New Products Targeted at 'Free-From' Marketplace
Free'ist, an innovative branded range of products for the burgeoning 'free-from' marketplace in the UK and Republic of Ireland, has been developed by GM Marketing in Northern Ireland.
Based in Belfast, GM Marketing has teamed up with leading manufacturers to create the Free'ist 15-strong brand of sugar-free cookies, biscuits, wafers, chocolate and jams aimed to meet the growing demand for tasty treats, especially for consumers with conditions such as diabetes. Several products in the range are also gluten-free.
GM Marketing has used its 15 years of experience, in marketing a broad range of branded foods in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, to come up with products that are sugar-free and also richly flavoured.
Gerard McAdorey, GM Marketing's Managing Director and founder, says: "Launching our own range of branded products is an immensely important stage in the development of the company and will allow us to build on our existing success and achieve even faster growth in our target markets of the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain, two markets in which we already have a presence in terms of Sales and Marketing staff. We also plan to target other export markets where we will be looking to partner with like-minded companies to market our new brand."
"We have been doing business in Ireland for over 13 years and having an extensive customer base, logistics arrangements enable us to market our products successfully. We entered the UK in 2012 and our model is proving to be very successful. This experience and market knowledge enabled us to identify and develop the business opportunity presented by the rapidly growing demand for sugar-free products in particular."
"What we set out was a range of products that didn't compromise on taste. The priority of our product development team was on creating scrumptious products with outstanding taste that just so happened to be sugar-free. Unlike many other sugar-free products, Free'ist foods give priority to taste."
"We worked closely with experienced manufacturer partners and taste panels in the development of the new product range of foods that combine quality, free-from status and taste," he adds.
The new product range represents a significant investment of time and money by GM Marketing, the process has taken over two years but it has been worth it with the brand been well received by the trade in the UK and Ireland with a number of them agreeing to list the range. The brand will be supported with a fully integrated communications plan to help raise brand awareness and encourage trial.
The Free'ist Range includes four cookies - Hazelnut, Choc Chip, Choc Striped Peanut, and, Coconut; four chocolates - smooth Milk Chocolate, Milk Chocolate with Hazelnut, rich Dark Chocolate, and, White Chocolate with Strawberries; two wafers - Chocolate Wafer bars and Chocolate Wafer sticks; and, three jams - Strawberry, Raspberry, and, Marmalade.
The Free'ist Range is the latest brand added to the GM Marketing portfolio. The company represents other leading food brands such as Typhoo Tea, Tilda Rice, Vimto, and, Nestlé Cereals, in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The company is based in Belfast and has an outsourced warehousing operation in Antrim (situated in Northern Ireland) and Warrington (situated in the UK). It currently employs 36 people.
For more information on the new Free'ist range visit www.freeist.co.ukor contact Steve McDonagh on 028 9026 7080.