Peppup moves to boost sales in Britain and Republic of Ireland

Peppup, the Northern Irish producer of gourmet Italian pasta sauce and luxury ketchups, is stepping up its marketing campaign in Britain by targeting delis and independent food stores.

The company, which is based at Newtownards in county Down, has just completed a successful marketing drive in Scotland which saw significant sales particularly of its recently launched no added sugar pasta sauce.

Peppup pasta sauces are the first to be developed in Northern Ireland. Ingredients include tomatoes, roasted peppers, wine vinegar and sultanas with stevia as a sugar substitute.

The pasta sauce is also gluten free and is available in a 295g jar at a recommended retail price of £2.50. It has a shelf-life of 15 months.

Luca Montorio, who founded Peppup in 2015, says: "I was hugely encouraged by the response from independents in Scotland, especially butchers with deli counters, to our pasta sauce which are proving to be a real game changer for the business.

"The success of a week-long marketing drive in key Scottish centres such as Edinburgh has encouraged me to look further south and to focus on London and Home Counties. I visited a huge number of outlets in Scotland during the week and was impressed by the very positive feedback from all the shops I called with. A great many also purchased product. The promotion featured special discounts for the sauce to encourage retailers.

"The decision to target London and the Home Counties has also been influenced by the success we are enjoying in Northern Ireland and parts of the Republic of Ireland particularly in the Greater Dublin area for the pasta sauce and ketchups. I've had some business with Fortnum and Mason which I'd be keen to expand to independents including butcher/delis in the region," he adds.

The recipes for the roasted pepper and tomato pasta sauces and luxury ketchups were developed by Mr Montorio, who's originally from Turin in Italy.

Mr Montorio adds: "The increased cost of importing pasta sauce because of the fall in sterling in the past six months has also given my gourmet pasta a significant price advantage.

"I've used sultanas to add an earthiness and sweetness. It also features stevia, a natural sweetener for those keen to reduce their sugar intake. I believe it's the first pasta sauce to use stevia. The sauce is also low in calories and is ideal for all pasta dishes."

See website for further details www.peppupsauce.co.uk.