Debra Johnston is going out on a high. Her last full year as Trading Controller at Food Force Ireland saw a record pay day, with just under £2 million paid back to its members.

From the early days of the organisation to the tour de force it is today, Debra has been a critical piece of the journey for independent Nisa retailers of all sizes across Northern Ireland.

When she announced her retirement at this year’s pay day event at the start of April, Debra’s news was met with shock but was swiftly followed by a deep appreciation of what she has achieved over the last 25 years.

Having started out as a merchandiser with Musgrave Distribution Ltd after she graduated, Debra got the bug for buying while working at Wyse Byse in Newtownards as a Saturday job, curious about the journey of the products from where they came from and how they reached stores.

As a buyer with Musgrave, she toured the world, benefiting from a wealth of experience while working in conjunction with their buying team from RoI. She later moved to Henderson’s where she enjoyed what she described as the three happiest years of her buying career working with a great team. She also credits this time as instilling her interest in the art of negotiation.

So, when Food Force got in touch a few years later with an opportunity to come and lead them in a new direction, Debra jumped at the opportunity, joining in June 2001.

“I have been here since; they have been lovely people to work for,” said Debra.

“It has been the most frustrating but the most satisfying job. Our business is about people and relationships. If we do not go that extra mile to see these suppliers, they will go to someone else. I want them to think of us every single time.”

With approximately 60 members covering 90 stores, Food Force is wholly owned by its shareholders. Unique in that there is no central warehouse, their negotiations are for deliveries to be made direct to stores, with stores having their own direct accounts with the suppliers.

“My job is to represent the members, promote their profile, get the best possible pricing, put promotions together and organise and host the trade shows,” said Debra.

“The end of the year work is the pinnacle of this; it is the end of year earnings and the long-term trade agreements. We do it so the individual store can be judged on its own performance, it is not dependent on the success of all the stores together. You need to make things equal and accessible for everyone, and we have done that successfully for everyone.

“In our early years, we were paying out around £150,000 and now it’s up to almost £2 million. It reflects the calibre of the stores in our group – they are the best of the best. They’re investing in their businesses all the time and you are part of that process all the time to help them grow.

“Because they are getting direct access with suppliers, they are back to that agility that suppliers can go in and influence sales in their stores that they can’t do with wholesale.

“There is a real relationship there with the suppliers and the retailers and that is the core part of all of this. There is a triangle with the member, supplier and myself, and we are working with each other to get the best deal for each other.”

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH DEBRA JOHNSTON IN THE APRIL ISSUE HERE

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Business owners across the region are working hard to stay open while they battle against these costs, trying to keep prices down, taking care of their staff and is some cases have pivoted their business in some manner to keep drawing consumers in.

Back in October 2024, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves put forward the first Labour Budget in 14 years, announcing a raft of measures which impacted the retail sector and SMEs generally. Since then, these businesses have had to address these financial implications and assess the viability of their businesses.

Having come through the pandemic, praised for being key workers and being on the frontline of an unprecedented lockdown period, retailers have been bombarded with significant challenges from huge rises in energy bills, the cost-of-living crisis and continued rising business costs, leaving the last few years a hardened battleground for SMEs.

On top of this, legislation working through government will see new challenges within the tobacco and vaping sector, while the single-use vape ban has already made its mark, and illicit tobacco remains a thorn in the side of retailers here.

Post Offices across Northern Ireland are also calling out for an increase in their services, stating they have faced a decade of decline, and are asking MLAs for real help and tangible support to battle the challenges they are also facing.

NI President of the Fed, Julie Brown told NR that they had met with Jim Shannon MP to stress the difficulties independent retailers here are facing, and warned that if higher tazes and energy costs weren’t addressed, they would likely lead to shorter shop opening hours and cutting staff hours.

“These have been very trying and testing times, that is what we are all facing generally,” said Julie.

“So far, we have managed to negotiate our way through without many changes, but we are constantly looking for new suppliers, new lines to bring in and ways to keep our costs under control.”

Meanwhile, Stormont is considering whether to bring forward an Employment Rights Bill that proposes to reform 17 separate areas of employment law in one move. As Roger Pollen, Head of the FSB NI told NR, were it to proceed, the Bill could cause extraordinary turmoil within NI’s vital SME community.

“The Department brought forward a massive suite of proposals nearly two years ago, called the ‘Good Jobs Bill’, yet their consultation process has meant that few employers are aware of them in outline, let alone in detail,” said Roger.

“We now await the revised Bill which, once published, will let business owners start to get to grips with what it might mean for them as employers. This matters; not least as the recent actions of Westminster have repeatedly driven up the cost of employing people, with a worrying contraction in graduate jobs offers perhaps being the harbinger of worse things to come.”

SEE THE FULL FEATURE IN THE MARCH ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER HERE

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A group of passionate and innovative independent butchers from across the island of Ireland, the Irish Butchers’ Guild was formed in 2019 initially as an initiative for butchers to support themselves and each other.

Dedicated to delivering uncompromising quality and great service, there are approximately 50 members of the Guild, with a number of those being Northern Irish butchers, including several award-winning businesses.

As founding member and chair of the Guild, Jason Corrigan explained to NR, it is a place for sharing ideas and asking for advice.

“I found that butchers were always seeing each other as competition, but what it comes down to is that we are all looking for customers the same as each other,” said Jason.

“The competition is really with the supermarkets and big multiples.

“There was never any help out there for people and so I decided that we needed to set something up that would give butchers the chance to talk to each and have somewhere to share advice and support each other. We have all gone through similar situations and challenges.”

Now in its seventh year, there was a steady uptake to the Guild and over the years this has grown to around 50 members, with approximately five from Northern Ireland, including Cunningham’s Butchers in Kilkeel, McKay Family Butchers in Ballycastle and Millar Meats in Irvinestown. Guild members regularly travel to member stores and other butchers, something Jason described as very important.

“I really find that physically being in the shop is so beneficial, you see more of what is happening and how things work practically and in the shop context,” said Jason.

“It’s all about helping each other out; everyone is always so approachable and willing to show you around their shop and take the time to explain what they’ve done, it’s really helpful.”

One of their recent trips to Northern Ireland saw Guild members visit the butchery at JD Hunter & Co. in Markethill, notably the 2025 Butcher of the Year at last year’s Neighbourhood Retailer Awards. Head Butcher Adrian Boyd and the team welcomed Guild members as part of their tour of top butchers in Northern Ireland, with the store hailing it a “very special day”.

“We share ideas and new products we have developed ourselves or those that our suppliers have brought to us, and which have worked for us,” said Jason. “It’s about helping each other come up with a new perspective.

“The visits to other butchers are really important. You get together in the evening and talk about everything. Yes, we can do that via WhatsApp, but being together and being able to talk in-depth about a range of things is so important.

“You can pick up little nuggets of gold and you may not have thought about doing something a certain way but hear of how it worked for another butcher. I am a big advocate of going to see other butchers.”

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH JASON CORRIGAN IN THE 2026 NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER YEARBOOK HERE

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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

The post A complete overview of the Symbol Sector in Northern Ireland first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.