Kilbeggan Organic Foods to be showcased in SuperValu stores nationwide
• Food Academy supports 1,500 local jobs nationwide, 52 weeks of the year
• Food Academy producers have sold a combined €200 million of products in SuperValu since 2013
• Five Guest Star producers from Food Academy will have their products sold in SuperValus nationwide
Kilbeggan Organic Foods have been chosen from 290 Food Academy suppliers to be showcased in SuperValu stores nationwide.
The company are part of the SuperValu Food Academy programme, run in conjunction with Bord Bia and the Local Enterprise Offices.
Now selected as one of five Food Academy Guest Stars, Kilbeggan Organic Foods will have their products on sale in SuperValu stores around the country.
The Food Academy programme currently supports 290 Irish food and drink producers, making their products available 52 weeks of the year. Food Academy producers have sold a combined €200 million of products in SuperValu since 2013.
In 2021, there was a 6 per cent growth in Food Academy sales, with participants delivering €30 million in retail sales in SuperValus across the country.
Kilbeggan Organic Foods has been selected from the 290 Food Academy suppliers to be showcased as a Guest Star in SuperValu stores nationwide. Since March 3, the products from the five chosen producers have been on sale in 150 SuperValu stores and they will remain on shelves nationwide for three weeks.
Kilbeggan Organic Foods is a family-owned business run by John and Pat Lalor, whose roots go back six generations to 1844.
Pat Lalor decided to convert the entire farm to organic status in 1999 and they pride themselves in creating products with natural goodness.
Their products include ‘Kilbeggan Food Oat Cookie Choc Chip’, an all-butter chocolate chip cookie, handmade from a combination of wholesome organic Irish oats, pure Irish butter and the finest Belgian chocolate chunks.
John said: “Food Academy has given Kilbeggan Foods the opportunity to build our business at a rate that was suitable for our company. We launched in the Food Academy in 2015 and have grown steadily since then. The opportunity to partake in the Guest Stars promotion represents the next step on our journey allowing us access to 150 SuperValu stores nationwide. Hopefully it signals the start of our next growth phase.”
Carmel Biggane, Food Academy manager, SuperValu, said: “We believe in supporting local businesses and we are proud to have helped so many local producers over the last nine years.
"This nationwide distribution is a testament to the benefits of the Food Academy programme and the high standard of Irish producers the programme continues to support. We are really looking forward to bringing these excellent products to our customers in SuperValus around the country.”
In its ninth year, Food Academy is a unique food business development programme between SuperValu, Bord Bia and the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs). Participants in the programme receive training in food safety, market research and branding, marketing, finance, sustainability and business development.