The much-loved fundraising initiative received widespread support from Lidl shoppers across Northern Ireland, with all proceeds donated to the charity, to support their mission to make Northern Ireland a better place for older people to live.

Winning customers of the Trolley Dash fundraiser took to local stores on Saturday 14^th December and had the chance to grab a festive feast, in a supermarket sweep-style dash around their local store.

Priced at just £1, Trolley Dash tickets were sold in Lidl stores for a two-week period in November with 100% of ticket proceeds going directly to Age NI to support the organisation in tackling challenges including isolation, financial pressure, and access to health and wellbeing services, particularly during the festive season.

Since its launch in 2015, Lidl Northern Ireland’s Trolley Dash has raised more than £785,000 in funds for its charity partners, with Trolley Dashers also taking home thousands of pounds worth of Lidl’s award-winning festive food and treats to enjoy over the festive season.

Commenting on the success of this year’s campaign, Ivan Ryan, Regional Managing Director at Lidl Northern Ireland said: “We are thrilled to announce that this year’s Trolley Dash has raised an incredible £75,000 for Age NI, marking a fantastic start to our new three-year charity partnership.

“Trolley Dash is our flagship fundraising initiative, and it’s wonderful to see our customers and employees coming together to support such an important cause. We’re incredibly proud of this achievement and grateful to everyone who participated in and supported this year’s campaign.”

Lidl Northern Ireland’s partnership with Age NI – announced earlier this year – has committed to raising £500,000 over the next three years, to support the charity’s vital services. As the first large scale fundraising activity since the partnership announcement, Trolley Dash is set to give the new partnership a significant boost.

Linda Robinson, Chief Executive of Age NI, said: “We are absolutely delighted with the incredible total raised through this year’s Trolley Dash. This vital funding will allow us to continue delivering key services such as advice, advocacy, and community programmes that support older people who are struggling with issues like loneliness, health challenges, and the rising cost of living.

“Christmas can be a particularly challenging time for many older people, and initiatives like the Trolley Dash provide not only essential financial support but also an opportunity to raise awareness about the challenges our ageing population faces.”

The post Lidl Northern Ireland’s Trolley Dash bags £75,000 for Age NI first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

As part of Lidl Northern Ireland’s commitment to expanding and upgrading its store network across the region, the West Belfast site temporarily closed in August to facilitate an extensive expansion and refurbishment, bringing the store in line with the retailer’s modern and sustainability focused ‘concept’ design.

The opening of the new store has created 30 new jobs for the local area, increasing the size of the team to 40.

Paddy Raff was joined by local politicians, community representatives and middle-aisle bargain hunters for the ribbon cutting at 8am, with many shoppers eager to avail of opening day discounts and enjoy supplier demonstrations and family entertainment.

The retailer also celebrated the new store opening by donating £1,000 in store vouchers to two local charities, West Wellbeing and Foodstock, further demonstrating its commitment to supporting local communities and causes.

Developed with sustainability at the fore, the new Lidl Northern Ireland store incorporates energy efficient features, including LED lighting, heat pumps and PV solar panels, thereby reducing carbon emissions and supporting Lidl’s ambition to achieving net-zero by 2050.

West Belfast shoppers will enjoy a premium shopping experience at the new Stewartstown Road store, with a spacious shop floor with wide aisles, long tills, restrooms and baby-changing facilities, as well as an in-store bakery and redeveloped parking and landscaping, which also includes an onsite pollinator garden to encourage biodiversity.

The post Lidl NI opens Stewartstown Road store following £6m refurbishment first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Proving that high quality, affordable bubbles can trump the high-end heavyweights, Lidl Northern Ireland went head-to-head with the globally renowned champagne house in a taste test held in complete darkness, which revealed that 63% of Northern Ireland taste testers preferred Lidl’s own brand fizz to Moët & Chandon Imperial Brut.

Tasters also selected Lidl’s £5.39 own-brand Pinot Grigio Blush Rosé as their top choice in the rosé tasting category. It outperformed the popular Whispering Angel, which is more than twice the price*. Over half of consumers (54%) preferred Lidl’s rosé, citing its superior taste.

The taste tests were carried out at Lidl Northern Ireland’s recent Vino Sensoria event, a unique, immersive wine tasting experience, where guests were plunged into darkness to put their taste buds to the ultimate test.

More than 400 consumers attended Vino Sensoria, which took place at Belfast Exposed, in the heart of the city’s Cathedral Quarter. The event was hosted by Lidl’s Master of Wine, Richard Bampfield who took guests on a tasting journey, inviting them to sip their way through a range of Lidl’s best red, white, rosé and sparkling wines.

Vino Sensoria – which sold out shortly after tickets were released in October – aimed to challenge common wine myths and demonstrate that quality wine isn’t defined by its label or price tag.

Highlighting that the most expensive product on the shelf is not always the superior choice, Richard Bampfield said: “What Vino Sensoria has revealed is that the majority (63%) of Northern Ireland consumers actually prefer the taste of Lidl’s own brand Henry Dubois champagne to Moët, finding it well balanced, more flavoursome and of excellent quality.

“It was interesting to see how surprised people were when they learned that they were unable to tell the difference between the more expensive champagne and rosé from Lidl’s own brand.

“What was even more surprising was the revelation that Lidl’s preferred own-brand champagne costs considerably less than Moët’s price, retailing at just £21.99 – a much more affordable option, especially during the Christmas season.

“By tasting in total darkness with no distractions, tasters at Vino Sensoria were able to concentrate fully on the wine in the glass and reach a better understanding of their own tastes and palate. Our guests in Belfast left the tasting room feeling inspired, challenged and their taste buds reawakened. Hopefully it has inspired them to branch out and try some new wines at more affordable prices this Christmas with Lidl Northern Ireland.”

Other wines tested with the consumer panel included Lidl’s Pinot Gris £7.19, Gris Pays Doc Rosé £5.89 and Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC £5.29.

*Price comparison (accurate as of today’s date – 02/12/24):

• Moët & Chandon Imperial Brut – £44.00 (Tesco)
• Whispering Angel – £22.00 (Sainsbury’s)

The post Lidl’s Champagne and Rosé beat market leaders in Taste Test in the Dark first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

West Belfast shoppers will return to Lidl’s Stewartstown Road store in West Belfast from 8am on Thursday 5^th December, following a temporary closure of the store in August to facilitate works to significantly redevelop the site and expand and refurbish the store, bringing it in line with the retailer’s modern and sustainably focused ‘concept’ design.

Meanwhile, residents of Carryduff will enjoy access to the town’s first Lidl Northern Ireland store – the retailer’s 43^rd store in the region – when it opens at 8am on Thursday 12^th December at Carryduff Shopping Centre.

The opening marks the revitalisation of the formerly derelict site and paves the way for further retail development for the area, with four units and a drive-thru restaurant or coffee shop earmarked for future investment.

Award-winning local comedian, Paddy Raff and will open and welcome shoppers back to the West Belfast store, while Lord Mayor of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council Councillor Kurtis Dickson will join Great British Menu chef and Carryduff local, Gemma Austin to cut the ribbon on the retailer’s newest store on the outskirts of South Belfast.

The opening of the two new Greater Belfast stores sees the addition of 65 permanent new jobs, having already supported 220 jobs during the construction and development phase.

With sustainability at its core, the two new Lidl Northern Ireland stores will incorporate LED lighting, heat pumps and PV solar panels reducing carbon emissions and will include an onsite pollinator garden encouraging biodiversity.

Across both stores, shoppers can enjoy a premium shopping experience with a spacious shop floor with wide aisles, long tills, restrooms and baby-changing facilities as well as an in-store bakery and redeveloped parking and landscaping.

Following a major transformational project and investment of £2.5 million earlier this year to increase shelf space, shoppers will be able to avail of Lidl Northern Ireland’s expanded product offering across its everyday range, enabling shoppers to ‘Go Full Lidl.’

Ivan Ryan, Lidl Northern Ireland Regional Managing Director said: “As part of Lidl Northern Ireland’s 25^th anniversary celebrations earlier this year, I was pleased to confirm a fresh £150 million investment into expanding and upgrading our store network across the region and it’s great to see two significant projects realised before the end of this milestone year.

“Not only that, but we’re delighted to be able to open both these highly anticipated stores in time for the festive season so local shoppers can avail of our quality products at market leading value this Christmas.

“Having served the Stewartstown community for over two decades, I’m thrilled to open the doors to a modern and spacious new store for our valued customers in the area to enjoy an enhanced shopping experience in-store. I’m also grateful for the support that has been shown to us by the local community and elected representatives.

“It’s also a huge milestone in our property expansion plans to cut the ribbon on our brand-new Carryduff store which takes our store count to 43 in the region. This project has also been warmly welcomed by residents, businesses and stakeholders alike and will be transformative for what was once a major retail offering in the heart of the community – and will be again this Christmas.

“Welcoming an additional 65 employees to our store team this month and creating local employment has been one of the most rewarding parts of this project. I know the teams are excited to welcome both new shoppers and loyal customers to experience the new stores so I would advise shoppers to get down early and avail of our opening day offers.”

The opening of the two stores follows the publication of Lidl Northern Ireland’s latest Supplier and Business Partner Impact Report, which revealed that the retailer procured more than half-a-billion pounds (£530 million) from local suppliers and business partners across Northern Ireland last year.

The post Lidl NI announces pre-Christmas opening dates for two new stores in Greater Belfast first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

The supermarket chain has confirmed that its 180 stores in both Northern Ireland and Ireland will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

The retailer is extending its opening hours in the busy festive season, as consumers get their Christmas shopping underway.

In a further move to enable their staff to enjoy more time with their families this Christmas period, Lidl will close at the earlier time of 6pm on both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Stores will then return to normal trading hours from Friday 27^th December until New Year’s Eve and again from Thursday 2^nd January onwards.

Opening hours for each branch can vary, and customers are advised to check the store’s locator tool on its website to check times.

The post Lidl confirms its NI stores will close for three key dates over Christmas period first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.