Surplus food is a side effect of the grocery industry, particularly as retailers continue to increase their in-store deli counters and food to go offerings, with the larger supermarkets growing this part of their business. Putting this surplus food to good use is the core aim of FareShare NI, who want to get this food to those who need it most.

In the last year, they have welcomed a number of new partnerships with both retailers and manufacturers who are now supporting them with regular, high-quality surplus food donations, including meat, dairy, vegetables, ready meals and long-life ambient staples.

This increased volume of surplus food made available through their partnerships has strengthened the organisation’s ability to support its ever-growing network of Community Food Members, including charities, community groups, and schools across Northern Ireland. In addition to being able to provide additional volumes of food, having access to a wider range of products allows them to improve the overall quality and nutritional value of the food they redistribute.

Over the last 12 months 656 tonnes of food have been distributed, equating to approximately 1.5 million meals delivered across the whole of Northern Ireland. Notably, FareShare NI’s CFM numbers stands at 172, which includes a large number of schools.

Indeed, Declan said this has been one of the significant observations made by FareShare over the last year, as they have noticed an increase in schools themselves applying for membership.

“That is one of the significant finds we have noticed here, be it for after-school clubs, lunch clubs or even for helping to teach about life skills,” said Declan.

“Another unforeseen we have found is that schools are actually sending food home with kids. They have observed the children coming in tired, hungry and not able to concentrate and then suffering academically. They have assessed the need and then invited parents and guardians into the school after hours to get food, in a social supermarket type model.”

Declan was keen to stress that food poverty is not just in the big towns and cities, but also in many of our villages and rural areas throughout Northern Ireland, with FareShare’s fleet of vans covering every village and town in the region, as well as the cities.

“Another area that has been identified is the working poor, who are only just getting by,” added Declan. “They are reluctantly having to access food aid.

“We have seen a large increase here in the last year as well. It’s not limited to the stereotypical groups that you would expect to need access to food.

“When people do come to the realisation that they need help, having the courage to come out and ask for it, it’s brave but it should also be encouraged. These people out working can find themselves struggling from time to time and even if it’s going to a food bank, it may only be short-term, but it may also give them the breathing space they need to get themselves back up financially. They will never be turned away.”

Over the last year or so, FareShare NI’s donor partners have grown substantially, with this increase enabling them to provide a greater variety of foods to their charity partners. While they have larger retailers as donor partners, Declan said they also really appreciate the support from more local, regional retailers and manufacturers.

“Because of Brexit we have had a lot of difficulty in getting ambient food,” said Declan. “We would have received quite a lot of donations from GB, but because of Brexit, we have suffered in this department.

“Our main challenges have been receiving enough donations of ambient food to distribute, this is why our Winter campaigns like the Tesco Food Collection and Stuff a Bus are so vital.

“We are now sourcing more chilled and frozen products produced locally, to make up for the shortfall on the ambient side. It would be amazing to have more local ambient manufacturers and distributors, to counterbalance the lack of ambient food coming over from GB.

“We have got amazing partners, retailers, manufacturers and growers throughout NI, but the need is growing and we need to balance that up with partners that have products we do not have now, and which would help give us a constant supply.

“Donations do not have to be every day or every week, but when they do have surplus, they can contact us and we can redistribute it to people who need it.”

With inflation driving up the cost of the everyday shop, Declan said families are finding themselves purchasing less food for the same amount of money, making it increasingly difficult to have enough food to feed a family without compromising on nutrition and quality. “As demand for food support and our service continues to rise, both new and our existing partnerships are vital,” he added.

“For retailers and manufacturers, working with FareShare provides a reliable and compliant route for surplus food that may otherwise be at risk of going to landfill, while also helping to feed people who need it most. We’re incredibly grateful to our partners for their continued support and could not do the work we do without them.”

READ DECLAN’S FULL INTERVIEW IN THE 2026 YEARBOOK & MARKETING GUIDE HERE

The post FareShare NI – Fighting for food fairness for all first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Part of a large network made up of back up and support crews, the symbol sector serves millions of customers across the region with the backing of Northern Ireland’s leading food retail and wholesale companies.

The symbol sector here is unique, with a precious place on the fabric of every community, both urban and rural, which has evolved over the past 50 years to the extent that a town, village or city without its symbol is simply unimaginable.

Consumers like names they can trust, and symbol groups are the perfect combination of local faces with trusted brands, thus encouraging return trade and a relationship between shopper and store.

The latest figures from Worldpanel by Numerator show that take-home grocery sales rose by 2.2% in Northern Ireland last year to 25^th January 2026, while grocery inflation currently stands at 7.03%, up from 6.20% the previous month.

Shoppers are savvy and continue to look for ways to manage household bills and as part of this, they are returning to store more often, picking up less each time.

What they are choosing to buy is also important, with branded goods continuing to perform well, with spending up £72.3 million, a 3% year-on-year increase, lifting their value share to 55% as shoppers turned to brands they know and trust.

Own-label ranges also grew, up 0.9%, with an extra £16 million spent, taking their share to 42.7% of the market by value. Premium own-label stood out in particular, rising by 11.4% as shoppers spent an additional £16.6 million on these ranges.

Additionally, promotions played a bigger role than ever, with discounted items now accounting for 26.4% of value sales, a new record in Northern Ireland and an uplift of 3.9 percentage points versus last year.

Convenience is key and is becoming the cornerstone of everyday life. Gone are the corner shops of yesteryear. It’s all about the customer experience – and symbol stores have taken that concept to heart – by making the efficiency and ease of shopping at the core.

The symbol sector has actively capitalised on making the ‘shopper experience’ at the centre of their business ethos – smart, stylish, well lit, clean, clear labelling – with value for money being the driving force – this savvy sense of driving the sector forward has its roots in research, category management, and sound business sense.

At the cutting edge of change, the symbol sector is creating great shopping experiences for customers – with independent retailers in the optimum position of being able to offer a personal approach, with their stores at the heart of many communities, store owners and their staff know their customers personally, are able to communicate and connect on a level which in turn ensures loyalty and support for what they do, alongside the essential services and facilities they are known for.

SEE OUR SPECIAL FEATURE ON THE NORTHERN IRELAND SYMBOL SECTOR IN THE 2026 YEARBOOK & MARKETING GUIDE HERE

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Since taking over as operator of The National Lottery in February 2024, Allwyn has gotten straight to work introducing new initiatives and upgrading systems and equipment.

Having stepped into the role of Director of Commercial Partnerships and Retail Sales, Alison Acquaye-Acford has been leading the team involved with their core customers, keeping retailers updated on the ongoing changes and plans for the future.

Having marked the 30^th anniversary of The National Lottery last November, Allwyn took the opportunity to celebrate with its retail partners here in Northern Ireland earlier this year, when Chair Justin King MBE hosted a special celebratory breakfast at the Titanic Hotel.

As Alison explained, continued communication with their 43,500 retail partners is key to them being able to deliver on their ambitions, namely on their ultimate goal of growing returns to Good Causes from £30 million a week to £60 million a week by the end of their 10-year licence.

“Our retail partners are the backbone of The National Lottery and, to most players, our public face. So, we need to effectively communicate with them to ensure they continue to be great supporters and advocates of The National Lottery and everything it delivers across the UK,” said Alison.

“One of our main priorities is to make buying The National Lottery as easy and convenient for people as possible. That means being in the places that people are shopping and also ensuring we’re keeping up with the ever-changing retail landscape.

“For example, we’ve partnered with Snappy Shopper to offer independent retailers the ability to sell Scratchcards for home delivery, as that is becoming more popular for people with busy lives from a convenience perspective. And, for any retailer that does not yet have The National Lottery in their shop, we’d love to hear from you.”

In the last 20 months, from taking over as operator of The National Lottery a number of retail initiatives have been introduced, including rolling out the new, sustainable suite of National Lottery permanent point of sale (PPOS) equipment; launching the Local Retail Champions campaign, which is now in its second year; and introducing ‘Share the Win’, which rewards retailers who sell high-tier winning tickets in their stores.

Significantly, during the summer, they took National Lottery systems and terminals offline for 34 hours to allow them to deliver the biggest tech upgrade since The National Lottery was first launched in 1994.

“This saw us deliver 30-plus new systems, including new gaming software on every National Lottery terminal, and a series of complex data migrations, including the transfer of tens of thousands of retailer records and millions of transactions from the old to the new systems,” said Alison.

“We also upgraded our Retailer Hotline to new modern contact centre technology.

“Thanks to the support from our 43,500 retail partners, we were able to get systems back up and running several hours earlier than expected and the vast majority of stores were able to continue selling National Lottery tickets in good time.

“A small minority of stores experienced residual issues, and we have worked hard, and continue to do so, to carry out remote troubleshooting and face-to-face visits. Subsequently, we’ve also started the scale rollout of the new state-of-the-art Wave lottery terminals – with the new terminals being universally welcomed by the retailers that have received them.”

It’s fair to say that most of the focus for Allwyn this year has been on preparing their systems, tech and, most importantly, their retail partners for the recent technical switchover weekend. This involved delivering and installing the new Wave terminals in around 8000 stores that previously had Compact Lottery Terminals.

Alison explained that as the new terminal software wouldn’t work on the Compact Lottery Terminals, they had to ensure those stores didn’t experience any interruption to trading following the switchover.

“We then also carried out more than 39,000 phone calls, emails and face-to-face rep visits to National Lottery retailers ahead of the weekend; sent out comprehensive upgrade support packs to all stores, which included customer-facing posters and table-toppers to keep in-store players informed; and we doubled the amount of retail support resource available on the ground,” said Alison.

“Now our primary focus turns to rolling out the remainder of the Wave terminals and the PPOS items across all stores, with the rollout carrying on at pace in Northern Ireland as we speak.

“For the retailers that are patiently waiting, we are replacing thousands of Altura terminals each week and the PPOS is also steadily arriving in stores, so look out for communication from our support team who will be in touch to book in your installation date.”

Allwyn returned as platinum sponsor for the 2025 Neighbourhood Retailer Awards, as well as sponsoring the Community Store of the Year category, with Alison stressing the importance of them recognising and celebrating the achievements of Northern Irish retailers.

“It’s a real honour to be given the opportunity to help highlight, recognise and celebrate the huge contribution that independent retailers make to local high streets across Northern Ireland,” she said.

“It means a great deal to everyone at Allwyn to be able to celebrate the diligence, passion and perseverance shown by these retailers, day in, day out – many times 365 days a year.”

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH ALISON ACQUAYE-ACFORD IN THE OCTOBER ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER HERE

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For over 100 years, S&W has built a legacy of trust as Ireland’s leading wholesaler, consistently offering ‘A Whole Lot More’ to support the success of their customers.

Their long-standing history is testament to their unwavering commitment to the wholesale sector and the retail community across the island of Ireland, a commitment S&W continues to strengthen with clear promises for the future.

Indeed, S&W’s innovative transition nearly three years ago to an Employee-Owned Trust (EOT) – a first of its kind for a company of its scale in Northern Ireland – underscores their dedication to a stable and reliable future. This unique structure ensures that S&W’s focus remains firmly on the long-term success of their retailers and customers, fostering employee retention and mutual growth alongside valued suppliers.

As CEO of S&W Wholesale, Anthony McVeigh told NR the move to transition to an EOT was to cement the legacy of S&W as well as strengthen their partnerships with their customers, employees and suppliers.

“We wanted to install confidence in our customers, suppliers and wider stakeholders that S&W will be here for the long-term, to support their business and grow alongside S&W as their trusted wholesaler,” said Anthony.

“The EOT move has allowed us to successfully do this, as we look to the future with our new multi-purpose building currently in construction with local contractor, Kelly Bros from Warrenpoint.”

“Becoming an EOT employer means our people have a genuine stake in S&W’s future,” added Laura Cassells, Head of People and Culture at S&W.

“It protects our culture, keeps us independent, and creates space for growth – growth of the business, growth in opportunities for our people, and growth in the positive impact we can make in our community.”

This summer, S&W announced it had appointed building contractor, Kelly Brothers LLP from Warrenpoint as the main contractor on its new, purpose-built facilities in Newry.

The new site, which is located approximately three miles from its current headquarters in Carnbane Business Park, is situated adjacent to the southbound side of the A1 dual carriageway, supporting the company’s future growth plans right across the island to better service our customers.

The proposal for the 180,000 sq ft storage and distribution warehouse including ancillary office accommodation is a major boost to the EOT business, as it looks to the future.

“As a Leadership Team, we recognised that the business has been curtailed in recent times through space constraints and operating across multiple sites,” said Anthony.

“This investment in the new facilities will secure the long-term future of S&W as a leading independent grocery wholesaler – one that our customers can continue to place their trust in.

“As an EOT business, it is essential that we continue to invest in the business, our people and in the local community. This new facility will allow us to maximise our operational efficiency and support our customers further.”

In the meantime, the company has continued to invest in other sides of the business, including its ever-growing fleet and logistics operations.

“We have already invested significantly in our fleet with new additions, including temperature-controlled lorries this year to help service our customers more efficiently,” said Clive Whylie, Head of Operations.

“With the development of our new site well underway, we have upgraded and invested back into our warehouse efficiencies with the introduction of new state-of-the-art pallet and reach trucks. This crucial investment will enable our award-winning operations team to enhance both the reliability of our service to customers and our internal operational efficiencies.

“Our continuous improvement mindset at S&W is centred around a core value – prioritising the customer. We are constantly looking for ways to improve as a team and offer a better service each time for our customers.”

Delivering on a promise to offer ‘A Whole Lot More’ for its customers, S&W established an exciting new symbol brand, Nearby in 2021. Exclusive to the company, it was launched with a commitment to play a vital part in a modernisation strategy to help independent retailers forge deeper connections with their local communities.

Promising to refresh the look and feel of convenience stores, the Nearby brand delivers a sense of togetherness, convenience and great value that’s never too far from home.

Nearby has proved it is more than a symbol for independent retailers. With a retail support system in place, the latest market knowledge and retail technology, retailers can focus on what they do best, while Nearby supports the rest.

Having marked the fourth anniversary of Nearby this summer, Chief Sales Officer Michael Skelton told NR their Nearby stores are central to the company’s mission.

“The success of Nearby stems from our unwavering customer loyalty in independent retailing, paired with our robust wholesale support,” said Michael.

TO SEE THE S&W WHOLESALE SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT IN THE OCTOBER ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER, CLICK HERE

The post S&W Wholesale – Ireland’s trusted wholesaler focuses on its next chapter first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

In a landscape marked by fluctuating economic conditions and shifting consumer priorities, the resilience and efforts of certain brands have shone through, driving their growth and securing their place in the hearts and baskets of Northern Irish shoppers.

The recently released 2025 Ireland Brand Footprint report by Worldpanel by Numerator sheds light on the brands that have not only endured but thrived in challenging times.

In this exclusive supplement, Neighbourhoud Retailer publishes Northern Ireland’s Top 100 Grocery Brands, in association with Worldpanel by Numerator, providing valuable insight into NI’s most popular brands in take-home grocery.

In Northern Ireland over the 52 weeks to 15^th June 2025, branded sales grew at 1.8% with shoppers spending an additional £42.5 million on branded goods. Over the course of the last two years, shoppers have been looking for ways to mitigate rising costs and manage household budgets and as a result many have turned to Private Label (PL) offerings.

PL is performing slightly behind brands at 1.7%, however it is worth noting that in Northern Ireland, brands still hold the highest value share at 54.9%.

Business Development Director at Worldpanel by Numerator, Emer Healy said it is clear that specifically Irish and British brands are important to Northern Ireland consumers, something strongly reflected in the rankings.

“Within the top five, four Irish and British brands hold position – Hovis, Cookstown, Kingsmill and Denny again showing how important heritage brands are for consumers,” said Emer.

“This reflects strong shopper loyalty despite the rise of own-label alternatives. This suggests that heritage, familiarity and perceived quality still play a major role in consumer choice.”

There has been a notable shift within the landscape with rising costs and high inflation rates impacting on how consumers are trying to manage their households budgets, with the latest data revealing that the latest inflation to 15^th June 2025 is 2.79%, inflation in NI continues to fall, versus last year it has continued to fall gradually.

“However, versus last year there has been a step change as 56% of brands managed to grow their CRP within the year versus 20% last year,” added Emer.

“In terms of attracting new shoppers, 41% of brands managed to attract new shoppers into their brand offerings, which is up on 39% last year.

“Out of the top 100, Keeling’s managed to see the strongest penetration growth, now holding 37.5% penetration which is up 18ppts versus last year, showing how strong the brand’s activation has been across the year and how shoppers in Northern Ireland are looking for the best quality in the market.

“This has been reflected in the top 100 brands as only 20% of brands have managed to grow their CRP within the year. In terms of attracting new shoppers, only 39% of brands managed to attract new shoppers into their brand offerings.”

There have been some interesting movements within the 2025 top 100, significantly a jump of 41 places sees Keeling’s now hold 43^rd place. With the strongest CRP growth amongst the top 100, Keeling’s influx of new shoppers has resulted in a rise of +70.2%.

Pringles also saw CRP growth of 56.6%, jumping 14 places in the rankings to hold 21^st place. Their growth is driven by not only welcoming new shoppers into the brands offerings but also a boost in frequency.

Oykos jumped a staggering 62 places and entered the top 100 for the first time holding 99^th position. Their growth is driven by not only welcoming new shoppers into the brands offerings but also a boost in frequency.

Meanwhile, there were contrasting results for some brands, with Skinny Bars falling 28 places in the rankings and seeing their CRP growth decline by 22.3%; notably Lucozade fell 15 places in the rankings and saw their CRP growth decline by 20%; while Aero fell 19 places in the rankings and saw their CRP growth decline by 18.7%.

Stand-out performers in this year’s BFP are Tayto and Pringles, who likely benefited from strong, engaging campaigns. Their growth in CRP, frequency, and spend suggests effective brand activation and promotional strategies.

“In this year’s Worldpanel by Numerator Brand Footprint for Northern Ireland, a clear shift in consumer behaviour has emerged as the cost-of-living crisis continues to shape shopping habits,” said Emer.

“Many brands have experienced a notable decline in both frequency and penetration, indicating that shoppers are visiting stores less often and purchasing fewer brands overall.

“Instead, consumers are consolidating their shopping trips and opting to buy in larger quantities, favouring brands that offer multipack deals or strong value propositions. This trend reflects a more deliberate and budget-conscious approach to grocery shopping, where efficiency and perceived value are driving brand choice more than ever.”

SEE THE FULL TOP 100 IN THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER HERE

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