ASDA LISTS NEW IRISH BATCH BREAD PRODUCT

Food retailer Asda has listed a new Irish bread concept, Irwin's Irish Batch, for stores across Great Britain. Supplying the traditional Irish Batch is Irwin's Bakery in Northern Ireland. The Irish Batch bread, available in half-loaf sizes, is based on the bakery's established Nutty Krust, one of its most successful lines in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Entry into the GB market with Asda follows the success of Nutty Krust in the Republic, where it was launched during the summer months by Irwin's, which now sells bread and other bakery products worth £17 million outside Northern Ireland. The company also sells a range of breads and morning goods under the Rankin Selection Irish Breads range outside Northern Ireland. These products have been developed in association with Paul Rankin, the Irish celebrity chef. The Irish bakery has also linked up with Guinness to produce a unique Guinness Bread Irwin's commercial controller, Michael Murphy describes the Asda deal as ???a major breakthrough in a key target market. ???This has been a signature year for sales outside Northern Ireland, having launched ???Nutty Krust' into completely new markets ??" the Republic of Ireland and now GB. The contract with Asda is both high-value and strategically important because it will position ???Irwin's Irish Batch' on the shelves right across GB, giving it enormous visibility from the outset. ???Our GB market entry approach has been very agile and follows intensive market research and analysis. So while Nutty Krust is an iconic brand in Northern Ireland and, to an extent, the Republic, we took the decision to market it in GB as ???Irwin's Irish Batch'. We chose this course because our export experience, particularly with the Rankin Selection, indicates that consumers there are very positively influenced by authentically Irish products. Our GB-based brand focus groups bear this out. ???Irwin's Batch is made using traditional Northern Irish recipes and techniques, including the original fermentation and slow-baking processes. We wan t GB consumers to see this Irish identity immediately because we believe they will respond very well to it. ???Also, as batch bread is a completely new concept for many GB consumers, we decided that a smaller loaf option ??" 400g ??" would be well received.???