Love Irish Food and Tesco Ireland partner to promote Irish food and drink products
5 July 2021
Love Irish Food and Tesco Ireland partner to promote Irish food and drink products
New Love Irish Food retail membership platform is aimed at supporting members interaction with the retail sector.
Love Irish Food (LIF) has announced a new partnership with Tesco Ireland to grow awareness of Love Irish Food member products in Tesco’s 151 stores nationwide.
Tesco Ireland is the first retailer to sign up to the new retail membership platform, developed by Love Irish Food. As a not-for-profit organisation, Love Irish Food is exclusively focused on the food and drink sector and aims to promote and develop the future of branded food and drink production in Ireland.
Partnering with Tesco Ireland will involve in-store activations to help shoppers identify LIF member brand products, helping to bridge the knowledge gap for those who wish to support local and Irish.
In addition, the partnership will include supplier development opportunities. Through enhanced engagement with Tesco Ireland, small and medium sized LIF member brands will benefit from additional supports. These food and drink companies will have access to advice from the leading retailer’s buying team, as well as opportunities to network and engage through buyer-supplier forums.
Commenting on the new retail partnership with Tesco Ireland, Kieran Rumley, Executive Director, Love Irish Food, said: “We are very pleased to be partnering with Tesco, the first retailer to join with Love Irish Food in actively supporting shoppers to easily identify Irish produced food and drinks brands in store, and in doing so helping shoppers make informed decisions about buying local and Irish. This partnership will be of significant benefit to Love Irish Food members as they develop and scale their businesses.
Joe Manning, Commercial Director Tesco Ireland said, "Working with over 490 Irish suppliers and supporting almost 14,000 farming families nationwide, Irish food and drink is at the heart of the Tesco Ireland business. We proudly retail over 70% of the Love Irish Food member products and are delighted to come on board as their first retail partner. We look forward to continuing our support for its members - sharing insight and expertise and enhancing opportunities for these fantastic brands in our stores.”
Concluding, Mr Rumley stated: “As the Irish economy emerges from a period of great challenge, Love Irish Food members will play their part with the food and drink industry in rebuilding the economy. The new Love Irish Food Retail Partnership platform will facilitate greater retailer support and allow shoppers make informed decisions in supporting local food brands.”
The new LIF retail membership category is open to all retailers operating in the Republic of Ireland.
LIF has a broad spectrum of over 60 food and drink companies that employ in excess of 12,000 directly and indirectly in the food industry, producing great Irish food and drink brands and supporting jobs in local communities throughout the country.
-Ends-
About Love Irish Food
Love Irish Food was formed in 2009 with the aim of helping consumers make informed choices about buying Irish produced food and drink brands. The aim of the organisation is to promote the consumption of Irish food and drinks and create a realisation that every time a consumer makes a conscious decision to purchase an Irish produced food or drink product, this is supporting vital local employment, local businesses, and local sustainability all over Ireland.
About Tesco Ireland
Tesco has operated in the Irish retail market since 1997, and with 151 stores nationwide, it employs over 13,000 people in cities and towns around Ireland, supporting almost 45,000 jobs directly and indirectly. It partners with over 490 Irish suppliers - of which almost three-quarters are small and medium enterprises - which in turn supports almost 14,000 farming families around Ireland. Latest figures show that that the overall economic impact of Tesco’s expenditure in Ireland is €2.92 billion. www.tesco.ie