Galway company Magnetti Foods is now conducting 10 per cent of its business in Northern Ireland as a result of a cross-border sales programme.
InterTradeIreland’s programme Elevate aims to help small businesses across Ireland develop sales opportunities through first time cross-border exports. The initiative, which is fully funded by InterTradeIreland, provides access to and assistance from an industry expert.
Galway-based family business Magnetti Foods, which produces fresh and filled pasta, ready-meals and sauces for commercial customers, is one of 150 companies that have been supported through the Elevate programme to date, generating new cross border sales of approximately €3.7m.
Marco Magnetti says his company now expects to further develop its sales by the end of the year.
“ We started to look at potential new markets and we realised there could be a wealth of opportunities just across the border for us, but they might as well have been thousands of miles away as we didn’t know where to start,” he says.
“The local insight and local intelligence we garnered from our Elevate industry expert allowed us to develop a cross-border sales plan to penetrate the Northern Ireland market.
“We were able to get our products in front of decision-makers in retail outlets and chains as well as distributors and, with the programme’s assistance, we secured new contracts and a trial-period in several symbol franchises. Ten per cent of our business is now in Northern Ireland and we hope to develop this even further by the end of the year.”
Paddy Savage, programme director of InterTradeIreland, says with the economy in recovery mode, the cross-border market presents a great opportunity for small businesses to take these first steps in exporting.
“ I would urge all interested small businesses looking to explore cross-border markets to see what Elevate has to offer. With a simple and straightforward application process, it is worth considering.”
For more information on the Elevate programme, including eligibility criteria visit www.intertradeireland.com/elevate .
