Tesco listing for Northern Irish premium egg producer

Northern Irish premium egg producer, Cavanagh Free Range Eggs has gained its second supermarket listing in less than a month.

The company, based on a family farm at Newtownbutler in county Fermanagh, has now been listed by Tesco for an initial 15 supermarkets across Northern Ireland.

The latest deal follows the small farm company's success in winning business from Asda for all its 16 supermarkets in Northern Ireland. The business, which is run by husband and wife team John and Eileen Hall, has won a UK Great Taste Award and the Irish Quality Food and Drink Award for the quality of its free-range eggs.

The Tesco contract is a further boost for the company which has been supplying its high-end restaurants, including five-star hospitality businesses such as Lough Erne Resort Complex in Enniskillen, county Fermanagh and Belfast's Merchant Hotel as well as upmarket delis across Northern Ireland and parts of the border region of the Republic of Ireland. Cavanagh produces 12 million free-range eggs a year and currently employs seven people.

Cavanagh also has Lion accreditation for its eggs. The company has developed consumer awareness by taking part in farmers' markets and major food events such as the Food Pavilion at the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society's hugely popular Balmoral Show.

Eileen Hall, commenting on the deal with Tesco, says: "This is another tremendous boost for our business and a marvellous endorsement of the quality of our eggs from the biggest supermarket chain in Northern Ireland.

"What it also does is to reinforce the Cavanagh brand and will help to increase awareness of our eggs among consumers seeking a premium product with exceptional taste.

"While we have good business with delis and independent retailers we believe the supermarket contracts provide greater market penetration and will enable us to drive the company forward over the next few years. We'd be keen to expand existing business especially outside Northern Ireland in neighbouring markets such as the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain."

Mrs Hall says winning the Great Taste Award and especially the Irish Food and Drink Quality Award helped to attract interest from major supermarkets. The company, she adds, is the only egg producer in Ireland to have won Great Taste and Irish Food and Drink Quality awards in the past year.