Award winning butcher invests for growth through new products
McCartney's Butchers, the award winning Northern Irish meat business, is investing in new products through the construction of a state-of-the-art development kitchen complex.
The company, headed by George McCartney, is gearing up to grow sales outside Northern Ireland for existing meats, including its Great Taste Award winning traditional corned beef, and new products in the pipeline.
The expansion, which has tripled the size of the business at Moira in County Antrim, also includes a deli and coffee shop.
Winning the Supreme Champion Award for his handmade corned beef from the Great Taste judges last year whetted his appetite for further success in this and other competitions. In the 2012/13 awards, McCartney picked up top marks for his corned beef and handmade corned pork and other golds for his premium pies and steak.
The new six figure expansion has led to the creation of 16 additional jobs, several on a part time basis, bringing total employment at the butchery business to 33 including two chefs. He's also planning to hire a third chef. They'll be involved in helping to develop innovative products for retail.
Meeting the continuing demand for corned beef from customers especially outside Northern Ireland is another priority. Current customers in Britain include high-end retailers such as Fortnum and Mason, Selfridges and Partridges, all in London. He's also busy fielding orders for corned beef from the US and Australia.
McCartney has his sights set on recovering the Supreme Champion title in next year's UK Great Taste Awards, a title won in 2012/13 by Hannan Meats, another company based in Moira.
Success in the Great Taste Awards encouraged McCartney to expand the business he runs with his brother, Gordon, and daughters Judith and Sarah.
"It's been hectic, very busy since we opened the expanded business at the start of November," he says. "We've always had an extensive customer base from our reputation as a provider of high quality meat with provenance, especially our steak and sausages, but we're even busier now. The support we are receiving, particularly from longstanding customers, is tremendous, and we're also seeing many new faces in the shop.
"We now have the space we've needed to turn old ideas that we have never had the room to fulfill along with so many new ideas that we want to turn in to products. We are busy developing new products and, as ever, perfecting old ones - we are always striving to improve," he adds.Store
The success he's enjoying is solidly based on "quality meat and ingredients", he says. "We know the source of our meat and the names of the farmers who supply each week are displayed in the shop. To maintain that quality the meat must be handled properly and we deal with the smaller niche specialists rather than volume traders. After that you must consider hygiene and health matters and finally you tailor your products to suit your customer base and give them personal attention and service. In this business the customer is always king."
The McCartney business has witnessed six generations who have been over 140 years in the butchery business …and is now positioned for even faster growth.