SPAR Launches Fresh BBQ Range
Fresh food has been a continued focus for SPAR in Northern Ireland for 2014 and its latest barbeque offering is a firm response to that.
The summer barbeque season was kicked off in style with the annual SPAR-B-Q, which took place at the Hamptons themed Roof Garden at the Merchant Hotel.
Neal Kelly, Fresh Foods director and his Fresh Trading team at the Henderson Group welcomed press, local suppliers and colleagues to sample their barbeque range for 2014.
Henderson Group’s Fresh Foods division has confirmed that 100 per cent of its fresh barbeque items are from local suppliers in Northern Ireland – a figure that the company is striving towards for its entire fresh offering.
SPAR’s fresh summer eating consists of meat, poultry, sausages, chops, salads and fresh accompaniments such as houmous and salsa from suppliers based in Northern Ireland. These include Willowbrook Foods in Killinchy, Fred C Robinson in Ballyclare, Rockvale Poultry in Co Armagh and Avondale Foods in Craigavon, to name a few.
Neal Kelly commented: “Our 2013 sales results prove this change in shopping trends thanks to the warmer weather, with a 48 per cent year on year increase in seasonal product sales over the summer months. Our retailers are based in communities where shoppers are no longer doing a ‘big shop’ – especially when taking advantage of good weather days. They have the demand and we are delighted to provide an offering that responds to it.”
*Pictured top: Stuart Best, Willowbrook Foods (left) with Neal Kelly, Fresh Foods director at Henderson Group
