Deli Lites wraps up £1m deal in Republic
Deli Lites Ireland, the Northern Irish food business, has won a contract worth more than £1 million from Applegreen in the Republic of Ireland for gourmet convenience foods. Deli Lites is supplying Applegreen with a range of eight gourmet sandwiches and tortilla wraps on a daily basis.
Based at Warrenpoint in county Down, close to the Northern Irish border with the Republic, Deli Lites has begun supplying gourmet sandwiches and wraps to Applegreen for its network of more than 70 forecourts throughout the Republic.
Jackie Reid, commercial director of the business she founded with husband Brian in 1999, says: "The contract is a tremendous endorsement of our products and the customer focus which underpins our business approach. Over the past year, our business has grown by 40 per cent, assisted by a commitment to grow sales substantially in the Republic.
"We've been building a relationship with Applegreen over the past year, which has enabled us to understand fully their food retailing operation, their commitment to provide consumers with premium quality products and their specific requirements especially in terms of healthy eating. Our products, for instance, are free from hydrogenated fats and we use only free-range eggs.
"The new business is also benefiting other Northern Ireland companies because of our commitment to source as many ingredients as possible from local suppliers. Invest NI's assistance has been invaluable. In addition to support for our current expansion, Invest NI has provided assistance towards new product development, export marketing and staff development.
"We secured the business from its sharp focus on working closely with the Applegreen team to develop, package and ensure the delivery of a range of foods that more than satisfied their exacting requirements especially in terms of product quality, wholesomeness and provenance. In addition, we developed environmentally friendly packaging for Applegreen," she adds.
Deli Lites is currently one of Ireland's biggest suppliers of convenience foods and employs over 100 people at its modern processing plant in Warrenpoint.
Adrian Grimes, head of food at Applegreen, says: "We are proud to serve over 400,000 customers a week in our forecourts. It's extremely important to us to provide tasty and high quality sandwiches and other delicious sweet treats to our travelling and commuting consumers.
"The response to our teaming up with Deli Lites has been overwhelmingly positive. Since January 2012 Deli Lites has been providing us with a range of excellent food products which have delighted our discerning customers. It's refreshing to work with people that have such passion and take such pride in turning out high quality affordable food. We look forward to working with Deli Lites into the future to develop new and even more delicious ways of making our customers happy."
Barry McBride, Invest NI's Executive Director, says: "This significant contract establishes Deli Lites as an important supplier of convenience food solutions in the Republic of Ireland, a strategically important marketplace for our food and drink companies. We've been working closely with the company to support its marketing and business development activities there. The company's strong focus on innovation and superb customer services will help to ensure further growth in the Republic."
Photography: Michael Cooper
Pic Caption: Pictured with Northern Ireland Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster are Jackie Reid, Deli Lites, and Joe Barrett, Applegreen.