Latest news

WD Meats, the Northern Irish meat processor, hopes to land business in Singapore for premium steak products to supermarkets.

Based in Coleraine, county Londonderry, WD Meats is the first Northern Ireland-based meat company - and only one of three from the UK - to secure approval from animal health authorities in Singapore to supply meat products for retail and foodservice operations there.

Fulcrum, a new wheat beer launched last year by Clearsky Brewing in Northern Ireland, proved successful with judges in the 2nd annual Alltech International Craft Brews and Food Fair in Dublin, Ireland’s largest craft beer festival.

Irwin’s Bakery in Northern Ireland has launched a new product aimed at health conscious shoppers. The company, based at Portadown in county Armagh and Northern Ireland’s largest independent bakery, has introduced Sandwich Skinnys, a lower calorie bread product.

Springcool, a leading Northern Irish producer of a refreshing range of Irish spring water and sugar-free juices, is showcasing its range of natural products in the United Arab Emirates as part of a new export growth strategy.

Two artisan businesses in Northern Ireland have been listed in the influential Irish Food Guide which markets Irish food and drink abroad particularly in the US.

The two companies, Tynedale Goat Meat from Crumlin, county Antrim and Keen Nutrition of Bangor, county Down, have been named in the guide’s 20 Best Irish Foods to Watch in 2014.

Suki Tea, the award winning Northern Irish boutique blender, has launched two cocoa based teas inspired by light and dark chocolate. The gourmet business, based in Belfast, has blended cocoa kernels to create two chocolate blends as the start of a new range of teas being planned for 2014.

Dale Farm, the leading Northern Irish dairy business, has acquired Ash Manor Cheese, the Welsh packing operation, in the latest expansion of its activities in Great Britain.

Grace’s, the Northern Irish gourmet biscuit business, has been listed by El Corte Ingles, the upmarket Spanish department store group. The company, which is based in Bangor, county Down, has just delivered a consignment of its handcrafted traditional Irish shortbread and oatmeal biscuits to the Spanish store in Barcelona in what it describes as its “biggest export order to date”.

Old Bushmills, the Northern Irish whiskey distiller, experienced a 13 per cent growth in global sales over the past six months.

The company, part of Diageo, saw the sharpest rises in sales in markets such as Russia and Eastern Europe – together up 22 per cent in the half year ended December 2013.

Ocean Veg Ireland Ltd has been established on Rathlin Island, a Northern Irish off-shore island, to develop ready- to-use sea vegetable products for use in the Asian export market using local seaweed under the new ‘Islander’ brand ‘. The first Islander branded product, Kelp Pesto, has just been launched.