Artisan food company wins export deals

Gracehill Fine Foods, the Northern Ireland artisan food business, has won its first export business. The company is now supplying its white and black puddings to customers in the Republic of Ireland. The company, which has enjoyed a 30 per cent rise in business every year since its formation by Hugh Anderson in 2007, secured the business following a distribution deal with Crossgar Foodservice.

New customers for the company's handmade meat products include the Health Service Executive in Dublin, Ireland's largest employer and the supplier of a vast range of food and other services to hospitals and clinics across the country, as well sporting organisations such as caterers at Thomond Park, Limerick, home of Munster, the Heineken Cup rugby winners.

Gracehill Fine Foods, based in Ballymena, County Antrim, handcrafts its meat puddings using locally sourced ingredients. Mr Anderson, commenting on the company's breakthrough in the Republic, said: "The deals in the Republic are a tremendous boost for the business and provide a springboard for further growth there. We are also exploring opportunities in Great Britain and aim to achieve our first sales there this year.

"What sets our products apart is the use of fresh onions to give the puddings a distinctive flavour. Fresh onions are a bit more expensive and time consuming but they add so much more flavour than the dried onions which are re-hydrated and commonly used today in most other puddings. But peeling the onions can bring tears to the eyes!

"I set out deliberately to create a traditional pudding using simple ingredients that would have been used many years ago. There are no additives or preservatives in the products, just a good old-fashioned recipe that includes oatmeal, fresh onions, beef suet, water, salt and pepper."

He brings to the artisan business experience in food production gained over 25 years. The small business has benefited from its appearance on several television cookery shows.

"The strong growth that the business is experiencing is very exciting and also challenging. The future looks very bright….a great way to be in today's challenging economic conditions."

Pic Caption: Eyes peeled for new opportunities - Hugh Anderson, managing director of Gracehill Fine Foods in Ballymena, which specialises in high quality black and white puddings.