Northern Irish artisan business keen on healthy almonds


Keen Nutrition, a recently launched Northern Irish company specializing in artisan nut butters, has won its first business in the Republic of Ireland from a link up with a leading distributor there.



The company, based at Crawfordsburn in county Down, is now supplying its almond and hazelnut handcrafted butters to customers in Dublin through Artisan Food Marketing, based at Castlebellingham, county Louth in the Republic.



Keen Nutrition, established last year by Aimee Beimers, a Canadian nutritionist living in Northern Ireland, is producing and marketing a range of seven artisan butters for retail. The almond and hazelnut butters are available in 190ml jars and retail at around £3 each.



The butters are all handcrafted and already on sale in a network of delis across Northern Ireland. The artisan company is currently seeking a distributor to help develop sales in Britain.



The range is based on almonds, hazelnuts and macadamia nuts. Included in the portfolio are almond natural, almond crunchy, almond cinnamon, almond chocolate, almond chocolate and hazelnut cinnamon. The products are also made without water, oil or sugar and are suitable for vegans.



"Almonds are a healthy alternative to peanut and dairy butters. They are a high-fat food that's good for health. Almond butter is alkaline while peanut butter, for instance, is acidic. Research shows that almonds are a heart healthy product and help to reduce cholesterol," she says.



The food business was launched by Mrs Beimers in May as part of an initiative designed to promote healthier eating in Northern Ireland. As well as the portfolio of products, she has launched a series of meat-free cooking classes and kitchen skills courses for children.



A digital strategist by training, Mrs Beimers set up Keen Nutrition and other food initiatives because of a longstanding interest in healthy eating. She is using her knowledge of digital technology in marketing the small business.