Did you know… Centra was the best-perfoming retailer at this year’s Bord Gáis Energy Social Media Awards, winning the main award of the evening, the Grand Prix? The retailer also picked up 'sockies' in three out of twenty categories for Best Integrated Facebook Campaign, Best Business/Organisation Twitter Campaign and Best Integrated Social Media Campaign. Elsewhere, Lidl picked up the award for Best Facebook Page for a Business (owner managed), and Bewley’s was awarded Best Online PR Campaign for its Fairtrade Fortnight promotion. First launched in 2011, the awards recognise Irish companies for their innovative and business-focused use of social media and are open to all businesses across the country. The awards took place last Thursday at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre.
Did you know… Jameson sales are projected to reach €1 billion by 2020, according to Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard chief executive Anna Malmhake? She said that Irish whiskey sales are matching even the most ambitious targets of its French parent firm. The number of cases of Jameson sold worldwide has increased 1,000% since 1988. The US market has been the dominant whiskey market for the past 70 years and a US industry magazine recently dubbed Jameson as “one of the top 20 hottest brands in North America.” Jameson sales have been growing year-on-year by almost 23% over the past decade. Production capacity has been improved by Irish Distillers with the launch of a new €100 million distillery commissioned in Midleton, and Jameson looks set to record its 25th consecutive year of global sales growth this year.
Did you know… Rademon Estate Distillery has officially launched its first product, ShortCross Gin? The distillery is the first and only craft distillery to be established in Northern Ireland and was founded in 2012 by husband and wife team Fiona and David Boyd-Armstrong. It is located outside Downpatrick, Co Down, at the couple’s family estate. In a statement, Boyd-Armstrong said, “We had always wanted to create our own business and to work together. Fiona had always talked about how exciting it would be build a distillery and produce a premium Irish product.” ShortCross Gin is the first small batch, craft spirit to be launched under the ShortCross brand, created through the use of fresh apples, elderberries and wild clover distilled with other botanicals including juniper, coriander, orange peel, lemon peel and cassia.
Did you know… Lidl has been granted permission to build a second store in Mullingar? The council initially refused the retailer’s application in November on the basis of protecting the town’s centres from edge-of-town development, as mandated by the County Development Plan 2008-2014. However, after a visit from a site inspector for An Bord Pleanála, it was decreed that the planned retail outlet 'will not undermine the town centre’s vitality and viability'. “The proposed food store is required and well located [next] to a walking residential catchment devoid of accessible convenience shopping,” the inspector wrote. “There is an abundance of planning policies and objectives to support the development.”
Did you know… Italian chef Nico Oliveri has been signed up by Fresh: The Good Food Market, to launch a range of ‘Artisan Kitchen’ Irish-made gourmet meals? The range is to be produced and stocked exclusively in-store at each of the three Fresh supermarkets in Grand Canal, Camden Street and Smithfield in Dublin. Noel Smith, founder and managing director of Fresh: The Good Food Market, said “The launch of our new ‘Artisan Kitchen’ range showcases a fusion of gourmet influences and contemporary cooking, featuring eight healthy meals and four complimentary side dishes. Our aim is to produce a unique selection of high-end ‘eat in’ meals, which reflect the high-quality range of artisan produce available at your local Fresh supermarket.”
Did you know… The Clonakilty Blackpudding Company will open a visitor attraction as part of a new factory complex it plans to build next year? The West Cork company recently obtained planning permission for the development on a six acre site in the town. Tourists can visit the site and witness the entire production process 'from farm to fork'. Colette Twomey, company founder, says construction will begin in September and will take up to 12 months to complete. The company employs almost 50 staff, mostly in Cork city. “It’s 15 years since we moved to Cork City and that was only meant to be temporary at the time,” says Twomey.
Did you know… IFA President Eddie Downey has called on retailers to hold back from using locally grown fruit products as a loss leader in stores. "While sales of fruit are growing in volume, there is ongoing concern at the decline in the value of the crop, as a result of pressure from retailers,” Downey said at the launch of National Strawberry Week last week. He added that the “IFA is actively involved in the monitoring of proper labelling of fruit both on retail shelves and in road-side sales. Only by regular monitoring and reporting of issues to the Department of Agriculture can a resolution to non-identifiable produce be achieved”.
© 2014 - Checkout Magazine by Stephen Wynne-Jones
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