damson Breakfast Marmalade, Plum, Berries and Cherries, Wild Raspberry Preserve and Strawberry 2008 sees the launch of Boyne Blueberry, Orange Marmalade and Preserve.

Valley Manuka Active 10+ Honey Bronagh Conlon, the custodian of available in 350g jars. the Real Irish Food Company, has just Manuka Honey is one launched a new recipe booklet – of the key drivers of which is available in stores nationgrowth in the honey wide, while their website, category, with conwww.realirishfood.ie, has just been sumers recognising its relaunched with tasty recipes and various health beneproduct information. fits.

The Real Irish Food Company Also new to launch brand is distributed by Jacob from Boyne Valley Fruitfield Foods Group.

Honey are a range of varietal honeys in 350g squeezy, including Bonne Maman jams boast a minimum of 50% whole fruit Boyne Valley Honey Organic Acacia, Boyne Valley Honey has been availper 100g of jam product.

Wildflower, Orange able to Irish consumers for almost 50 Mandarin Marmalade flavours. Bonne Blossom and Eucalyptus. years and is the most popular brand Maman Jams are 100% natural and of honey in Ireland. Boyne Valley are free from preservatives, flavourHoney is 100% pure and natural. It is Bonne Maman ing and colouring. available in a range of formats, from Bonne Maman, the premium French Bonne Maman’s success will conthe 250g kids squeezy right up to the jam, has full distribution throughout tinue into 2008 with a heavyweight 907g jar. The 250g squeezy has been Ireland and has seen a very impresnational promotional campaign. specifically developed with young consive 25% growth year to date. For sumers in mind and features the many years, Bonne Maman has been ‘Bizzy Bee’ character. the uncontested leader in its market Panda Chocolate with a continuing strategy to sustain Spread growing consumer demand, according Panda Chocolate Spread, a favourite to the Boyne Valley Group. with Irish households, is so versatile Bonne Maman, from the Boyne that it can be used for practically any

2008 sees the launch of Boyne Valley Manuka Active 10+ Honey available in 350g jars.

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Panda Chocolate Spread comes in a range of three flavours, Chocolate, Hazelnut and Two Tone.

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occasion. This delicious range of 400g chocolate spreads comes in a range of three flavours, Chocolate, Hazelnut and Two Tone, so there’s one to suit even the pickiest of eaters.

Panda Peanut Butter is another much loved favourite with school children. Panda Peanut Butter comes in three flavours, Smooth and Crunchy and new Extra Crunchy, which are available in both a 1kg and 510g jar.

Whether it is spread over hot crunchy toast or used as a dip, Panda Peanut Butter is the perfect accompaniment for all meal times.

Watch out for some exciting new promotions and developments in the Panda range over the coming months.

Kerins Foods In October 2006, John Kerins and his sister, Theresa, launched Kerins Foods at the SHOP Exhibition in Dublin’s RDS. Today, the company markets, sells and distributes quality ambient foods and confectionery to both retail and catering customers who have a choice of branded and

private labelled products. An important part of their product mix is the jams and spreads that they take in from the sunny Mediterranean coast of Spain.

Jumel is a leading jam and fruit spread company, whose products are distributed in Ireland by Kerins Foods. The Spanish company is based south of Valencia in the town of Gandia.

Founded 25 years ago, it too is a family run company that has high ambitions.

Earlier in 2008, the company attended both the Barcelona International Food and Beverages Exhibition and Gulfood in Dubai.

The latter is the most

Jumel is a leading jam and fruit spread company, whose products are distributed in Ireland

by Kerins Foods.

Spreads & Preserves

important business exhibition in that region, with more than 2400 exhibitors attending in 2007.

Jumel products include 350g and 235g squeezey bottles of jams with non-drip caps, as well as portion jams and honey. Diet jams in 230g bottles are another important quality product. They have also recently introduced diet jams with high fibre content. Retail sizes and branded and private label are available. Kerins Foods are currently launching the 235g format jam with 55% fruit content on to the Irish market, perfect for discerning Irish customers, and they also distribute a range of 20g jam portions for the catering sector.

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Londis Revamp

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Store Innovations

New Look For Londis ADM Londis plc recently launched its new state-of-theart store innovations as part of its National Retailer Conference, which took place in the Heritage Golf and Spa Resort, Killenard.

ADM

Londis plc has launched a host of new store innovations, which have been fully incorporated into the group’s Monaghan store and the Group hopes to continue this rollout throughout 2009.

A Collaborative Approach Working in close consultation with Londis retailers, this new offering has been in development for over 12 months, with the emphasis on ensuring an optimum balance between operational effectiveness and a customer focused retail experience. The innovations focus on three key areas: - Layout and Product Arrangement; - Design and Feature Specifications; - Category and Product Focus.

Store Layouts & Design Outlining the Londis approach, Ruth Norton, Group Marketing Manager, said, “We needed to treat this project as if we were designing a store for the very first time. It was time to inject a new and bright atmosphere into our stores and to enhance the experience of our customers, whilst ensuring that at all times a good balance between operational effectiveness and a customer focused design was achieved.�

Layouts were overhauled to more closely reflect consumer trends, product growth categories and margin potential, in order to maximise sales and profit from a particular square footage. It was a matter of ensuring the ideal positioning, based on the correct product offering to the consumer.

To further enhance the customer experience, Londis set about creating a design which would instantly reflect the quality of the new store offering: drop down ceilings, creative lighting solutions and enhanced use of imagery were introduced, allowing for easier customer navigation and adding to the aspirational appeal of the store.

Strategic Positioning A strategic use of refrigeration ensures customers receive strong fresh cues on first entering the store. An impulse chilled unit is given prominence within the layout, ensuring breakfast and lunch purchase occasions are clearly catered to. This unit will focus on providing fresh and chilled product offerings to consumers, such as salad varieties, wraps, granola mixes, yoghurts etc.

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Store Innovations

Coffee:

um location, whilst low lying units deliver improved sightlines and allow maximum visual impact across the store.

A seated area provides added functionality to the store, giving customers an area where they can take a minute to enjoy freshly prepared options from the deli.

Coffee is the major footfall driver in convenience stores.

As such, it became a fundamental goal of Londis to establish Londis “Coffee to Go” as a destination category for all store formats, whilst ensuring it is done in a way which adds considerably greater value to the individual retailer.

Following extensive research with many existing branded suppliers, Londis decided upon direct sourcing.

Direct sourcing ensures Londis can control the quality of the bean, the consistency of the offering across all Londis stores carrying the Londis coffee brand, and offer significant savings to retailers, across not only coffee beans but also all associated consumables. Londis has created the brand Plantation Coffee Co. to represent this coffee offering in-store.

Deli: Next Generation Store Signage Internally illuminated light box graphics denote key categories. These light box graphics have added impact and can easily be changed to communicate seasonal or promotional messages. In addition, the use of conceptual screen signage has been embraced within the Monaghan store, with key category messages highlighted on the screens.

Category & Product Innovation Londis has further identified significant potential to add value and profitability to new categories, ensuring added value to Londis customers and retailers alike. Category innovations and product range developments with fresh juices, coffee and deli offerings have been devised, further strengthening the Londis proposition.

Significant enhancements to the deli offering have also been implemented, with units chosen to complement the product range and display it at its best.

The key element of making a deli work as hard as possible is to ensure that the offering is tailored to the time of day, so for example, healthy hot meals-to-go replace the hot breakfast counter, once the breakfast rush has been catered for. In addition, consumer awareness of and demand for low salt, low sugar and low fat continue to be reflected in purchasing strategies, ensuring Londis continues to respond to the changing tastes of consumers.

These changing tastes have impacted on purchasing behaviour within a number of retail categories. For example, a new Omelette Melts offering was developed in conjunction with deli suppliers and is available exclusively to Londis. This is a healthy, protein rich dish for consumers to enjoy at breakfast, lunch or dinner, and as such is a very versatile addition to the Londis deli range.

Londis Fresh Londis place considerable emphasis on their Fresh Food offering, with the highest quality products sourced for their consumers. In this regard, the development of Londis Fresh, a food-to-go brand reflecting healthy, fresh, convenient products, will allow retailers to create meal to go individual portions, sandwiches and other offerings and sell them under this brand. Londis Fresh represents an ongoing commitment to provide healthy fresh food-to-go, particularly to those consumers who are not prepared to sacrifice a nutritionally balanced meal for convenience.

Concluding, Ruth Norton Group Marketing Manager said, “In essence, what Londis has done is ensure that all points of contact with the customer within the store environment have been controlled and enhanced. This project has enhanced individually all possible touch points and as a whole, promotes an exceptional shopping experience to the customer, while at the same time, enhancing margin opportunities for the retailer.”

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Soups

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Soup-er Market New formats, new flavours and heightened convenience are helping to grow the soups sector.

options, including premium soup ranges.

Heinz

The Heinz and Weight Watchers from Heinz soup ranges have long proven to be a firm favourite with Irish consumers. Heinz remains ever relevant to its consumers though continual investment in its soup portfolio to drive incremental sales and satisfy consumer tastes and needs such as eating on the go, health and putting the pleasure soup market back in soup. is worth €54.8m in The Heinz Ireland, according to Heinz Taste of Home is a range of delicious chunky, traditional, home-style soups, ready Classics range the latest figures from from the microwave in three minutes. remains a firm ACNielsen, which is Heinz Farmers’ Market is a new family favourite, divided between packrange of delicious soups made with with classic recipes et, instant, canned selected ingredients and inspired by such as Cream of and fresh soups. The farmers' markets. In a larger 515g Tomato and Cream of market continues to can, Heinz Farmers’ Market soups Chicken remaining grow, with industry offer delicious varieties including as popular as ever. estimates suggesting Chicken & Country Vegetable and Increases in cona 4.4% average annuLamb & Root Vegetable. sumer demand for al growth rate.

Heinz remains ever responsive to premium, convenient, Snacking and consumer demands for healthy and ready to serve soups convenience have convenient products that do not comsaw the Heinz Soup been key drivers of promise on taste. Weight Watchers portfolio extend in the soup market. from Heinz, the healthy eating soup 2007 and further Less formal eating brand, has added a number of new drive this trend occasions, the varieties in a larger 400g sized can, through the introducgrowth of the light including Chicken, Potato & Leek tion of a number of lunch and grazing and Tuscan Minestrone. All Weight new ranges and forhave all influenced Watchers from Heinz varieties exclumats. Heinz Taste of new product developsively carry the Weight Watchers Home is a range of ment, such as the Points Value on pack. delicious soups growth of fresh, Heinz Farmers’ Market is a new ready from the microwaveable range of delicious soups made with soups. Convenience selected ingredients, which come in a microwave in three Knorr larger 515g can. minutes. Each genis very important to Knorr claims leadership of the Irish erous 430g single Irish consumers, soup market, with an overall share serve microwaveable pot offers a particularly as the number of dualof 33.9%. Knorr operates within the chunky, traditional, home-style soup, income households increases, but packet, instant and wet ambient ideal for lunch or as a light meal soluIrish consumers refuse to sacrifice soup markets and claims market tion and is available in delicious varitaste and quality. The ever-increasleadership in both packet and eties such as Chicken & Vegetable ing amount of affluent Irish coninstant soup with shares of 70.4% in Casserole, Country Vegetable Casserole sumers are now spending more monthe packet sector and 59.5% in the and Lancashire Lamb Hotpot. ey, trading up to premium, fresher instant sector (Source: AC Nielsen

The

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Soups

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The hugely popular Knorr brand is synonymous with the soup sector in Ireland.

Extended Scantrack, MAT to August 10, 2008).

Erin Soups offers a delicious range of pouched, canned, packet and instant

Knorr Special Recipe Soups have a deliciously fresh, homemade taste and come in a variety of flavours and pack sizes to suit the 1-2 person household and families alike.

Knorr is also growing quickly within the wet ambient soup market, thanks to the huge success of Knorr Special Recipe Soup. Knorr Special Recipe Soup claims 41% of the pouch soup market and is growing strong.

These pouch soups have a deliciously fresh, homemade taste and come in a variety of flavours and pack sizes to suit the 1-2 person household and families alike.

Currently, Knorr is the main brand driving innovation in the soup market and this autumn is a very busy time for Knorr, with launches to the market of new exciting varieties of pouch soup and a range organic packet soup.

Erin With over 40 years in the Irish market,

soups. Following the 2008 Campbell’s to Erin migration, the revitalised Erin brand is driving innovation with new flavours in the hugely popular Soupfulls pouch range.

Erin Condensed Soups are the leading canned soup, claiming a 37.3% value share (August 2008). A classic and

New Soupfulls Smooth from Erin is a delicious range of smooth and wholesome soups.

extremely versatile soup, the Erin Condensed range has 13 different soups, including Low Fat, Family and Special Choice packs that provide easy meal solutions for all occasions.

Erin Soupfulls claims a 44.4% value share of the pouch sector (August 2008). Specially created for today’s busy lifestyles, Soupfulls are full of chunky meat, pasta and vegetables and are ready in just minutes. This autumn, Soupfulls have a selection of new varieties available, which include Minestrone and a new range called Soupfulls Smooth. This delicious range of smooth and wholesome soups includes three tasty flavours: Tomato and Basil, Carrot & Coriander and Cream of Mushroom.

Erin HotCup is the second biggest instant soup brand on the market, with a wide offering for all consumer tastes. Erin HotCup Original, Erin HotCup with Croutons and HotCup Creamy guarantee something for all tastes for a quick, convenient, anytime snack.

Heavy investment in TV advertising, below the line activity and PR by Premier Foods Ireland will continue to drive Erin’s growth in the Irish soup market.

Avonmore Produced by Glanbia Consumer Foods, Avonmore Fresh Soup is the perfect solution to winter meal dilemmas. Avonmore Fresh Soup is Ireland’s favourite fresh soup, claiming over 70% of the total fresh soup category and offering the comforting taste and goodness associated with

Avonmore Fresh Chunky Soup, the newest addition to the Avonmore Soup family, is a range of chunky and nutritious soups to satisfy even the heartiest of appetites!

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Soups

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Cully & Sully

Irish-made with the finest ingredients, Avonmore Fresh Soup is low in saturated fat and packed fresh to seal in valuable flavour and freshness.

homemade soup, presented in a wide range of delicious recipes. Irish-made with the finest ingredients, Avonmore Fresh Soup is low in saturated fat and packed fresh to seal in valuable flavour and freshness. The wide range of flavours satisfies any taste palette.

Avonmore Fresh Chunky Soup, the newest addition to the Avonmore Soup family, is a range of chunky and nutritious soups to satisfy even the heartiest of appetites! There are three flavours in the range, each of these providing consumers with 1-2 portions of vegetables per serving and are distinctively packaged in a range of microwaveable bowls.

Brownes Now in partnership with Martin Food Equipment, Brownes, who have been supplying the retail trade since 2001, are offering retailers an excellent self-

Brownes and Martin Food Equipment have joined forces to offer retailers an excellent self-service soup option.

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Cully & Sully’s award-winning soup range offers a new healthy and delicious offering in chilled convenience.

They are gluten free, vegetarian (except the Chicken) and low in fat and salt. The range is available in seven different flavours: Chicken and Vegetable Soup; Full bodied Vegetable Soup; Creamy Tomato Soup; Carrot and Coriander Soup; Mushroom Soup; Pea and Mint Soup; White Winter Vegetable Soup.

Cully & Sully recently celebrated a

service soup option. Together, Brownes and Martin Food Equipment have devised a complete offering which includes a double well, or single well Ban Marie, branded by Brownes Soups and with product support supplied

by Brownes.

This self-service option allows customers to purchase a serving of Brownes Fresh Soup for immediate conCully & Sully’s award-winning soup range offers a new healthy and delicious offering in chilled convenience. sumption. According to Sarah Browne, Sales & Marketing Director, M&S Browne win at the international Sial D’Or Ltd, it has been proven that linking competition in The Chilled non-dairy self-service offerings with a wellcategory. known and respected retail brand will lead to greater sales than if the prodBreeo Foods uct offered is unbranded.

Breeo Foods have teamed up with The Browne’s portfolio also includes renowned Irish chef and TV personalia 600g range, all of which are gluten ty Paul Rankin to launch a delicious free, competitively priced and available range of natural and wholesome fresh for supply throughout Ireland.

Irish soups. Paul has spent over a year developing the range at Cayenne, one of his award winning restaurants in Belfast.

The Paul Rankin premium soup range is available in three flavours and comes in a handy microwavable pack. Made with only natural ingredients, this premium product range contains no artificial flavours or preservatives.

The range consists of The Brownes soup brand is proving a real winner Home-Style Vegetable with Irish consumers.

Soup, Chicken Chowder

Soups

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Breeo Foods have teamed up with renowned Irish chef and TV personality Paul Rankin to launch a delicious range of natural and wholesome fresh Irish soups.

and sauces includes both dry packet soups and microwaveable pouch formats, while the company also produces stock cubes, desserts and readymade pasta and rice meals.

Already, Kerins Foods have secured contracts for private label retail soups with some major supermarket chains in Ireland. With sufficient minimum volumes, private label for the catering sector is also available.

Interal have their own catering brand called Chambo, which is being introduced to Ireland by Kerins Foods via the Stonehouse cash & carry network.

Kelly Hunter Trading and Tomato and Roast Pepper Soup and can PROFI is the leader in the be enjoyed at a Polish market as producers moment's notice - perof soups and pate and Kelly fect for a lunch or a Hunter Trading is rapidly convenient supper. establishing PROFI as a key Distributed by player in the Irish market, Breeo Foods in with distribution into over Ireland, the range of 450 outlets in 2008. PROFI soups boast an innovaproduces over 27% of instant tive and attractive soups available in the entire pack design, which Polish market. PROFI makes the soups attributes its success to the instantly recognisable, integrity of its 80 products, as they carry the diswhich are truly tasty with tinctive Paul Rankin no preservatives, no chemiKerins Foods distribute soups from Interal, one of Europe’s branding. The new Paul cals and they all come with a largest producers of private label soups and sauces.

Rankin soups will be the only two-year guarantee. PROFI fresh soup on the market with a largest producers of private label soups are homemade, with a tradirecognised Chef ’s brand and are soups and sauces and among their tional Polish taste and their convenavailable in stores across Ireland. clients is the Carrefour supermarket ient packaging is extremely eye-catchchain in France. Their range of soups Each soup retails at €3.49. ing on shelves.

Kerins Foods Launched in October 2006 at the SHOP exhibition, Kerins Foods markets, sells and distributes quality ambient foods and confectionery to both the catering and the retail sectors.

Customers have the choice of branded and private label products. Their mix of products is sourced from Spanish producers who are leaders in their fields.

All are fully compliant and are IS09001, HACCP and BRC accredited.

Kerins Foods distribute for Interal, who are based in the north of Spain. Established in 1968, Interal is one of Europe’s

Kelly Hunter Trading distribute the PROFI range of Polish soups throughout Ireland.

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Home Baking

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Page 1

Baking

Piece Of Cake The peak selling period for home baking products is upon us.

It’s

fair to say that home baking was in decline for a number of years. While the Celtic Tiger had us in its grip, few Irish people had the time or inclination to bake at home. However, all that is changing, and not just because the tiger has ceased roaring, but moreso because suppliers and manufacturers recognised the fact that few consumers have the time to bake these days, at least from scratch. The solution for most is the evolution of the “convenience” home baked products - mixes, doughs and fillings that can be quickly assembled and prepared for an authentic, fresh baked taste. New flavours, organic ingredients and speciality or novelty doughs are becoming standard features in the convenience products being offered in-store and consumers love it.

Mixes for cakes, brownies, muffins and refrigerated or frozen doughs pastries etc are helping the home baking market to enter once more into a period of growth. Indeed, the home baking market is now worth over €51m per annum as consumers all over the country return to their ovens.

Odlums As one of the main brands driving innovation in the baking category, Odlums has maintained its number one position with a strong share of market, according to the company.

Continuous development of its award winning Quick range has helped attract a younger consumer to the baking aisle, driving new volume to the category.

During the festive season, Odlums’ quality flour is a favourite in the fam60

any home baking enthusiast. The brand’s product portfolio ranges from dried fruit, such as raisins, sultanas and currants, to cherries and peel, tree fruit and sugars, all of which are essential ingredients for this home Odlums Quick Mix Cakes have a preparation time of baking season. just five minutes, eliminating tedious mixing and This Christmas, the weighing of ingredients.

Shamrock home baking range will be supported by a host of ily kitchen, with sales reaching an allin-store promotional activity, includyear high. For those consumers who ing recipe leaflets, extra fills and mulcan’t seem to find the time this Christmas to bake from scratch, Odlums Quick Mix Cakes, Breads and Scones are the perfect solution. With a preparation time of just five minutes, these products eliminate tedious mixing and Shamrock boasts an extensive range of premium weighing of ingredients.

Odlums Luxury Cake quality products to meet the needs of any home baking enthusiast.

Mixes are a popular choice during the Christmas Season as a ti-buys. A dedicated marketing camhassle-free dessert option. These prepaign will also take place in press, mium products are availradio and online media. able in two delicious The purpose is to remind flavours: Double consumers that Shamrock Chocolate, made with real is one of Ireland’s leading Belgian chocolate, and suppliers of quality bakCaramel Temptation. ing ingredients.

Packaging of all prodShamrock has also ucts has taken on a freshreleased a number of dedier look, ensuring greater cated Point of Sale dison-shelf stand-out in time plays for retailers to help for the busy Christmas promote what is an essenseason. Oldums will furtial store brand for the ther support its products coming Christmas. this Christmas with a dedicated radio, press and Flahavan’s direct mail campaign.

Flahavan’s Pinhead and Oatbran are totally natuFlahavan’s Pinhead ral products milled with Shamrock Oatmeal is available in a the same attention to As one of Ireland’s leading 1kg pack and can be quality that give home baking brands, added to brown bread, Shamrock boasts an exten- biscuits, soups and many Flahavan’s products their other home baking distinctive texture and sive range of premium recipes for that extra bit taste. Flahavan’s quality products that are of texture and bite.

Pinhead Oatmeal is sure to meet the needs of

Home Baking

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fruits was launched in available in a 1kg pack response to consumer and can be added to brown demand for premium bakbread, biscuits, soups and ing and snacking prodmany other home baking ucts. This range includes recipes for that extra bit of sultanas, raisins, golden texture and bite. raisins, currants and fruit Flahavan’s Oatbran, mix, all packed in the latavailable in 750g packs, est stand-up stabillo has more oat flour extractpackaging with a resealed than most other brands able tab. The Gourmet available. This means the range is being supported oat bran is of a higher by strong in-store promoquality and per gram reptions for the Christmas resents the healthiest oat baking season. bran around. Rich in soluble fibre, Flahavan's Oat Bran can be sprinkled as a Wonderbar Rich in soluble fibre, topping in any hot or cold Flahavan's Oat Bran can Cooking be added and used in cereal, or can be added Chocolate breads, baking or and used in breads, baking Wonderbar Cooking cooking to enhance the or cooking to enhance the Chocolate, from the nutritional value of the nutritional value of the Boyne Valley Group, is a food. food. Rich in iron, which is firm favourite in houseimportant for growing children, oats holds throughout the country. are a rich source of complex carbohyWonderbar has undergone a drates which provide a slow release of energy throughout the day.

Gem Pack Foods Ltd

Baking

in a variety of flavours to suit all tastes: Dark, Milk and White, available in 150g, 450g and the 1kg catering size. New this year is Wonderbar Microwaveable Cooking Chocolate, which is available in a handy microwaveable pouch. Wonderbar is supported throughout 2008 by an extensive press campaign.

Lyle’s Golden Syrup Lyles Golden Syrup is the number one brand of golden syrup in Ireland.

2008’s Guinness Book of Records recently nominated Lyle’s Golden Syrup as the oldest unchanged brand in existence.

This year, the brand is 125 years old and to celebrate its classic Golden Syrup, Lyle’s have produced a series of special edition anniversary tins. A twist on the iconic green tin with gold logo, the special editions are gold, with a green logo featuring a quirky substitute for the Lyle’s brand name.

‘Perfect in Puddings’, ‘Fantastic in Flapjacks’ and ‘Pour it on Porridge’ describe exactly what most people do with their golden syrup.

Christmas is a big baking time for Lyle’s as people stock up on their Black Treacle and Golden Syrup for those delicious Christmas cakes and puddings.

The Gem range of baking products, which are packed in Ireland in Gem Pack Foods’ state-of-theart factory, offers retailers a one-stop shop when it comes to stocking up for the Christmas season. Wonderbar Cooking Chocolate has undergone a makeover recently, with contemporary new packaging and its best ever The range includes sulchocolate recipe. tanas, raisins, currants, fruit mix and flour. Their complete makeover recently, with contemporary range of sugars, the only sugar new packaging and its best ever packed in Ireland, have all been rechocolate recipe. It is so versatile, it launched in exciting new packaging. can be used in a wide variety of The Gem Gourmet range of dried recipes, including chocolate chews, buns, cakes, toppings, mousses and, of course, coming up to Christmas, it is the perfect decoration for all cakes, buns and treats.

Wonderbar Cooking To celebrate its 125th anniversary, Chocolate, which Lyle’s Golden Syrupis available in a The Gem Gourmet range of dried fruits was launched in series of special edition is made in response to consumer demand for premium baking and anniversary tins.

Ireland, comes snacking products.

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Money matters

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October08Money

Page 1

Matters

Getting Better

by Design Carmel Linnane provides a host of tips on how to improve your business performance, from financial planning to stock rotation. “The most difficult balancing act for any outlet is pricing. You may have high quality goods but you must not price yourself out of the market.

By satisfying your customers with high quality products and extra service, you encourage repeat business, but your pricing must be competitive.�

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Every

business can do with improvement, regardless of size or orientation. It could benefit from reducing costs, increasing margins, getting a make-over, streamlining products, upgrading marketing techniques, improving staff/customer relations and so on.

For the average retail outlet, the common goal is to make money and success is generally measured by continuing financial gain. To this end, the owner/manager must look at the return on capital to ascertain the value of his or her efforts when trying to improve the business.

Planning While larger businesses have teams of accountants working out the level of their success, owners of smaller businesses do not have this luxury. Many SME owners have a general feel for how things are going but are not conversant with the actual fluctuations of the day to day business.

The original business plan is an early benchmark to be tapped into. For many, the three/five year business plan was produced to aid securing a bank loan or other funding and then put away and forgotten about. That business plan should be dusted down and used as a baseline for measuring

progress. See how far the business has moved from the original idea. Since the genesis of the business, a number of factors will inevitably have changed.

Take all those changes into consideration and redefine the direction of the company.

If there is no business plan, there are other measures that can be employed. Determine how much the company is making per cumulative hour of work, outline costs and overheads, and as accurately as possible, try to get a handle on daily net revenues. Once a clearer picture of the current baseline is drawn up, set benchmarks to periodically measure how the business is performing.

Costs One of the obvious ways to improve the bottom line is to try to reduce costs.

There are a number of ways to do so.Technology has allowed stock to be monitored more accurately. Computer software will monitor stock levels, tell you what to re-order, what is not selling and what is popular. To keep the optimum level of stock, you must monitor flows continually.

Understand your market. Monitor stock changes. Remove slow selling lines and where possible, add valueadded products. Carrying high levels of

Money matters

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October08Money

stock can place a heavy burden on cash levels available to the business. On the other hand, if you have too little stock, you cannot meet customers’ demands.

That is why you need to focus on accurate stock control practices.

You must know the exact cost of carrying stock - insurance, premises, heating, lighting etc. Know how long stock sits on your shelves before being sold. Use techniques such as sales or promotions to sell slow moving or outdated stock.

selling, and delivering your product.

Assess staffing productivity and see if you can improve morale and output.

You need to constantly look for ways to encourage repeat business.

Efficient, helpful staff are a major asset. Cleanliness, food hygiene, health and safety must be monitored to achieve the highest standards possible.

Help your staff feel part of the team and underline the importance of their role in the business.

Layout Outgoings Look at the big outgoings in your business. If you have outstanding loans, try to find better rates or improved mortgaging terms. Insurance is a high cost, so shop around regularly for new deals or offers. Suppliers’ terms are also something that must be monitored and improved on a continual basis.

For new companies, the negotiation process with suppliers can be particularly challenging. Larger and more established outfits will use their purchasing power to obtain better discounts, leaving smaller players to make up the resulting shortfall in supplier profits. You will, however, find that as your company grows and your financial position strengthens, your ability to negotiate supplier discounts will improve. Do your homework well before approaching any supplier.

Check out other suppliers operating in the market and compare prices.

Quantity discounts are often made available to buyers who can guarantee that they will purchase a pre-determined quantity of goods over an agreed period of time. But take care not to commit to buying more than you need or can afford. Early settlement discounts are another option that may win you special terms. They will vary from one supplier to another but you can expect to obtain a certain percentage off the total purchasing price for committing to early settlement.

Incidentals On a broader note, look at the daily running of the business. Look at your transport costs: try ordering shipping supplies in bulk. Try to reduce wasted effort, material and time in making,

Well laid out fixtures will help improve the shopping experience and lead to greater customer loyalty. Customers nowadays want to be tempted to buy and have little time for searching for products. To this end, make products easily accessible and clearly marked.

Look for opportunities to add addition-

“For many, the three/five year business plan was produced to aid securing a bank loan or other funding and then put away and forgotten about.

That business plan should be dusted down and used as a baseline for measuring progress.”

Matters

al services. Reading the trade press and attending exhibitions may help suggest potential ideas. Test out new ranges of stock, use your displays and marketing to attract new customers.

Seek out other successful outlets and find out what they are doing.

Change By offering other services, a shop can become a ‘destination point’ and not just a place where people go when they run out of something. Some shops have added trendy coffee bars and delicatessens. However, just as important are the little things, perhaps not offered by the multiples, like photo processing, sale of mobile credit, computer ink, photocopying, an ATM machine etc. View your business through the eyes of your customers and try to anticipate what they may want.

Pricing The most difficult balancing act for any outlet is pricing. You may have high quality goods but you must not price yourself out of the market. By satisfying your customers with high quality products and extra service, you encourage repeat business, but your pricing must be competitive. Although marketing and advertising are important to attract more customers, quality of service and customer satisfaction are what keep a business successful in the long run.

Improvement Setting clear standards for your business allows you to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of your goals. Every business can benefit from improvement. To assess your efforts, set guidelines and checks to monitor performance. Do not throw good money after bad if something is not working. Keep trying new means and methods until you get the formula right. As a retailer in this current competitive environment, you can never sit on your laurels. Tastes change and customers can be fickle.

To stay on top, you need to be constantly vigilant to changing tastes and interests and continually strive to improve your business.

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Grease Traps

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Page 1

Oils & Greases

Ensuring Hygiene In-Store Are you meeting your legal obligations with regard to fats, oils and greases?

Dublin

City Council have implemented a Fats, Oils & Greases (FOG) management programme since January 2008. Similar programs will be “rolled out” by all Councils in Ireland.

The (FOG) management programme requires all FSEs and relevant contractors to adopt the following procedures.

1. A hydraulic flow computation is required.

2. Digital photographs of all kitchen equipment going to drain need to be clearly labelled. In the case of new builds, an AutoCAD Schematic of the kitchen would be required to show the kitchen appliances. A clearly labelled photo of the proposed location is also required.

3. A Best Management Practice (BMP) policy guide for training of

GreaseShield THE GreaseShield from Environmental Products & Services is an unrivalled solution to grease related problems. User-friendly, efficient and effective, it also saves on energy: it removes FOGs without the need to heat the effluent, saving an average of 1.5 KWs electricity per hour and reducing Carbon emissions by 0.43 Kgs of CO2 per hour (= 5.5 tonnes per annum and a sizable electrical bill).

Its unique internal cleaning features and self-cleaning Greasetrap make it the ideal solution.

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all kitchen staff to eliminate solids and greases from entering the drainage system should be attached. The BMP guide should include the following: (a) An acceptable sampling point is required on each and every grease trap outlet. It is proposed to sample effluent on a periodic basis (4 times per year) via this sampling port.

The right choice of equipment is important if future problems are to be minimised. (b) Daily Maintenance Log Book to record the amount of FOGs and Solids being removed daily and the daily emptying and cleaning has been carried out. (c) Secure FOG storage containers. (d) Post signs at all hand wash and vegetable prep sinks, stating “No Washing Operations Are Conducted At This Sink” are required. (e) A commissioning and training certificate, to be carried out and completed post installation of the equipment. (f) A manifest record to be maintained for the purpose of recording the collection of all waste FOGs and to facilitate an audit of transportation and disposal of FOG waste to ensure statutory compliance. (g) Service Maintenance Contract for grease trapping equipment. An inspection of the FSE will be carried out four times per year to ensure compliance of the terms and conditions of the license.

Every FSE will be required to pay an annual fee to Dublin City Council.

This fee will vary from €590 for canteens and €870 for Pubs, Restaurants and Supermarkets, to €1630 for larger establishments. As noted above in point (a), effluent sampling will be carried out on a periodic basis and an FSE may face significant additional

costs arising from non compliance with effluent licensing parameters.

The above, together with the submission of a license application (along with a fee of €380 payable to Dublin City Council) and the proposal to conform to the anticipated effluent discharge parameters, constitutes the application for a license to discharge trade effluent to the sewer.

Environmental Products & Services FOR grease-shields installed before January, 2008, County Down-based Environmental Products & Services will extend to all existing clients a five-year comprehensive maintenance contract programme, which will include and upgrade to the latest GreaseShield specification and a compliance pack, to ensure they are adhering to the legislation.

For new customers, Environmental Products & Services will supply its award winning equipment and a compliance ready package, including: - 304 SS adjustable hygiene service/access stand - Delivery - Standard Plumbing Installation, 1 Single Bay or Double Bay Pot Sink (Normal Working Hours) Extras Chargeable, e.g. Combi Oven - 5 Year Comprehensive Service Maintenance Contract as required by licensing conditions in consent to discharge trade effluent license - FOG Storage Container - Maintenance Log Book - Sampling PointBest Management Practice Guide - Commissioning - Staff Training - Proposal/Submission to the relevant Municipal Authority.

For more information, contact Environmental Products & Services Ltd on 048 41 752244

What's New

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October08What’s

New

Wispa Returns to Shelves

New Boost for Berocca

A LEGEND is reborn this month when the chocolate bar that got over 40,000 people talking on Facebook alone, officially returns to our shelves. Cadbury has listened to the fans and is giving Irish consumers exactly what they’ve asked for, Wispa back on sale in Ireland and Great Britain. When Wispa returned for a short time last year, Irish people witnessed 3,006,288 bars of Wispa fly off the shelves. Its record breaking success in 2007 awarded Wispa a place in the brand hall of fame. It was the first Cadbury brand brought back by consumer demand and the biggest ever of its kind in Ireland.

BAYER has launched a new addition, Berocca Boost to its successful Berocca brand. Developed as a healthy alternative to other stimulants such as coffee or energy drinks and containing vitamins, minerals and Guarana, Berocca Boost has been clinically proven to give an instant boost of energy, increasing speed and accuracy while decreasing tiredness. One glass of refreshing Berocca Boost provides 100% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamins B and C. The launch of Berocca Boost will be supported with a new Irish TV commercial reaching over 3 million people several times, an impactful outdoor advertising campaign and PR announcing the launch.

USA’s No. 1 Energy Drink MONSTER Energy, the number one energy drink in the US, launched in convenience outlets across Ireland in September, distributed by Glanbia Consumer Foods.

Monster has leveraged consumer demand for a refreshing energy drink that delivers on taste. The only 500ml can with global presence and support, Monster is available in two variants: the original, Monster Energy, and a juice variant, Monster Energy Ripper. The Monster sampling trucks and ball of steel show have been touring towns and cities across Ireland since August, focusing their sampling activity around extreme sports centres and events, such as the 2008 World Motocross Championship and the JapFest in Mondello Park.

Brady Family Parchment Ham BRADY Family, the award winning traditional Irish ham brand, has unveiled its new look, incorporating a new enhanced logo and a new range of hand crafted, carved ham, carefully wrapped in parchment.

Brady Family Carved Traditional Ham in parchment is available in 130g packs and contains four servings. As with all Brady Family products, this most recent addition is Bord Bia approved, non-processed, with no added water.

For more information, visit www.bradyfamily.ie.

Little Gourmet Meals LITTLE Gourmet Meals are the perfect way to provide variety and introduce new and exciting flavours, vegetables and herbs into babies’ diets. Little Gourmet Meals are steam cooked to preserve vitamins and taste; packaged to lock in freshness in foil sealed bowls; contain absolutely no artificial colourings, flavourings or preservatives; have up to seven different types of steamed vegetables, along with a hint of herbs to develop babies’ taste palate.

They are available in four recipes: Sole a la Crème, Tuscan Style Chicken Tagliatelle, Tender Beef Stroganoff and Beef with Steamed Vegetables and Penne.

New Dairy Milk Variants CADBURY Dairy Milk is creating more moments of pleasure, with the introduction of two new Cadbury Dairy Milk variants: Cadbury Dairy Milk Cranberry and Granola and Cadbury Dairy Milk Apricot Crumble Crunch. The launch will be supported by a media campaign entitled ‘Loving Combinations’, including PR, sampling and dedicated POS, as well as press and outdoor advertising. A year and a half in the making, Cadbury Dairy Milk Cranberry and Granola and Cadbury Dairy Milk Apricot Crumble Crunch flavours were selected following extensive consumer insight and expert experimentation with nearly 200 different flavour combinations.

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15/10/2008

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October08Update

Heineken Cup Launches PICTURED at the launch of the 2008/09 Heineken Cup, the 14th season of the tournament, are (l-r): Rory Best, Captain, Ulster rugby team; Pat Maher, National Events and Sponsorship Manager, Heineken Ireland; Paul O’Connell, Captain, Munster rugby team; and Leo Cullen, Captain, Leinster rugby team. The Heineken Cup final at Murrayfield on the 23/24 May 2009 will be the second tournament final played in the Scottish capital. Rugby fans the length and breadth of Europe have already bought 17,350 tickets for the final.

Multiple Award Winners IRISH Distillers Pernod Ricard walked away with abundant awards from the NOffLA Gold Star Awards 2008, which were held in Dublin recently.

Two out of eight awards for wines in their extensive portfolio were awarded overall awards – the Wine of the Year 2008 was awarded to Domaine LongDepaquit Chablis AC 2007 and Red Wine of the Year 2008 was awarded to Wyndham Estate George Wyndham Shiraz 2005. Four of Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard’s portfolio of leading brands, Wyndham Estate, Montana, Jacobs Creek and Campo Viejo, were awarded top awards.

Richard Brickley, Marketing Manager for Wines with Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard, says “We are absolutely delighted with this result. To have the best white wine and red wine in Ireland is an enormous achievement, given the huge range of excellent wines available. We are particularly pleased that Wyndham Estate, Jacob’s Creek, Montana and Campo Viejo have been recognised as producers of outstanding wines in all categories.

These awards are a reflection of the flair, passion and skill the winemakers bring to all the wines and it is a huge honour for us that the industry has recognised this commitment.” Pictured are Kieran Tobin, Communications and Corporate Affairs Director (front and centre), along with (l-r): Lynda Cody, Senior Brands Manager Wines; Richard Brickley, Marketing Manager Wines; Margaret O' Mahony, Sales Representative; and Emma Donnellan, Brands Director, Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard. See next month’s RETAIL NEWS for a full report on the NOffLA Gold Star Awards.

Appointment at Associated Newspapers PAUL Henderson has been appointed as Managing Director of Associated Newspapers (Irl) Ltd, publisher of the Irish Daily Mail and The Irish Mail on Sunday. Paul joins the company from Independent Star Ltd, publisher of The Star and Star Sunday, where he was Director of Sales. Prior to this, he was Sales Manager of TV3 Television Network. He is a graduate of both the Irish Marketing Institute and The Irish Management Institute.

100 Years of Bisto IRELAND’S number one gravy brand, Bisto is celebrating its 100th birthday.

Well known in all Irish homes, Bisto has retained its position as Ireland’s number one gravy with a 97% share of the powdered gravy market and a 57.4% share of the instant gravy market (Source: ACNeilsen, April 20, 2008).

Celebratory TV advertising will run during October communicating the birthday message. Other activity includes PR, in store demonstrations and promotions and a radio promotion. Karen Higgins, Brand Manager, Bisto is pictured with Bisto Kids, Ruairi Power and Amy Woods, celebrating Bisto's 100th birthday.

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15/10/2008

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October08Update

Tackling Climate Change COFFEE experts Bewley's has announced that it will become Ireland's first fully certified Carbon Neutral coffee company by year-end 2008, resulting from the implementation of a major environmental sustainability initiative across the company's operations. The plan will be achieved through active carbon reduction initiatives, a move to renewable energy sources and support for high quality certified carbon offset projects. The development will see over 3,500 tonnes of CO2 removed from the atmosphere each year. Pictured at Bewley's Grafton Street Cafe are Síofra Campbell, Chairman, and John Cahill, Chief Executive of Campbell Bewley Group.

Fyffes Supports Unicef Ireland RYAN Tubridy, Unicef Ireland’s newest ambassador, and some little helpers from Swords Educate Together School, were on hand to announce Fyffes’ €500,000 corporate philanthropy partnership with Unicef Ireland. The five-year partnership will fund Unicef ’s work in Mozambique, combating the spread of malaria amongst orphaned and other vulnerable children. David McCann, Chairman of Fyffes plc, says of the partnership: “Fyffes is proud to support UNICEF Ireland in its work to combat the spread of malaria amongst children in Mozambique. For over 120 years, Fyffes has procured tropical fruits from the developing world and has always been very conscious of its social responsibilities to those regions.”

Top Award for Wolf Blass WOLF Blass has been honoured with the acclaimed International Red Winemaker of the Year Award at the 2008 International Wine Challenge (IWC) in London. Wolf Blass was selected as International Red Winemaker of the Year by a judging panel of more than 370 winemakers, merchants and writers from around the world. In addition to the prestigious award, all 16 wines entered by the Wolf Blass winemaking team won awards, including two golds for the Black Label 2004 and the Gold Label Barossa Shiraz 2005.

Chris Hatcher, Wolf Blass Chief Winemaker, said: “This award is a testament to the passion, vision and experience of the entire Wolf Blass winemaking team. This is an absolute team effort and one we are honoured to receive”.

Londis Embraces Voice Technology ADM Londis plc have unveiled a €650,000 investment in the implementation of a Voice Picking system for its Warehouse & Distribution facility in Johnstown, Co Kildare. The joint initiative between ADM Londis and TDG Logistics means that handsfree headsets enable staff to simply follow the voice directions which outline the next item to be picked, with specific instructions as to its location and product quantity required. Pictured are Emma Gregan, Head Office IT Manager, Londis; Claude TonnaBarthet, Head of Supply Chain, Londis; and Stephen Kelly, Warehouse Operations Manager, TDG.

Pat the Baker Targets Commuters PAT the Baker took over a number of train stations in Dublin for two weeks recently, in a very successful promotion that saw a host of male models handing out free samples of Pat The Baker bread to busy commuters. The train stations were also heavily branded, with ticket machines, back-lit posters and 48-sheets highlighting the Pat the Baker range. Meanwhile, Pat the Baker has just set up a Bebo page, which has proved extremely popular with Ireland’s internet-savvy audience.

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Shelf Life

15/10/2008

13:58

October08Shelf

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Life

Shelf Life CONGRATULATIONS to Irish farmhouse cheese maker, Ralph Haslam, from Birr, Co. Offaly, who scooped the Best Irish Speciality Award for his Mossfield Organic Mature cheese and was also awarded Gold for the Mossfield Organic With Cumin Seed at the Great Taste Awards 2008, which took place in London recently.

PICTURED at the launch of Food & Drink Industry Ireland's Guideline Daily Amount food labelling information campaign are: Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith, TD; Tesco Nutritionist, Paula Mee; and Dr Louise Sullivan, FDII Manager. The campaign aims to raise awareness for GDA food labels and to help consumers understand more about how to use them effectively.

GDA labels are a guide to how much energy (calories) and key nutrients (sugars, fat, saturates and salt) the average healthy person needs to have a balanced diet. Their on-pack presence has achieved significant critical mass in the Irish market in 2008, with more than half of all branded packaged food and drink products and almost all participating supermarket own-label branded products now displaying the system front of pack. To find out more, visit www.gdaguide.ie

BESPOKE Communications has been awarded the PR account for the Centra brand by Musgrave Retail Partners Ireland after a competitive pitch. As Centra’s PR agency, Bespoke will be responsible for developing PR campaigns to support the development of the Centra brand in Ireland in the coming years.

DEREK Mooney recently visited Hurleys SuperValu, Midleton, Co. Cork, to introduce staff to the new National Lottery logo.

BUDDING photographer Brad Pitt has captured a week in the life of Angelina Jolie and their family exclusively for W Magazine.

The new dad photographs his nearest and dearest at home in the South of France for the November cover and an intimate series of portraits.

LIDL have launched a dedicated recipe website, www.lidl-recipes.ie, giving customers plenty of ideas for creating delicious culinary treats, from three course meals to light and healthy snacks. The ingredients for each dish can be found in Lidl stores, and the recipes are divided into six categories: Seafood, Asian, Mediterranean, Vegetarian, Wellness and Desserts.

CONGRATULATIONS to Glenilen Farm, whose Fromage Frais was awarded Gold Medal standard in the British Cheese Awards 2008. Glenilen Farm was one of only four Irish companies to win Gold at the event. Glenilen Farm’s Fromage Frais is made from cow’s milk on the Kingston Family Farm in Drimoleague, West Cork. Glenilen Farm Fromage Frais is a low fat cream cheese made from whole milk and contains approximately 10% fat and is the main ingredient in the Glenilen Farm cheesecakes. The Glenilen Farm range can be found in selected Dunnes Stores, SuperValu and speciality stores such as Fallon & Byrne, Nolan’s of Clontarf, Donnybrook Fair, Avoca and Morton’s.

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THE Southern Comfort Crawdaddy Stage was a resounding success at Electric Picnic 2008, as, once again, it offered some unique New Orleans hospitality to festival goers. The weekend offered Electric Picnickers a real taste of the Southern Comfort experience, with many enjoying refreshing Southern Comfort cocktails in the outdoor hospitality area, while soaking up the unique atmosphere from the comfort of a deck chair.

HANNAH Mathers was on hand to help Ireland’s best selling premium cracker brand, Carr’s, celebrate the centenary of its famous Table Water biscuit. Carr’s Table Water started as a refinement of the ship’s biscuit when water was used instead of fat to blend the dry ingredients to keep the biscuits fresh on long voyages. They proved so popular with seafarers that soon word spread to the ports and in 1908, the biscuits were available on land in the form of Carr’s Table Water. To mark its 100th birthday, Carr’s has launched a new Nibbles range of bite-sized crackers available in Black Olive, Cheese, and Black Onion Seed & Sesame flavours.

TEA Time Express bakery, in Dublin, is celebrating its 70th birthday this year. To mark the event, Tea Time Express are launching a limited edition cake range, which will soon be available in-store.

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11/13/07

12:23 PM

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