Asian Sun Shines on Bangor Shamrock Biscuit Business

Shamrock-shaped shortbread and oatmeal biscuits from Grace's Traditional Irish Biscuits, the Northern Irish producer, are now being enjoyed by consumers in Japan.

The company, which is based in Bangor, county Down, has won a series of orders from Osaka-based Otomo Shoji for its distinctively shaped shortbread and oatmeal biscuits following an internet inquiry.

Grace's success in Japan was announced by managing director William Bullock, who says: "We were approached by Naoko Yamaguchi, the managing director of the family-owned retail business which has around 100 outlets in Japan.

"She was searching for traditional Irish biscuits to add to their portfolio of quality UK brands and was intrigued in particular by our distinctive shamrock shape of premium shortbread and oatmeal products.

"We air-freighted some samples to her and she placed an initial order for both products. Repeat business has followed because of the success of the biscuits with Japanese consumers. It's tremendously encouraging for us to see our products on the shelves in a leading Japanese retailer.

"Our business is growing strongly because of this strategic focus on building sales in global markets and is also boosting other local companies which work closely with us in developing, packaging and shipping our portfolio of products.

"Grace's biscuits are now sold in the US, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as throughout the UK, where we recently secured business from major retailers including Morrison's and Booth's, and the Republic of Ireland. In addition to the shamrock biscuits, we are growing sales abroad steadily for our Irish breakfast tea, traditional butter fudge and the range of Titanic brand jams."

He adds that securing a foothold in one of the world's most competitive markets is a remarkable achievement for a small marketing-led business.

"We identified the business opportunity and moved quickly to exploit a growing demand particularly in Asia for premium food from suppliers in the UK and Europe.

"Japan has close business links with the UK and Ireland has a series of retail outlets dedicated to British products which consumers there see as being high quality and deliciously different."

Grace's Traditional Irish Biscuits was established in 2004 by Mr Bullock, who has extensive experience in international markets, to create a global food brand based in Northern Ireland.