Fresh is best at Trainor Bros Spar Poyntzpass
David Lavery, store manager at Trainor Bros Spar Poyntzpass tells NR why fresh is an essential part of the modern convenience store.
“Fresh food is really important,” says David Lavery, store manager Trainor Bros Spar Poyntzpass. “It’s where the shop starts and everything else comes after that.”
It is common knowledge within the industry that the modern convenience shopper is searching for meal options that fulfil core values such as health, fresh, and convenience but there is an art to really understanding what your customer needs and wants.
“People have less time, I think,” says David. “They’re working more and are just busier. Having a really good fresh offer gets people through the door and it’s the first thing they come across when they walk in.”
Entering the Poyntzpass store it’s clear to see that fresh food is at the forefront of this business model with a commanding deli drawing the customer’s eye in.
Offering tomato and beetroot wraps, the inventive deli aims to give customers a better range of healthier options. David states that the store’s healthy range is often received better by customers over traditional fried menu items.
“Salads are popular in summer but as the weather gets colder we find out stir fry does really well. Our deli staff pride themselves on their syn-free noodles!”
Syn-free is a term used by Slimming World to describe foods that don’t need to be counted as part of the plan. The well-known stir fry is available from the hot deli as well as to take home for that night’s dinner.
Having only opened its doors in 2016, the team behind Trainor Bros Spar Poyntzpass has worked diligently to establish this site as a community hub that customers can trust to provide them with quick, healthy meal solutions that fulfil their needs.
“Our Trainor Bros Deli take-away meals are great for the customer as they feel they don’t have to go home and cook,” says David.
“It’s handy and all of dishes are made fresh – it’s not as if it’s coming out of the freezer. We demand that our quality is always at a very high level. The customer does place a lot of trust in us and we don’t want to lose that. We always aim to make sure our products are as healthy as they can be. This can mean that it can be a little bit more costly but if the customer trusts your brand they don’t mind paying a wee bit extra.”
And it’s not just Trainor Bros Spar Poyntzpass’ own ranges that draw shoppers in. David reports many customers ask for Oh So Lean lines. A Northern Ireland based company, Oh So Lean offer lean meats and fresh, convenient meal solutions.
“Customers love their rice dishes and their turkey burgers are a best seller too.”
The secret to capturing the fresh market is innovation, David believes.
“Our deli manager is very passionate about her job and puts in a lot of work. She is constantly coming up with new ideas – I’ve seen her on her break where she is having a cup of tea and she will grab the nearest piece of paper and start jotting ideas for recipes.
“Along with passion we offer great value for money. Poynztpass is a small village and there are competitors about but after trying our fantastic range of fresh food options our customers don’t need to go to competitors because they have everything the need at their own backdoor.”
