Springisland Supermarket – a fresh food haven
Praised as a haven for fresh food lovers, Springisland Supermarket claimed the Fresh Food Store of the Year title at the 2024 NR Awards. Management Team member, Emma Rice details the importance of winning this award.
Synonymous with serving their local community since 1997, Springisland’s status in County Tyrone is cemented in its commitment to delivering top quality fresh food – living up to their tagline as a ‘fresh and local market’.
Established in 1997, the family-run business is now in its second generation and with a unique farm to fork philosophy, Emma’s father Peter supplies the store with his own farm Quality Assured beef.
Emma told NR they were thrilled to be awarded the Fresh Food Store of the Year at the 2024 Neighbourhood Retailer Awards. Judges had high praise for the store, describing it as a haven for fresh food lovers, with unbeatable quality and value.
They also commended its huge range of options, from local meat and vegetables to bakery, prepared meals, salads and sauces.
“The feedback from the judges was fantastic, and we were delighted to share their feedback on our social media,” said Emma.
“We work alongside a lot of local producers and manufacturers across the store, from our fruit and veg to our deli and of course, our butchery and we’re always keen to identify new ones as well.
“We were delighted to win this award and it was fantastic recognition for our team as fresh food has always been our focus, given that our tagline ‘fresh and local market’ has been as such since we opened the doors in 1997,” she added.
“Our staff were delighted with the win, as it was recognition for all their hard work, so it was great to receive external validation for this. It gives customers added confidence in our products as well, so we definitely received positive feedback from them too.
“In today’s market and with the growth of larger multinationals, it’s sometimes not possible to compete on price, so our fresh food, we believe, has always been our differentiator.
“It’s an area we are always focusing on in terms of our own homemade food – we’re always trying new products, adding new flavours to successful ranges, and ensuring we get the best quality and pricing from suppliers so that we maintain our overall quality, but with keen pricing for customers.”
It’s commitment to providing for and assisting its customers was made even more evident recently during Storm Éowyn, when they welcomed those without power in the local area to the store to avail of hot water for flasks, with customers praising their efforts in helping the community.
Springisland marked its silver anniversary in 2022 and ahead of that, the store underwent major renovations and an extension, with works completed in mid-2020. The £1.2 million investment saw the store increase from 10,000 sq ft to 15.000 sq ft.
With such an extensive expansion, the store was subsequently able to expand its range of produce, with an increase in fresh, ambient and grocery items providing even more variety for their customers. The extension allowed for the expansion of the fruit and veg section, with a serve-over bakery and ice cream parlour also introduced, thus adding to their key profit centres.
YOU CAN SEE THE FULL FEATURE ON SPRINGISLAND SUPERMARKET IN THE 2025 NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER YEARBOOK AND MARKETING GUIDE, CLICK HERE
