Northern Irish Forest Feast adds Russia to exports
Foodies shopping at one of Russia's oldest supermarket chains are enjoying Forest Feast branded nutritious snacks from Kestrel Foods in Northern Ireland.
Kestrel is now supplying its market-leading dried fruit and nut snacks to the Azbuka Vkusa chain which specialises in premium foods.
Russia is among 36 international markets where Forest Feast snacks are on now on sale. Azbuka Vkusa is a leading Russian high-end food retailer, with a reputation for the high-quality products and for excellent, knowledgeable service. Other markets now buying from Kestrel include the US, Middle East, Ukraine and Hong Kong.
Lorraine Hall, who founded Kestrel Foods with husband Michael in 1996 and subsequently created the Forest Feast brand, sees the deal with Azbuka Vkusa as among the Carn-based company's most important recent contracts outside the United Kingdom.
"The supermarket chain has around 90 up-market stores in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The recent deal with Azbuka is an important stage in our international growth," Mrs Hall says.
Known in English as 'The ABC of Food', the chain has a reputation as a provider of food for gourmands and those who appreciate the best from Russia and 70 other countries.
"It's a huge marketplace with immense potential because of a growing interest among affluent consumers in western food products. We're also seeing a growing recognition in Russia that food from Ireland has quality, heritage, and provenance.
"Our success there is also a good example of the way we approach an export market. We identified a suitable distributor of healthy products and worked closely with them to grow business there. We also exhibit at relevant trade shows in many markets to create awareness of our business and products," Mrs Hall adds.
"We are essentially a premium brand. We don't see any value in attempting to compete on price. What we offer are quality, wholesome and nutritious snacks for markets which have substantial consumers with high disposable incomes. Healthier snacks have been big business in Britain and many parts of Europe for some time. It's a trend that's now also growing strongly in other global markets because of concerns about weight and obesity," she continues.
The company's strategic focus on global business helped drive its impressive growth of 17 per cent last year - well ahead of the industry average of just under seven percent. The outstanding success of this progressive and market-focused manufacturer is also seen in its strong turnover growth of 54 percent from 2013-16.
What also helps the company stay ahead in intensely competitive global markets is the strength of its commitment to new product development and its speed of reaction to market trends and opportunities in the burgeoning healthy snacking category.
Two recent examples of these are the Forest Feast branded 'Baked not Fried Toppers' in rosemary and walnut and pomegranate and almonds for soups and dessert. And it has created dried fruits with no added sugar for convenient and nutritious snacking.
Another pioneering product range, Acti-Snack captured the imagination of fitness fans by offering 'energy on the go' through healthy mixed fruit, nut and seed snacks in convenient and re-sealable packs. The entire range is gluten free, free from artificial additives and preservatives and designed to meet a variety of sports nutrition requirements.
Dried tropical fruit, especially mango, in attractive and original packaging, has been at the heart of the business since its early days. It supports ethical trading and has a longstanding partnership with PREDA, a social development organisation, through which it helps mango growers in the Philippines to enjoy a better quality of life.
Dried mango, according to Mrs Hall, was the company's game-changing product when introduced in 1998. And it continues to be among its biggest sellers.
Growing global success has also been recognised in a string of major industry awards for this enterprising local business including being named as one of Ireland's 'Best Managed' companies in the Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards Programme last year.
Further expansion is planned in both short and long terms as the company continues to drive forward even faster in international markets.
