Our traditional Love Local focus issue, we celebrate and champion the producers and manufacturers across the province who pride themselves on providing for and promoting the world-class produce created here.

Northern Ireland is a hot bed of producers and manufacturers and while business pressures continue to mount, we can rightly boast an exceptionally high quality of the food and drink produced in this region.

Meanwhile, our cover story looks at the scale of the challenges facing the high streets across Northern Ireland.

In this extensive feature, NR spoke to business owners and trade organisations to discuss what help is really needed to revitalise our town centres and urban hubs.

Elsewhere, the entries to the 2026 Neighbourhood Retailer Awards have officially opened, with many entries already coming in – find out more about this year’s categories and full entry details inside this issue.

As well as all the latest news and exciting NPD within the Ice Cream sector, don’t forget to check out a brand-new feature focusing on the work carried out by dedicated store managers across Northern Ireland.

YOU CAN READ ALL THIS AND MUCH MORE IN THE MARCH ISSUE HERE!

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As retail readies itself for bracing business costs, several business owners within the industry reveal the impact the rises will have on them and their business, as Labour’s Autumn Budget takes effect.

Award-winning Trainor Bros SPAR Poyntzpass prides itself on its commitment to providing the best service and offerings to its customers, as Store Manager David Lavery outlines in a special store profile.

Meanwhile, amidst a raft of challenges in community pharmacy, the National Pharmacy Association met with Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt to impress upon him the seriousness of the situation.

Elsewhere, we have a special interview with Chair of National Lottery operator, Allwyn, Justin King as he celebrates the uniqueness of independent retailers across the region.

YOU CAN ALSO GET ENTERING THE 2025 NR AWARDS AND READ MUCH MORE IN THE APRIL ISSUE BY CLICKING HERE

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In our February-March issue, NR champions the cream of the NI crop, continuously striving to meet consumer demand.

As consumers become increasingly more aware of the benefits of buying local produce, so has the focus of retailers on ensuring they have the best of Northern Irish and Irish produce on their shelves. The advantages are two-fold as it also encourages a further focus on sustainability.

The need for local has only been emphasised in the last number of years, with Brexit, covid, the Ukraine war and issues around the Red Sea shipping crisis changing how we view the supply of food and how we supply food.

Indeed, recent rises in potato prices in supermarkets represent wider issues in the supply chain, with fruit and vegetable shortages on shop shelves highlighting the difficulties with relying heavily on imported produce.

“What happened there has highlighted that the farther the field from the shelf, the more unpredictable the supply of it is. The closer the product is grown, the more reliability there will be for getting that product to the shelves,” Deputy President of the Ulster Farmers’ Union, John McLenaghan explained to NR.

“There are of course other benefits to this such as cutting down distance and costs and improving sustainability. Vegetables grown here will have a higher nutrient density and value compared to those grown in bulk in a quicker period,” he added.

As Michael Bell, Executive Director of the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association (NIFDA) points out, for a region of our size, Northern Ireland punches well above its weight.

“Together with what I call the wider ‘eating ecosystem’ – farming, transport, cold stores, packaging, retail – we are a £4.9 billion industry, supporting 113,000 jobs. We feed 10 million people,” said Mr Bell.

“Over the past year, Northern Ireland food and drink companies have continued to grow and drive that success through what has been a challenging environment. Inflation, hyperinflation even, continued to be an issue throughout 2023. Prices of feed, fertiliser and energy remained high, driving the price of food at a rate that had not been seen for multiple generations.”

Northern Ireland is a hot bed of producers and manufacturers, who are only too keen to show off their wares to customers across the province – and in our latest issue we celebrate them all!

FIND THE FULL LOVE LOCAL FEATURE IN THE FEBRUARY-MARCH ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER HERE

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