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.