TWOWICKLOW PRODUCTSGET A‘KICKSTART’
A POPULAR Wicklow artisan food product has been selected for inclusion in a new range in Lidl supermarkets as part of the supplier development programme, Kick Start. Two of Wicklow Farmhouse Cheese’s most popular varieties of cheese – Nettle & Chive and Tomato & Herb are now available in 152 branches across the country. Sussed Nutrition Ltd, based in Hawkestown Lower also features two products in the range – its Healthy Heart Rapeseed Oil and its 2 Calorie Rapeseed Oil Spray.
Kick Start commenced last May when Lidl called out to Irish food and drink suppliers across the country to apply to the programme which is designed to give small suppliers the chance to supply Lidl with a guaranteed volume of their products for a limited edition ‘Best of Ireland’ food promotion in September 2017. The response was phenomenal with over 450 different products entered by suppliers across the country and Wicklow Farmhouse Cheese, run by the Hempenstall family, and Sussed Nutrition Ltd were selected as two of the 54 suppliers to be included.
The range is vast and covers everything from artisan Irish cheeses, gourmet chocolate chip & honeycomb sausages and gluten-free beef burgers to Greek style frozen yoghurt, gourmet marshmallows and premium granola.
All suppliers that were selected to be part of the Lidl Kick Start Supplier Development Programme have attended a series of free, comprehensive seminars which guided them through the process and taught them skills to help grow their business ahead of their products going on sale at Lidl. The seminars were carried out by panel of industry experts from Lidl Ireland and Bord Bia and included topics around quality control, packaging, marketing & PR and brand building.