Three small Galway food producers, Beechlawn Organic Farm, Curry & Spice and Bowl-a-Granola who have participated in and have completed the Food Academy programme will be rolled out across SuperValu stores in Galway and across stores in other counties as they grow sustainably. This will result in sales of over €10 million for the national Food Academy programme in 2015. Food Academy is a joint initiative between SuperValu, Bord Bia and the Local Enterprise Office Network and was established in 2014 to support small food companies in Ireland. Over the last 12 months, Bord Bia, the Local Enterprise Offices and your local SuperValu has worked with hundreds of small food producers around the country, through the Food Academy programme. Now 155 food start-ups have had their products trialled in their local SuperValu store.
Commenting on the announcement, Eamon Howell, Trading Director for SuperValu said: “We are delighted that three of our small food producers in Galway have graduated from our Food Academy programme and are now listed in stores around Galway. This is a real endorsement to the Food Academy initiative which allows us to bring community based food start- ups to market and provides them with the potential to grow their businesses even further, providing employment for themselves, members of their community and for some – family. It is great to nurture the energy and passion of these entrepreneurial producers and harness this into producing a range of products that we, as the number one Irish retailer, are proud to stock on our shelves”
“We are currently working with an additional 250 small food producers in our Food Academy Start programme where we are providing them with the tools, mentoring, advice and expertise to trial their product in their local stores. SuperValu’s unique retail model with stores independently owned and operated means that owners can purchase directly from local suppliers. As a result, retailers can develop a tailored offer for their local community and shoppers will often find products in their local SuperValu that is not stocked in other supermarkets. By matching SuperValu stores with start-up food business in their area through the Food Academy programme is providing a real boost for local economies throughout Ireland”.
SuperValu serves over 2.6 million customers every week and 75% of everything on SuperValu’s shelves is sourced or produced in Ireland. SuperValu continues to source locally wherever possible and purchases almost €2 billion worth of goods from Irish suppliers which helps to sustain 30,000 jobs in the Irish economy.
For more on the Food Academy programme visit www.supervalu.ie
