Simply Wild about traditional Northern Irish breads

Our Daily Bread, the Belfast-based artisan baker of traditional Northern Irish breads, has signed a breakthrough deal with Simply Wild, one of Ireland's leading food distributors.

The deal with Simply Wild in Dublin follows an agreement last year with the Hider distribution business in Britain to develop sales there.

Simply Wild has already begun distributing the Belfast baker's award winning Irish wheaten loaf, generally known in Britain as brown soda bread, and traditional soda Irish farls. Our Daily Bread specialises in 'bake in the foil' breads for home baking. It also supplies baked breads from its bakery.

The deal takes the artisan business, which began selling home-baked wheaten loaves before creating the DIY packs, into a much wider and potentially very lucrative marketplace in the Republic of Ireland.

Simply Wild distributes a wide variety of health foods and artisan foods to grocery retailers including delis, independent and multiples throughout the Republic.

Melanie Gilfillan, who set up Our Daily Bread in 2012 in her kitchen, says: "I am delighted to have secured business with Simply Wild because this gives me a strong base in the Republic, an immensely important marketplace for our business. The contract with Simply Wild resulted from a meeting with one of their buyers that was brokered by Invest Northern Ireland in Belfast.

"The buyer was attracted by a key feature of my traditional Irish breads, the fact that all the ingredients are provided in a quick cook pack for consumers to bake their own soda-based wheaten bread, among the most popular traditional breads throughout the island of Ireland."

Wheaten and soda breads were acclaimed by judges, including MasterChef regular Charles Campion, at last year's UK Great Taste judging event in Belfast.

The 'bake your own' bread pack was created by Melanie, a keen home baker, who was encouraged by friends and relatives to turn her kitchen skills into a small business. She did so using recipes from her mother.

"I began baking Irish wheaten loaves for family and friends and was encouraged by their feedback to sell them through some of the leading delis in Belfast and other parts of Northern Ireland. There's fast developing interest in both Britain and Ireland in traditional Irish breads that can either be bought as baked products or in DIY packs containing all the necessary ingredients."

The small business has also gained a UK Great Taste Award for the artisan wheaten bread.

"The wheaten loaf and soda bread are made by simply adding water and mixing the ingredients in a bowl and then placing in the foil tray provided in the handy pack for baking in an oven for about 40 minutes.

"All the ingredients are natural and the bread doesn't contain any artificial flavourings, colourings, additives or preservatives. The ingredients feature stone-ground flour, wheat germ, bran, bicarbonate of soda, salt, sugar and dried buttermilk powder, all of them completely traceable," she adds.

As well as the deals with Hider in Britain and now Simply Wild in the Republic, Melanie has developed an extensive network in Northern Ireland that includes top delis.