Irish retailer Musgrave Group has announced a £17 million investment in its local private-label range ‘Fresh For You’.
The retailer made a £100 million commitment to the local food and drink industry earlier in the year, in addition to a £10 million investment into its Northern Ireland store network. It said the ‘Food For You’ range offers a huge investment in its Northern Irish suppliers.
“This entire range, comprising over 100 individual products, is made by local producers from right across the province that are as passionate about quality local food and drink as we are,” said Desi Derby, marketing director, Musgrave.
“Through this range we’re able to make a positive impact on the economy too by supporting jobs across the food and agri sectors, particularly in the farming community, so it’s a win win for Northern Ireland.”
Packaging Redesign
Derby continued by saying that Musgrave has started redesigning the packaging for the 'Food For You' brand, naming the local suppliers, where they’re from, and telling customers a little bit more about them. The response from customers to this has been positive, according to the retailer.
“Customers are telling us this is what they want – provenance and supporting local is very important to them,” Derby said.
‘Fresh-For-You’ suppliers include Willowbrook Foods from County Down, Strathroy Dairy from County Tyrone, Linden Foods from County Tyrone and Gilfresh Produce from County Armagh.
The company employs 5,000 people and supports jobs in all of the six Northern Irish counties, it said. Its ‘Fresh For You’ products are available in selected Centra, SuperValu, and Mace stores across Northern Ireland.
Award-winnning
Some of the range’s products, such as the bacon and cabbage dinner and the leek and bacon gratin, recently took home prizes at the Great Taste Awards.
“Our vision for the ‘Fresh For You’ range is to continually improve so this award is validation that we’re getting it right on taste,” said Derby.
“Our commitment in delivering a fantastic product, every time across our ‘Fresh For You’ range is stronger than ever and we hope consumers continue to enjoy the huge variety available at Mace, Centra and Supervalu stores,” he added.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Kevin Duggan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
