Invest Northern Ireland

Bedford Square, Bedford Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland,BT2 7ES.

Tel: 02890 239090

The Northern Ireland Agri Food Sector
The Agri-Food sector in Northern Ireland is one of the most important contributors to the Northern Ireland economy in terms of revenue and employment and is Northern Ireland’s largest manufacturing industry. In 2009 the industry was worth £3.2billion and exports grew by an impressive 27% to £876million (2008).

Nearly two thirds of food and drink from Northern Ireland is now bought by retailers and food service organisations in other parts of the UK and increasingly further afield.
Buyers in virtually all the leading grocery retailers, including Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda, Waitrose and Morrisons, now look regularly to Northern Ireland for a broad range of fresh, frozen, chilled and processed products, from fresh meat, dairy and bakery to ready meals, convenience foods. Niche products are also to be found in the food halls at Harrods, Fortnum and Mason, Liberty and Harvey Nichols.

Northern Ireland’s reputation as a source of quality foods is also spreading worldwide. Wal-Mart, Safeway, Carrefour, Auchan, SuperCor, Spinneys, Mercadona are among a growing list of international retailers shopping regularly in the region. Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn is a longstanding customer particularly for beef and lamb from Northern Ireland farms.

The region can point justifiably to a great many success stories – red meat being bought by Europe’s top retailers; cheese and tea going to the US; porridge oats to the Arabian Gulf and Hong Kong; dried fruit and nut snacks to Singapore, Dubai, the Netherlands and Switzerland; pork sausages, health foods and toasted oats to Spain; milk powder to China, Africa and Central America; coffee to the US, Saudi Arabia and North Africa; potato crisps to Australia; and dry cured bacon to Belgium.

About Invest NI (Northern Ireland Naturally)
Invest Northern Ireland, the region’s main economic development agency, has a dedicated Food Division which delivers fully integrated and responsive services to over 300 local food and drink companies including advice on account management, design, product development, packaging, supply chain and productivity.

Practical support schemes range from assistance to export through trade missions and exhibitions and ‘meet the buyer’ events with key buyers in both food retailing and food services to business development programmes including help to companies in achieving essential quality accreditations demanded by major retailers.

Among the most successful initiatives is the Food Sector Marketing Advisers scheme that is helping Northern Ireland companies increase business in GB and international markets.

Four Food Sector Marketing Advisers utilise market knowledge and their network of contacts to assist local companies pinpoint and secure new orders by brokering face-to-face interviews between the companies and food retailers including multiple chains and organisations supplying restaurants, hotels, cafes and canteens. They also
co-ordinate Invest NI’s programme of ‘meet the buyer’ events. These events have brought key buyers from Great Britain, the Republic of Ireland, other parts of Europe, the US and India to Northern Ireland for one-to-one meetings with local food companies.

www.buynifood.com – Invest NI’s dedicated food and drink web site features over 200 Northern Ireland food and drink companies across a range of sectors including Baked Goods, Confectionery, Dairy, Dried Goods, Drink, Fish, Food Service Providers, Fresh Produce, Meat and Non Food.

Invest NI’s Food and Drink Sector Tendering Programme and alert service has been designed to encourage and assist local food and drink companies to compete more effectively for substantial public sector contracts in the RoI. As well as business in the Republic and Great Britain, the marketing initiative is now yielding orders from the US.
 

Allied Bakeries Ireland (ABI) wide product portfolio encompasses rolls, pancakes, bread, soda farls, potato farls, muffins and wheaten bread. ABI exports these products to a wide variety of locations in both Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland market places. Allied Bakeries Ireland has thrived, in recent years, thanks to solid partnerships with key retail outlets and key brands such as Kingsmill, Sunblest, Allinson, and Burgen

Evron Foods is an independent privately owned company focused on the manufacture and marketing of quality frozen and chilled bakery products for the retail, foodservice, wholesale and food-processing / sandwich-manufacturing market sectors.

Evron was the first to introduce the ever-popular garlic bread to Northern Ireland back in 1984 and since then Evron has developed an impressive range of successful products for different segments of the marketplace including frozen dough pieces, garlic breads, ciabattas, artisan breads and part baked French breads, “tear and share” breads, flatbreads, plus a range of delicious Italian style breads. As well as producing a wide range of private label brands, it can offer its own EASIBAKE brand.

Established in 1912, Irwin’s Bakery, Northern Ireland’s largest independent bakery makes a wide range of products including batch breads, soda breads, rolls, muffins, cakes and biscuits. Irwin’s breads currently account for around 85% of all Irish breads sold in Great Britain, spearheaded by the multi-award winning Rankin Selection Irish breads range, which it makes in conjunction with celebrity Irish chef, Paul Rankin. ‘Nutty Krust’ is Irwin’s most successful product to date – its distinct flavor and texture are the result of a 40 year old recipe using traditional baking and fermentation methods.

In 2006, Irwin’s acquired traditional-style cake and tray-bake specialist, ‘Howell House’ to introduce a specialist home bakery category. Irwin’s invested significantly in the division in order to enhance its artisan capabilities and identity, including a strategic rebrand to ‘Howell’s Handmade’.

Established formed in 1968 McErlain’s Bakery Ltd in Magherafelt is a regional family run, independent craft bakery owned and managed by 6 brothers, who all have a passion for baking. In 1999, McErlain’s re-branded to become Genesis and have since created the Genesis Crafty range of breads focused around health and indulgence. It is now Northern Ireland’s leading niche bakery, priding itself on quality handcrafted bakery products with a contemporary image and authentic artisan nature.

Designed to complement Marks & Spencers’ hugely successful Irish breads and morning goods, the new Irish Bakery products created for the retailer by Genesis includes: four-packs of Iced Tops (iced Madeira buns), Jammy Rounds (Madeira buns dipped in raspberry syrup and coated in coconut) and Jam Bakes (pastry cases filled with jam and topped with Madeira sponge). Genesis is also supplying Apple and Rhubarb pies, part baked and frozen, for bake-off in M&S’s in-store bakeries.

Genesis also supply Sainsbury’s UK with four of its own lines, including Genesis Crafty Big Pancakes and Genesis Crafty Double Butter & Sultana Scones. The same two lines are also stocked by Waitrose, as well as Genesis Crafty Lemon & Raisin Pancakes and Genesis Crafty Double Butter & Cheese Scones.

McNamees Bakery
When Daniel McNamee first opened his famous Crossmaglen artisan bakery in September 1939, he aimed to produce only the finest baked goods in Ireland. Baking his traditional breads from unique family recipes, using only the best ingredients, like 100% pure Irish buttermilk and his own special blend of flours, Daniel McNamee created the ‘Fresh Bread Family’ brand.

Seventy years later, during which time Daniel handed over the business to his son "wee Danny", who subsequently and during the most dramatic period, passed on the vision to his son and daughter Ronan & Roisin McNamee. Ronan & Roisin transformed McNamee’s into one of the finest bakeries in Ireland, selling their traditional breads in shops throughout Ireland and the UK. The home baked tastes of the “fresh bread family” have ensured our Irish wheaten breads have never gone out of fashion, but are still rich in fibre and full of the goodness of Irish wheat.

Ronan McNamee is a food technologist who has been involved in the bakery industry for over 30 years. Ronan is better known as the co-founder of Cuisine de France in Ireland, which is one of the most successful Irish food companies in recent years, which has since expanded in Europe and subsequently North America.

Ronan sold his interest in Cuisine de France to IAWS plc (now Arytza) in the late 1990’s. Since IAWS acquired Cuisine de France, Ronan has continued to assist the group, for example, he remained involved as a main board director for a number of years, and has personal involvement in a number of key projects, including the North American market.

Three generations of McNamee’s have held true to that time-honoured tradition set down by Daniel so that today McNamee’s Bakeries are still producing the best bakery goods, including: Wheaten Bread, Soda Bread, Scones, Sliced Bread, Quiche / Pizza Dough & Shop Goods.

In 1986 McNamees Bakery expanded to accommodate a growing demand for its products in export markets and installed 'state of the art' freezers which has enabled the company to export its lines to GB, Europe & the US. McNamees Bakery supplies large scale food wholesalers such as Cuisine De France & Tesco.

RHM Bakeries Ireland
RHM Bakeries Ireland is a leading supplier of bread and morning goods products from its Belfast Bakery. The company’s baking heritage stretches back over 130 years with the famous Ormo brand, which holds brand leadership in the pancake, potato bread, soda bread and wheaten bread sectors of the morning goods category.

The nationally famous Hovis & Mother’s Pride brands also play a core role within the portfolio for supply to the local Irish market. RHM Bakeries Ireland also has listings in the Republic of Ireland and GB marketplaces.
 

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