Innovative nutritional biscuit wins business in Britain and the Republic

Calerrific, the Northern Irish producer of a new nutritional biscuit, has won distribution deals in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

The company's CalBisc 100, a unique fortified shortbread made by combining a carefully selected range of flours, seeds and berries with milk powder, butter and soft brown sugar, is now being distributed in Britain by Alliance Healthcare of Chessington, Kent and in the Republic by Dublin-based United Drug.

The deals have been secured by Calerrific, which is based near Holywood in County Down, just a few months after the launch of the new biscuit product in Northern Ireland.

CalBisc 100 has been developed by Alan Baird, a local entrepreneur, with support from food technologists at St Angela's College in Sligo, part of the National University of Ireland. The nutritional biscuit was developed initially to help people recover after illness or surgery. The novel biscuit is now also proving popular with those with active lifestyles.

A box of CalBisc 100 contains seven individual packs of two biscuits, foil-wrapped to keep them fresh right up to the moment they are to be eaten when required. They are suitable for vegetarians.

"The distribution deals are a tremendous boost for the company and will give us a good platform for growth in both markets. Our aim will be to expand into other markets in Europe and North America," he says.

"CalBisc is the outcome of a search for something tasty and nutritious for a family member who was ill. It seemed to me that it should be possible to come up with a type of energy bar. While I wanted a product that was nutritious and easy to eat, it also had to taste really good. There's just no point in creating a healthy product that doesn't meet the taste challenge," Mr Baird adds.

He worked with the team at St Angela's in 2011 with the objective of creating a biscuit that was healthy, tasty and contained as many natural ingredients as possible.

"We looked at a large number of flours, for example, and eventually came up with one that enabled us to produce a shortbread with a softer consistency than the traditional product. Our product crumbles quicker and this characteristic makes it easier to eat. What CalBisc 100 does is to deliver essential nourishment, support dietary needs and enhances health and a general feeling of well-being.

Each individual biscuit provides 100 calories and a foil-wrapped twin pack contains 10 per cent of an adult's Recommended Daily Allowance of calories, protein, fibre and 27 vitamins and minerals.

"Our goal is to provide tasty and nutritional products that deliver essential nourishment, support dietary needs and enhance health and well-being. It's been designed as an alternative food supplement to the shakes currently on the market."