Blackthorn Foods listed by top UAE hypermarket group

Blackthorn Foods, the Northern Irish specialist in gourmet fudges and fondues, has been listed by one of the leading retailers in the Arabian Gulf.

The company, based in Belfast, has supplied its first consignment of award winning handmade fudges to LuLu Hypermarkets, the retail division of Emke Group, which is headquartered in Abu Dhabi.

LuLu hypermarkets offer an ultra modern shopping experience throughout the UAE and the wider Gulf region. The group operates 106 stores in the Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen, Egypt, Saudi Arabia as well as India.

Dorothy Bittles, director of Blackthorn Foods, a family owned and managed business, commenting on the new UAE business, says: "The contract with LuLu is an immensely important development for the company, among our most significant and exciting export deals. LuLu Hypermarkets is a tremendous customer and among the most progressive retailers in the Gulf region.

"The agreement follows a lead from our representative in London. We provided some samples of our fudge and were delighted subsequently to be listed by the hypermarket group for its UAE stores.

"The customer was impressed by the quality and variety of our fudges and fondues handcrafted by our experienced team in Belfast. The deal with LuLu follows an earlier arrangement to supply a leading wholesaler in Dubai. Our aim is to work alongside LuLu in developing sales throughout what is becoming an immensely important market for us," she adds.

The company recently secured another gold award from the UK Guild of Fine Food in the annual Great Taste Awards, regarded as the 'Oscars' of the food industry in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Great Taste gold awards are made to food products to recognise and reward outstanding taste and consistent quality achieved by smaller, mostly artisan producers.

Blackthorn Foods is a family business launched in 2004 by sisters Cathy Johnston, Jenny Lowry and Dorothy Bittles. The company now supplies products throughout the UK and Ireland, the US and European markets such as the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Sweden.

High quality handmade fudge is made in open pots in the traditional way. Unlike many commercial fudge manufacturers, Blackthorn's range of more than 20 fudges and two fondues are produced in small batches, hand beaten, hand cut and hand wrapped. This gives the fudges a unique taste and texture.

The company, which has SALSA quality accreditation, produces natural butter fudge and a range of flavours including dark chocolate and orange, manuka honey, cranberry and while chocolate, Madagascar vanilla and stem ginger and dark chocolate. It has also developed a bespoke range for Partridges, the 'Queen's grocer', in London.