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One Elmwood SPAR at QUB opens to international standards within new £40m hub

Linda Stewart — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 10:28:21 +0000

Henderson Group has unveiled its new urban format SPAR store within the recently opened One Elmwood Student Centre and Students’ Union at Queen’s University Belfast, which has been built to international standards with some never seen before food concepts and design features.

The group worked with SPAR UK and SPAR International alongside the project team at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) to design and build the £250,000 Union Shop within One Elmwood, bringing a host of new products and services to its customer base of over 27,000 students and staff at the University.

“One Elmwood, the new Queen’s Student Centre and Students’ Union has been seven years in the making. It is a stunning £40m world-class complex which will be home to thousands of students from around the world, so we had an opportunity to develop something truly unique”, said Paddy Doody, Sales and Marketing Director at Henderson Group.

Focused on student needs, and creating a place for all campus essentials, the Union Shop brings a number of firsts for the SPAR brand in Northern Ireland.

Mr Doody said: “The store is proud to introduce the first ever non-dairy self-serve coffee concept under Barista Bar, with its unique plant-based only machine, which we believe is a first for Northern Ireland.

“Barista Bar Planted provides non-dairy options for coffee-drinkers with the same great taste and quality of a signature Barista Bar brew, and will sit alongside two of our standard machines offering a full range of delicious hot drinks.”

With food-to-go high on the priority list, SPAR NI’s new exclusive Delish brand makes an impact in the store, exclusively adapted for the Union Shop, with around 300 sq. ft dedicated to tasty, freshly prepared hot breakfast and lunch items, either made fresh to order or packaged to grab and go.

Mr Doody added: “This was a high priority for the student and staff demographic. Often, they could be running between lectures and only have time to grab something quickly, but they still want good quality food fast, which Delish provides.”

One of the most exciting elements is the Delish Burrito Bar, delivering a traditional Mexican street food experience of fresh, high-quality Burritos and Bowls offering really satisfying portions at great value.

Mr Doody says they expect it to be hugely popular: “The demand for this type of street food which is full of flavour, customisable and fast is ever growing.

“Students are the main force behind the demand within this market locally, they are savvy in that they’re not only looking for value prices but top-quality produce that is made right in front of them, which is exactly what we’re delivering with the Delish Burrito Bar and our great value meal deals.”

Delish hot food-to-go will be complemented by a full range of sandwiches, wraps and salads, including the popular Choice range which incorporates the brand’s vegan offering. The Fanta and Coca Cola Frozen machines, fresh orange juice by iSqueeze and a full SPAR Bakery offering, ensures there is something for everyone in this exciting food-to-go concept in the heart of Belfast City.

While the Union Shop may be built with international concepts in mind, the design at its heart is derived from locally loved landscapes, created to inspire its student community whether they’re local or experiencing Belfast for the first time.

Welcoming SPAR to the new Union Shop in One Elmwood at Queen’s University, Director of Student Plus Caroline Young said: “We are delighted to partner with SPAR in our new Union Shop to deliver the best value and range of products to our students, staff and the wider community.

“One Elmwood is a one stop shop for all our student needs, and it’s important that they have access to good quality food and refreshments to keep them going whether they are working in our collaboration spaces, taking part in Clubs and Societies or just chilling out in our tech friendly space.

“We look forward to working with SPAR to make our Union Shop the place to go for students at Queen’s.”

Store Manager, Glenn Patterson explains: “Belfast’s culture is truly unique. SPAR in Northern Ireland is over 60 years old, so we have a lot of history to bring to our store, which will not only welcome international students but help locals feel at home.

“We have created a store that students will want to visit and experience. The design is urban but bursting with Belfast heritage, such as the shipping container which houses our Burrito Bar. We want our students and staff to feel revived and excited when they visit us, aligning with the ethos of One Elmwood as a whole.”

Eight new jobs have been created in the building of the store, as Glenn added: “I have 35 years of retail experience, alongside some of my long-serving management team, but we also have students who are taking on new roles and learning vital skills by joining our workforce. It’s a fantastic team and we’re so excited to welcome everyone to the new store.”

Services are focused on student needs and the fast-paced shopper profile the team are expecting, so five self-service checkouts have been installed, which will sit alongside store cupboard staples, grab and go items plus bays of fresh, local products and produce and everyday essentials, with all the value and variety that SPAR offers throughout Northern Ireland.

One Elmwood SPAR is open 8am – 8pm, Monday to Friday and 8am – 4pm at the weekends.

Caption: Henderson Group Sales and Marketing Director Paddy Doody is pictured with Grainne Doherty, Interim Head of Eventus, Culture and Arts at Queen’s University, Belfast.

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The Food Warehouse to open in Westwood Retail Park

Linda Stewart — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 10:42:52 +0000

Food retailer The Food Warehouse has announced the creation of up to 40 new jobs in West Belfast as part of a wider £1.4m investment.

Situated in Westwood Retail Park, this will be the brand’s second supermarket store offering in Northern Ireland.

The Food Warehouse, which is part of the Iceland Foods Group, launched its big pack brand in 2014 and its retail footprint has grown rapidly to over 150 stores across the UK and Ireland, making it the fastest growing supermarket chain in the UK this century.

The Food Warehouse have announced the creation of up to 40 new jobs as part of a wider £1.4m investment. The new store, situated in Westwood Retail Park, will occupy a 16,300 sq. ft double unit and is scheduled to launch in the coming weeks.

Ron Metcalfe, managing director of The Food Warehouse Ireland, said: “Following the success of our launch into the Northern Ireland market with the first Food Warehouse in 2020, we’re thrilled to be opening our second store here at Westwood Retail Park in West Belfast.

“Throughout the pandemic and its subsequent recovery, we’ve seen strong demand in a very competitive market, and we believe that shoppers will welcome the innovative offering at our new store, particularly in a challenging economic environment with the current cost of living crisis.”

Customers can shop from more than 3,000 product lines, including fresh, frozen, and ambient produce as well as homeware items.

The store will support local business, with hundreds of products coming from local suppliers, including Mash Direct, Dale Farm, Irwins, Britvic and Tayto.

Metcalfe continued: “Trading conditions for small businesses are increasingly challenging, with margins being stretched, we believe that local businesses and the general public will benefit from our bulk offering, which offers savings on a wide range of favourite brands at unbeatable prices.

“We are committed to offering a new shopping experience for everyone as well as strengthening relationships further with local Northern Irish suppliers. I’d also like to welcome old and new customers from the local community as well as our new colleagues who will be working in the store.”

Store manager, Paul McTasney, added; “This investment into West Belfast demonstrates the company’s commitment and growth in Northern Ireland. I’m very excited to officially open the store for business and welcome all of our new customers.”

The new Food Warehouse store opens at Westwood Retail Park on Tuesday, October 11 at 8am.

Shoppers will receive exclusive launch offers as well as a £1,000 giveaway for the first 100 customers through the door, 200 goodie bags for the first 200 customers and a trolley dash where three lucky winners can grab all their favourite brands in a 90 second challenge.

Founded in 2014, The Food Warehouse now has more than 150 stores across UK & Northern Ireland.

They are all large format stores, with a car park, providing the value and convenience of a wholesale store without the hassle of membership.

Iceland and The Food Warehouse stores already employ more than 800 colleagues in Northern Ireland with plans to expand in the future.

Caption: Store Manager Paul McTasney and Iceland Area Manager Danny Burke

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Food sales decline as milk soars in price by up to 16%: Kantar

Linda Stewart — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 09:49:24 +0000

Sales of food and other essentials in Northern Ireland are declining as basics such as milk soar in price by up to 16%, a report has said.

But discount grocer Lidl has reported the slowest rate of sales decline of the main four supermarkets.

Analysis by data company Kantar found that spending in supermarkets and convenience stores fell by 3.6% in the year to September 4 as grocery price inflation hit a new high of 6.3%.

That meant the average item was up in price by 4.7% — but the scale of increase was even greater for essentials like milk and pasta, up by 16.1% and 14.4% respectively.

But senior analyst Emer Healy said the back to school rush did mean purse-strings had to be loosened, even if prices were higher.

Over the last three months, grocery sales are up 3.5% with customers making an average of 53 trips to stores over the period

As the new term was about to begin, they spent an additional £592,000 on chilled drinks, £2.5m on biscuits and £2.9m more on frozen food.

Tesco, which has around 50 stores here, remained Northern Ireland’s number one grocer, with a chunky 35.7% share of the market. And new shoppers were also flocking to its shops around Northern Ireland, adding an additional £42.7m in sales.

Sainsbury’s, Asda and Lidl complete the top four, Ms Healy said.

“Sainsbury’s holds 17.1% share with Asda just slightly behind at 16.3%, as they each saw over 10,000 more shoppers in store.

“All retailers declined compared to last year, with Lidl seeing the slowest decline at 0.7%, bringing its share of market to 7.0%. Amongst all retailers, Lidl had the biggest boost of new shoppers at 9%, spending an additional £20.9m.”

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Lynas Food Outlet opening new store In Portadown

Linda Stewart — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 13:56:20 +0000

Lynas Food Outlet, a Northern Ireland family-run food company known for its offering of big, bulk and value food and household goods, is launching its newest store in Portadown.

The new Lynas Food Outlet is situated at Magowan West, Portadown and will open to the public and trade on Thursday 8^th September at 10am.

“We are thrilled to open the doors of our new Portadown store as part of our continued expansion in Northern Ireland. For a long time, I have wanted to open a Lynas Food Outlet in this area, and I am very happy to have found the right location in Magowan West”, said Andrew Lynas, Group Managing Director.

“We are excited to welcome the public and trade customers from the area into our unique shopping environment that ensures they get big, bulk and value products. Now more than ever in the current cost of living crisis, the Food Outlet can help families with its bulk and value for money offering.”

Lynas Food Outlet opened their first store in 2013 and now have 11 stores across Northern Ireland. The parent company of Lynas Foodservice began over seventy years ago from a fishmongers shop on a small street in Coleraine and has grown into the largest family-owned foodservice company in Ireland.

Through its stores, Lynas Food Outlet offers hundreds of quality fresh, frozen, grocery and household products in bigger packs at wholesale value. The stores also have their own Butchery Merchant meaning that each cut is hand selected by Lynas’s own Causeway Prime Craft Butchers.

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Poundland to roll out fresh meat and fish range

Linda Stewart — Tue, 30 Aug 2022 13:47:51 +0000

Poundland has partnered with DTS Food to launch its first range of fresh meat and fish lines.

The new range of 11 items – branded ‘cookit’ – is being rolled into hundreds of stores over the next three weeks, providing “an alternative to supermarkets”.

Cookit complements Poundland’s recent expansion into chilled and frozen foods, which will be in around 350 stores by the autumn, and fresh fruit and vegetables with the full range now in over 60 stores.

The discount retailer’s initial cookit range includes ribs, steaks, bacon, sausages, mince, salmon and cod fillets.

Poundland said the new range had been selected to offer shoppers a blend of quality meat and fish at amazing value to help them make low-cost meals to offset the impact of higher inflation on food prices.

Commercial Director Tim Bettley said: “Whether clothing, frozen food or homewares, over the past few years we’ve been significantly extending up what we offer our customers so they can find much more of their weekly shop in their local Poundland.

“At the heart of that transformation is great products, and we know customers are going to love our new cookit range – it gives them quality meat and fish at the amazing value we’re famous for.

“We’re proud to be the first retailer to carry the range.”

Nick Preston, CEO of Nottingham-based DTS Food, added: “We’ve worked with Poundland for the last six months to understand what they are looking for from a supplier point of view and importantly what they want to offer their customers in terms of quality.

“As a business we have significant experience in the food industry. We understand the importance, more so than ever given the current economic climate, of giving consumers good quality products at the right price. Cookit will offer them just that.

“We’re already looking at extending the cookit range beyond this initial range of meats and seafood.”

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