Plenty of dough for Avondale Foods with Dutch discounter
Avondale Foods, the Northern Irish processor, of a range of salads, soups, bread snacks and sauces, has won its first European business with a deal to supply supermarkets in the Netherlands.
The company, which is based in Lurgan, county Armagh, is supplying chilled garlic butter doughballs to HEMA in Amsterdam, a leading discount retailer.
The success in the Netherlands was outlined by Philip Conway, Avondale head of sales, who says the company will be providing 250g packs of 12 chilled garlic butter filled dough balls to the discounter.
Mr Conway says "We started exploring opportunities in the Netherlands ihn September as part of a strategic decision to explore business opportunities in Europe.
"What we aimed to do was to build on the success that we are enjoying in the UK and Ireland for our product range by developing a strong base in Europe particularly the Netherlands which is a market with a longstanding awareness of the quality and originality of UK food and drink and is also an ideal springboard to neighbouring regions such as Belgium, Germany and Denmark.
"Our garlic butter dough balls, one of the most popular chilled bread products with a high-end retailer in Britain, attracted HEMA's interest and they placed a contract with us. They liked the outstanding taste and convenience of the garlic sauce-filled dough balls."
"We've begun to supply the product and are now working to expand sales with HEMA and other major retailers."
Avondale Foods, a winner of a series of food awards including Great Taste Awards, employs around 340 people in Lurgan in developing and manufacturing quality products for leading retailers including Waitrose, Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury and Morrisons.
The company, a family business, was formed in 1965 has a successful track record of success in developing innovative foods in liaison with leading retailers. It has also focused on developing products in response to market demand for reduced fat and additive-free foods.
HEMA, formed in 1926, has a presence in virtually every city and large town in the Netherlands and specialises in food and other household goods. The retailer also has stores in Belgium, Germany and France.