From opening its first store on the Cregagh Road three decades ago, frozen food specialist, Iceland Foods now has 37 stores across the region, including two Food Warehouses, employing 800 colleagues.

Throughout those 30 years it has worked hard to become a significant player in the grocery sector here, offering a competing value proposition and a commitment to supporting locally sourced products.

Now with two strings to their bow, they have their core stores which are 7,000 to 10,000 sq ft and their Food Warehouse stores, which are about 13,000 to 16,000 sq ft carrying over 5,000 products with bigger pack sizes. As Ron Metcalfe explains, Northern Ireland is a crucial part of the Iceland Foods story.

“We saw Northern Ireland as a really strong opportunity given we had just made our presence felt in Scotland,” said Ron. “There was a large gap in the market here and that was the big reason for coming across.

“Thirty years ago, Northern Ireland had huge potential for us to grow the brand and it still holds true today. Our continued growth is a reflection of this. We have refitted 15 stores in the last five years and invested over £6 million in those, and we have opened a second Food Warehouse in Belfast.

“I can reveal that we are opening four new Food Warehouses here and will open those in the next 12 months in Northern Ireland, supporting our growth and creating jobs. We are massively supportive of the Northern Ireland market and customers love the brand and we love being here.”

Acknowledging Northern Ireland’s very strong independent grocery sector, Ron said Iceland is able to compete due to its host of unique selling points.

“It’s down to our exclusive brands, our value proposition and we are growing other sectors of the stores, such as chilled and grocery,” said Ron.

“We have three ways to shop with us – in-store, online and our delivery partners. So, we continue to grow our online channel and which has become a very important part of the business. This is also supported with delivery partners, Deliveroo, Uber and Just Eat.

“Our teams across the buying, merchandising and marketing departments allow us to focus on the NI consumer and on our local range, which is really important to our customers.

“In the last five years we have grown our local portfolio. The buying team has worked exceptionally hard to bring that local entity into the business and we continue to look at every opportunity. We have 50 local suppliers with over 500 lines and that is something we have worked on and grown throughout the 30 years.”

Ron added that with the Windsor Framework, the company has to be fleet of foot in order to make sure they can continue to maximise their range.

“There is the continuing challenge of bringing in certain products into the island,” he said.

“Products from Morocco, Brazil, Argentina cannot be brought in so once again, we have had to look at alternative arrangements for these lines, as well as all products must now be labelled ‘Not For Sale in EU’. It’s all based around product and legislation, but having managed our business in the Republic of Ireland through Brexit, we are well equipped and well aware of the challenges we face with the Brexit arrangement.

“We have a team in GB in our head office and along with ourselves, we continually work with it every week to make sure we are aware of the next range of products that might be affected, speaking with suppliers to see that they are aware and changing packaging where required.”

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH RON METCALFE IN THE MAY ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER HERE

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January spelled relief for shoppers as grocery price inflation slowed to 3.3% over the four weeks to 26^th January, according to the latest figures from Kantar.

Spending on promotions rose year-on-year, by £274 million, accounting for 27.2% of sales.

Meanwhile, health-conscious consumers spent £1.2 billion on fresh fruit, vegetables and salad in January – £193 million more than in December, and sales of low and no-alcohol drinks were 7% higher than last January.

With household budgets typically stretched at this time of year, retailers played their part in easing the pressure on purse strings, according to Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar.

“Supermarkets were dishing out the discounts this New Year, and consumers responded,” he said.

“Spending on promotions rose year-on-year by £274 million, accounting for 27.2% of sales – the highest level in January since 2021.

“People also turned to non-branded products to help keep costs down, with own label as a proportion of sales hitting a record high of 52.3% in January. Spending on supermarkets’ own lines was up 5.4%, helped by consumers buying premium own-label products in the couple of days leading up to New Year’s Eve,” added Fraser McKevitt.

Typically, shoppers have an eye on wellness, not just their wallets at the start of the year, and 2025 was no exception. More than 10% of the average consumer’s January grocery bill was spent on fresh fruit, vegetables and salad.

“Rolling into the new year, health tends to play a bigger role in our grocery choices,” added Nathan Ward, business unit director for usage and out-of-home at Kantar.

“Over a quarter of take-home food and drink in January is chosen with health at least partially in mind, as shoppers tell us they want to eat less processed food and feel the benefit of fibre and vitamins.”

Sales of low and no alcohol drinks were 7% higher than last January and 6.7% of households bought at least one of these alternatives.

“It’s no surprise to see the low and no alcohol trend make its mark in January but given some of the generational splits we have seen in grocery, it’s interesting that older shoppers are just as likely to take these products home as younger ones,” said Fraser McKevitt.

“Not everyone signed up for dry January though, with 49% of people buying an alcoholic drink this month – but this is a pretty big drop from December’s 76%.”

Meanwhile, Lidl’s sales rose 7.4% over the 12 weeks to 26^th January, making it three continual years of growth for the discounter, whose share hit 7.2%.

Tesco gained the most share, its 28.5% hold of the market is 0.7% higher than this time last year, and it also saw its fastest rise in sales since April 2024 at 5.6%. Sainsbury’s outpaced the market at 4.2% sales growth, increasing its share from 15.7% to 15.9%.

Convenience retailer Co-op has returned to growth, with sales rising by 0.8% giving it a 5.2% share of the market, while spending at Iceland was 1.0% higher, maintaining its share of 2.4%.

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It is now sitting only 0.8 percentage points higher than the 10-year average between 2012 and 2021, according to Kantar.

In their latest supermarket share and inflation update, Kantar reveals that take-home grocery sales rose by 2.9% over the four weeks to 12^th May.

Thanks to recent spells of good weather, barbecues have been getting their first outings of the year, with burger sales climbing by 13% and beer and wine sales up by 9% and 21% respectively. As Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insights at Kantar explained, grocery price inflation is gradually returning to what is considered more normal levels.

“Typically, an inflation rate of around 3% is when we start to see marked changes in consumers’ behaviour, with shoppers trading down to cheaper items when the rate goes above this line and vice versa when the rate drops,” said Fraser.

“However, after nearly two and a half years of rapidly rising prices, it could take a bit longer for shoppers to unwind the habits they have learnt to help them manage the cost-of-living crisis. Own-label lines are proving resilient for example, and they are still growing faster than brands, making up over half (52%) of total spending. Sales of premium own-label ranges continue to increase too, up by 9.9% compared with a year ago.”

While pressures remain on household budgets, shoppers took the opportunity to enjoy the long weekend on 4^th to 6^th May, and with a summer of sport on the horizon, including UEFA European men’s football and the Olympic Games, sales could increase for retailers.

“Major sporting events can have a big impact on grocery sales, particularly in categories like alcohol,” added Fraser McKevitt.

“Especially if it’s paired with warmer temperatures, this year’s summer of sport could deliver a welcome boost for the sector.”

Meanwhile, Lidl reached a new record-high market share of 8.1%, fuelled in part by its bakery counters, as well as its loyalty scheme. Tesco now takes 27.6% of the market – an increase of 0.5 percentage points since last year, marking its largest annual share gain since January 2022.

Its 5.6% growth in sales was matched by Sainsbury’s, whose market share nudged up 0.3 percentage points to 15.1%, while Asda holds 13.1% of the grocery market. Convenience specialist Co-op’s share of the market is now 5.4% with Iceland holding steady at 2.3%.

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IFCF is partnering with CALM to raise awareness of the suicide prevention charity and encourage life-saving conversations on CALM’s helpline, at tills and around the dinner tables, changing the landscape forever and helping to remove the stigma of suicide across the UK.

Their broader goal is to help create five million life-saving conversations, one for every customer that walks through store doors each week, by starting the biggest conversation ever about suicide. Money raised will help with CALM’s vital helpline service.

Currently in the UK, data shows 1 in 5 will have suicidal thoughts at some point in their lifetime, 125 people are lost every week to suicide and sadly, someone dies by suicide every 90 minutes on average in the UK.

During the partnership, Iceland and Food Warehouse colleagues, charity champions, and store managers nationwide will take on several fundraising challenges in a bid to raise £300,000 for CALM. When visiting your local Iceland store or Food Warehouse, look out for their Charity Weeks that will be taking place between Thursday 2^nd May and Saturday 1^st June. The money raised during store charity weeks will go towards CALM’s life-saving work/helpline to help ensure more people than ever are encouraged to stay.

In their first-of-its-kind partnership they want to help smash the stigma by educating and empowering people to start life-saving conversations about suicide and mental health through in-store messaging and prompts.

‘This incredible campaign will enable us to raise awareness to our customers and colleagues about mental health and help to end the stigma around it’

Simon Gunning, CALM CEO said: “We’re thrilled to be teaming up with Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation on a groundbreaking partnership to break the silence around suicide and bring hope and life-saving conversations to high streets and Iceland stores across the UK.

“It’s been a tough few years, and for many, it can feel like things aren’t going to get much better any time soon. This partnership with Iceland will raise awareness of CALM’s life-saving message and services with millions of people, providing support to anyone struggling and potentially saving lives.

“CALM is a lifeline for so many people right now, and with the support of Iceland, we can continue to reach more people than ever in our fight against suicide.’’

Tarsem Dhaliwal, Group Chief Executive of Iceland Foods and Trustee of Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation added: “Iceland is at the heart of hundreds of communities, with our stores welcoming five million customers every week.

“This incredible campaign will enable us to raise awareness to our customers and colleagues about mental health and help to end the stigma around it by empowering them to have lifesaving conversations.

“Mental health is one of the biggest growing concerns in the UK, with 125 people per week losing their lives to suicide and bringing attention to it is key in stopping these preventable deaths.”

More information about CALM and its life-saving work can be found via the CALM website.

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According to the latest Kantar figures, a record £1.37 billion passed through the tills last month, with the average household spending at an all-time high of £477 across the month, an increase of £28 on 2022.

Total take-home grocery sales grew in value by 7.0% while the number of items bought rose by 2%.

Grocery price inflation fell to 6.7% in December, marking the fastest month on month drop that Kantar has recorded.

As predicted, Friday 22^nd December was the most popular shopping day, when just over 25 million trips were made and consumers spent £803 million in physical stores – 85% more than the average Friday in 2023.

BUDGET PRESSURES REMAIN

Despite the fall in grocery price inflation, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, Fraser McKevitt said consumers are still feeling the pinch.

“The rate of inflation is coming down at the fastest pace we have ever recorded, but consumers are still facing pretty hefty pressures on their budgets,” he said.

“Retailers were clearly working hard during the festive period to offer best value and win over shoppers, and promotions were central to their strategy. Nearly one third of all spend in the four weeks to Christmas Eve was made on items with some kind of offer, the highest level since December 2020 and £823m more than last year.”

Appetite for the traditional Christmas dinner was as strong as ever, with volumes of parsnips, sprouts and potatoes up 12%, 9% and 8% respectively, and chilled gravy up by 11%. Festive meals including pigs in blankets, sausages, hams and turkeys were also up by 6% collectively.

“We’re creatures of habit when it comes to Christmas and our data shows that the classic festive plate remains much the same,” added Fraser McKevitt.

“However, mince pies and Christmas puddings did buck the trend. They were less popular this year, with volumes falling by 4% and 7% respectively, but that isn’t to say we’ve lost our sweet tooth. Fresh cream was up by 5% across the month, so dessert was still very much on the menu.”

‘Retailers were clearly working hard during the festive period to offer best value and win over shoppers’

Meanwhile, discount retailers Lidl and Aldi saw their highest ever market shares for the Christmas period, with Lidl’s sales increasing by 13.8% and Aldi’s growing 0.2 percentage points.

Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons and Waitrose accounted for a combined market share of 70% during the 12 weeks to 24^th December.

Fraser McKevitt said this year was no exception for traditional retailers doing well in the run up to Christmas.

“Supermarkets saw especially strong performances for their own-label lines, with sales of premium ranges like Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference and Tesco Finest surging by 11.9% compared with last year, to £790 million. Branded sales rose by 6.0% during the same period,” said Fraser McKevitt.

Frozen specialist Iceland’s sales increased by 2.9%, with its market share at 2.4% and Asda accelerated sales growth to 3.4% to take 13.6% of the market.

Online purchases grew slightly ahead of the market during the four weeks to 24^th December versus last year, up by 7.5%.

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