Which? backing for Finnebrogue sausages
Influential consumer magazine Which? has chosen three Northern Ireland products among its list of Britain's best supermarket sausages for 2014.
The top Northern Irish sausage in the Which? list is Marks and Spencer British Outdoor-Bred 97% Pork, produced by Finnebrogue at Downpatrick in county Down. The M&S pork sausage comes second on the Which? list after a product from rival supermarket Morrisons.
The other Northern Ireland products in the top 13 listed by Which? were Rankin Selection Outdoor-Bred Pork Sausage and The Good Little Sausage Company Great Big Sausages, both also produced by Finnebrogue. The Rankin sausages were developed with Finnebrogue by local celebrity chef Paul Rankin.
M&S partnered with Finnebrogue in 2008 to make the best pork sausages in any UK supermarket. The company then had a reputation for producing quality artisan sausages. The M&S deal meant Finnebrogue had to bring artisanal values and processes to a supermarket scale.
They created an outdoor bred, gluten-free, 97% pork sausage that would rival butchers' sausages by using great meat from well-treated animals with expert skill and craftsmanship and innovative processes. The aim was to produce really great food.
The idea was that by using small batches, individually inspected by highly skilled butchers, Finnebrogue would bring craft methods to a much wider audience. The company worked with M&S to develop a unique texture and succulence that simply can't be found in any other sausage range.
It worked so well that Finnebrogue now produces 26 lines for M&S, including all of their top tier sausages. Finnebrogue was awarded M&S's UK Fresh Food Supplier of the Year in 2010.
To top it all off, Finnebrogue won the only 2011 Which? Best Buy awarded to any supermarket sausage in the "Premium Sausage" category, along with two national sausages.
Finnebrogue has been making artisan food for over a decade on the historic Finnebrogue Estate outside Downpatrick. The company employs around 200 people.
"Our success is based on the strength of relationships which we have with retailers in a fast growing industry. Our business is growing strongly because of this commitment to anticipate and respond quickly to market trends and opportunities. Over the past three years, we've achieved annual growth of around 30 per cent," says managing director Denis Lynn.