Business
Six fledgling Galway food producers to be stocked on SuperValu shelves
Fledgling Galway food producers have been given a big chance by SuperValu with their products now appearing on shelves of the supermarket chain.
Six of those are Caveman Grub, Feedthepulse, Juicy Lucy, The Galway Food Company West of Ireland Seaweed Kitchen and Wicked Blends who are among the 53 new producers from the Food Academy Programme that will see their products rolled out across SuperValu stores in Galway with the possibility of growth to other counties as the brand grows sustainably.
Food Academy is a joint initiative between SuperValu, Bord Bia and the Local Enterprise Office Network and since its inception in 2014, has supported over 600 small producers the length and breadth of Ireland.
Over the past 12 months, Bord Bia, the Local Enterprise Offices and your local SuperValu has worked with hundreds of small food producers around the country, through the Food Academy programme and over 300 food start-ups are currently on-shelves in their local SuperValu store. This will result in estimated sales of over €25 million for the national Food Academy programme in 2016.
Caveman Grub: Jac Keady, from Connemara, has produced a delicious range of Paleo foods, with 100% natural ingredients. Free from Gluten, Grains, Dairy and refined sugar.
Feedthepulse: Glen and Dan McArdle, two chefs, create their range of healthy sauces from their favourite recipes but with no salt, sugar or fat. They use traditional cooking methods and a carefully chosen selection of herbs and spices to release the natural flavours of the food.
Their plan originated with a desire to cook a tasty, healthy meal easily. They took their favourite recipes and removed the salt, sugar fat and anything artificial and then began to rebuild the tastes using traditional slow cooking methods and natural herbs and spices. The result is a range of healthy sauces which you can add to meat, fish, pasta, vegetable or anything you like.
Juicy Lucy: is the brainchild of Karena Hutton and Jennifer Anne Hutton-Carty, sisters from Galway. They only use the freshest fruit & vegetables to hand-make their range of Cold-Pressed Juice.
The Galway Food Company: Clare Colohan lives in Loughrea, with her seven children. She is passionate about baking and about the wonderful, quality, local produce that can be found in Galway to make her All-Butter Shortbread Biscuits.
West of Ireland Seaweed Kitchen: Living in sunny Australia, with its Asian influence, Richard and his wife Rachel saw how central seaweed was in their diets with the emphasis being on basic simple ingredients. On returning to Ireland they began experimenting with old traditional Irish seaweed recipes, such as Carrageen Moss Pudding. Their goal was to create handy snacks and treats for their young kids. Like all frazzled parents today they wanted quick, healthy, tasty snacks, full of goodness. And so the idea of ready seaweed mixes was born.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
The new President of Local Ireland, the association representing local news publishers around the country, is Head of Irish Times Regionals Dan Linehan.
Mr Linehan takes over the presidency from Declan McGuire of the Connacht Tribune. His appointment was confirmed at the recent Annual General Meeting of Local Ireland at Bloomfield House Hotel near Mullingar, Westmeath.
Mr Linehan, who has served as Vice President of the organisation for the last two years, said: “The coming years are a very important time for local publishers with many important issues to be addressed, including the implementation of the Future of Media Commission recommendations, defamation reform, the role and support for local publishers in public service reporting and helping publishers develop commercial digital offerings.”
Speaking at the AGM, Mr McGuire acknowledged the work done by the Executive in the past two years under the direction of Executive Director, Bob Hughes, on several projects related to the publishing industry but most especially the successful conclusion of the long-running campaign for the abolition of VAT on newspapers.
He also wished Mr Linehan the very best in his new role as President of the association for the next two years.
Mr Hughes thanked Mr McGuire for his leadership and support during his term of office and said he looked forward to working with Mr Linehan on the key policy priorities for the association, including Government supports, Government advertising, fair remuneration for content from the tech platforms and the reform of the legislation for defamation.
Local Ireland members also elected Seán Mahon, Managing Director of the Southern Star, as Vice President for the next two years.
The shortage of affordable housing is the single biggest impediment in attracting and retaining workers in the West, according to business group Ibec.
At a ‘Regional Insights Series’ meeting in the Galmont Hotel in Galway last week, employers were told that capacity constraints and labour supply are the key challenges facing business growth in the region.
Ibec Head of Regional Policy Helen Leahy said: “There must be greater focus by government on enhancing quality of life issues such as housing and infrastructure which are driving labour shortages in the region.
“Ibec’s vision for the West is to realise its potential to become a globally competitive location. An inadequate supply of affordable housing is now the single largest impediment to attracting and retaining talented workers, without whom business investment and expansions are not possible.
“Labour shortages are a real concern for businesses in the region. People decide where to live and work based on quality of life and access to high quality services and amenities. Industry tends to follow talent, and in this regard, the region needs to have all the building blocks in place as the attraction and retention of world-class talent becomes increasingly competitive on a global level,” said Ms Leahy.
Amongst Ibec’s priorities for the West are:
- Addressing housing and infrastructure challenges
- Transitioning towards a new growth model with Net Zero energy powered by Atlantic offshore wind resources
- Adapting businesses to the new economic realities
- Enhancing capacity and skillsets to achieve sustainable development objectives
- Investment in people and skills
- Creating competitive advantage through digitalisation
- Innovation as a key driver of productivity growth
One in five Galway businesses want to go fully cashless, as the move towards card payments and tapping continues unabated post-Covid.
In all, 22% of Galway businesses would like to be fully cashless, according to a survey carried out by BOI Payment Acceptance (BOIPA), a provider of payment technology solutions, which asked Irish businesses about the current payment landscape as well as business confidence and concerns.
Over one-third (36%) of Galway businesses were unaware there is no contactless limit on mobile wallets – just below the national average – while 54% believe the increase in card over cash transactions has helped them run their business.
Six out of ten Galway businesses expect to grow this year despite the cost-of-living crisis and running costs dominating as key concerns; 62% believe their business will grow over the next twelve months despite global economic uncertainty.
Unsurprisingly cost-of-living increases and running costs were the main concerns the majority of businesses had.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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