Throughout this time the charity partnership has gone from strength to strength, helping support thousands of local people living with chest, heart and stroke conditions and their families.

To mark the anniversary, NICHS and MACE are delighted to reveal staff and customers from MACE stores across Northern Ireland have raised an impressive £52,000 throughout 2025. The funds were raised through a variety of fundraising events including static cycles, raffles, golf days, karaoke events, coffee mornings and in-store collections. To celebrate International Coffee Day every year, MACE donates 50p from the sale of every Frank and Honest coffee purchased in-store over a three-day period to NICHS.

The charity partnership is not solely focused on raising funds. MACE also actively supports Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke’s annual blood pressure awareness campaign, which will run once again throughout May and June. The retailer does this through its social media channels, as well as in-store with posters and flyers to highlight the link between heart attacks and strokes and undetected high blood pressure to customers and staff.

MACE also works with NICHS’s Health Promotion team to give local communities the opportunity to access free, pop-up blood pressure checks in-store.

Maurice Cusack, Head of Retail Marketing for MACE said: “Raising £52,000 for Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke in 2025 is a huge achievement and one we’re incredibly proud of as this year we mark 10 years of working together.

“What makes this support so special is the passion and commitment shown by our MACE retailers, colleagues and, of course, the generosity of our customers. As we look ahead, we’re excited to continue building on this partnership and supporting the life‑saving work NICHS does every day in communities right across Northern Ireland.”

Lindsay Lutton, Corporate Fundraising Co-Ordinator at NICHS added: “We are delighted to be celebrating 10 years of working with MACE – our partnership has achieved so much to date.

“We are very grateful for the ongoing generosity of MACE, their retailers, staff and customers who, over the years, have ensured that thousands of people affected by chest, heart or stroke related conditions have received the support and care that they deserve. We would like to say a huge thank you for raising this tremendous sum of money as almost 90% of our income comes from public donations. Fundraising efforts like MACE’s are vital to the work we do, and we look forward to building on this great partnership.

“MACE’s support of our blood pressure awareness campaign is fantastic. It helps us deliver our message around the importance of knowing your blood pressure numbers and the risk of heart attack and stroke associated with undetected high blood pressure to many people throughout Northern Ireland.

“Hundreds of people have been signposted to their GP after availing of the pop-up blood pressure checks in MACE stores and it is amazing to think lives have potentially been saved because of this.”

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Starting on Wednesday 1^st October – International Coffee Day – the campaign will run until Saturday 4^th October. During this period, 50p from every Frank and Honest Coffee sold in participating stores will be donated directly to the brands’ charity partners to help fund life-saving services and health programmes.

Now in its fifth year, the ‘Espresso We Care’ campaign has raised almost £100,000 to date, including over £28,000 last year. These funds help keep Action Cancer’s Big Bus mobile clinic on the road, delivering breast screenings, health checks and skin cancer detection services. They also support Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke in providing care services and health promotion programmes for thousands of people living with, or at risk of developing chest, heart, and stroke conditions.

Maurice Cusack, Senior Marketing Manager at Musgrave NI, which owns the retail brands, said: “Supporting local is very important to Musgrave and our SuperValu, Centra and Mace stores. We’re proud of our long-standing partnerships with Action Cancer and Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke, and we’re pleased to bring back the ‘Espresso We Care’ campaign for a fifth year.

“We hope our caring customers will pick up a coffee when they’re in store and help us raise funds for two charities doing vital work in communities across Northern Ireland.”

SuperValu and Centra have been partnering with Action Cancer since 2001, and earlier this year reached a landmark £4 million in fundraising for the charity.

MAKING A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE

Gareth Kirk, CEO of Action Cancer added: “We are delighted that the Espresso We Care charity fundraiser is back again this year. Thanks to the continued support of SuperValu and Centra and their generous customers, we can bring our life-saving breast screening service, skin cancer detection and health checks to communities across Northern Ireland on the Big Bus.

“Please purchase a Frank and Honest coffee to support this fantastic initiative. Not only will you enjoy a delicious cup of coffee, but you will also be helping Action Cancer make a positive difference to the lives of local people.”

MACE’s partnership with Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke dates back to 2016 and has so far raised £418,000 for the charity.

Declan Cunnane, Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke, said: “Chest, heart and stroke conditions affect at least 400,000 people in Northern Ireland, and we’re committed to supporting those living with these illnesses through our care services.

“We also deliver vital prevention programmes and support ground-breaking research to lead the fight locally against chest, heart and stroke conditions.  In the past year alone, over 36,000 people and organisations benefited from our services – but with almost 90% of our income coming from public donations, support from initiatives like this is essential.

“We’re grateful to Mace customers for their continued support and generosity and encourage everyone to pick up a coffee during the campaign. Every cup helps us reach more people and families across Northern Ireland.”

Starting at £2.90 for a Frank and Honest coffee, 50p from the sale of each coffee will be donated to the charities over the four-day period.

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The campaign follows the recent publication of Musgrave’s economic and social impact report which was unveiled at a special event at St George’s Market in Belfast earlier this month and set out a £1.2 billion contribution to the Northern Ireland economy by Musgrave NI.

Supporting the findings and celebrating the brands’ commitment to local, ‘Love Local? So Do We’ is live in stores, branches and online now, with customers encouraged to enjoy the very best local products.

“Our commitment to local is evident not least in our £240m annual spend on local food and drink, our relationships with over 250 local suppliers and our support for our local charity partners Action Cancer and Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke, for which we have raised a combined total of £4.4 million,” said Director of Marketing, Desi Derby.

“We’re excited about our new campaign which will spotlight everything local, from food and drink to people and partnerships, testament to the positive impact we’re committed to making in local communities here.”

The campaign will also see the launch of a ‘Love Local? So Do We’ SuperValu summer roadshow, which will visit 10 SuperValu stores over the summer, for afternoons of family entertainment.

Customers can meet local suppliers, and enjoy sampling local food, while entertainment will include live music, face painting, balloon modelling, a surprise cartoon character and plenty of prizes with the spin to win wheel.

The SuperValu stores which are on the roadshow route are: Aughnacloy, Crossgar, Downpatrick, Dungiven, Eglinton, Fruitfield (Richhill), Irvinestown, Newry, Portadown and Portstewart.

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David, who has over 20 years’ experience in the FMCG/alcohol industry, joins from Diageo Ireland where he was most recently Head of Spirits, following roles including Head of Strategic Accounts.

As Retail Sales Director, David will oversee the development of the retail partnership model across Northern Ireland, specifically for SuperValu, Centra

and Mace.

John McGinnity has worked with Musgrave for 17 years in various trading and sales roles including his previous position of Head of Specialist and World Food Sales for Musgrave Wholesale Partners across the Republic of Ireland.

As Head of Wholesale and Foodservice, John takes over from Richard Mayne who has moved to the role of Director of Beverage within Wholesale and Foodservice for the Musgrave Group. With 10 years’ experience of working with Musgrave under his belt, Richard will be responsible for leading Musgrave’s beverage businesses across the island of Ireland, supporting the Group’s ambition of being a world class food and beverage business.

Welcoming the appointments, Trevor Magill, Managing Director of Musgrave NI said: “With our ambitious plans to grow our retail store network as well as expand our footprint across the foodservice and wholesale sectors, I am delighted to welcome David and John to the Musgrave NI business.

“We recently announced our £1.2 billion impact on the local economy and I am confident that the experience that David and John bring will ensure we continue to remain a positive force here in Northern Ireland. I would also like to wish Richard the very best in his new role.”

The post New appointments announced for Musgrave Northern Ireland first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Growing Good Business: An Economic and Social Impact Report, prepared by leading economists at Grant Thornton on behalf of Musgrave NI, sets out how critical the retail, wholesale and foodservice business is to Northern Ireland – supporting the employment of over 5,000 jobs, working with 250 local suppliers and investing significantly in local communities, as well as in sustainability and affordability initiatives.

Key annual economic contributions include:

• £1.2 billionin total spending across the NI economy.
• £329 million in Gross Value Added.
• £121.5 million in wages, representing 3.7% of sector employment.
• £240 million invested in local supply chain partnerships.

Musgrave, operating in Northern Ireland since 1983, works indirectly with over 3,000 farmers and features over 6,000 homegrown products across its retail stores and wholesale brands.

The impact of Musgrave’s total spend with Northern Irish suppliers, equated to a further £256m injection in indirect expenditure, as calculated by Grant Thornton.

In 2024, Musgrave NI reinforced its commitment to supporting local producers and delivering value to customers by launching a new brand, Good Food Locally Sourced. This initiative represented a £14 million investment in partnerships with local suppliers, alongside a £6 million investment in value-driven offerings to ensure greater affordability for shoppers and accessibility to quality, home-grown produce and locally sourced products.

It also made capital investments of £16m in new and refurbished stores and energy-saving upgrades, as well as its sector-leading £3.6m Sustainability Fund that it launched back in 2022. Across the SuperValu, Centra and Mace brands, Musgrave operates over 220 stores across Northern Ireland with ambitious plans to grow the network in 2025 and beyond.

Despite a challenging economic environment, marked by rising inflation, global uncertainty, post-Brexit Trade adjustments and cost-of-living pressures, Musgrave NI has continued to invest in long-term value for its customers, suppliers and communities under the Group’s overall mission of building sustainable communities.

Social impact highlights in 2024 include:

• £6 million in value-focused initiatives to support affordability.
• Over £260,000 raised for local charities.
• Over 7,200 meals donated to people in need.
• 5,000 native trees planted as part of a long-term environmental commitment.

Trevor Magill, Musgrave NI Managing Director said: “At Musgrave NI, we’re focused on Growing Good Business and adding value to all those within our ecosystem, including unwavering support for our local suppliers, creating quality employment opportunities and delivering everyday value for our customers.

“Right across the board, we have deepened our investment in Northern Ireland over the past year through new store openings and refurbishments, environmental initiatives, local sourcing partnerships, and impactful charity contributions.

“To see this all accumulate into a figure of £1.2bn in economic output makes me incredibly proud of our team and the efforts that are made,” he added.

“We are very committed to continuing this journey and to remain a positive force in Northern Ireland’s economy, in support of the communities we’re part of.”

‘To be responsible for injecting £1.2bn of spending into the economy in one year is an incredible feat’

Andrew Webb, Chief Economist at Grant Thornton added: “Musgrave NI is a hugely important business to the Northern Ireland economy and this economic impact report proves that.

“To be responsible for injecting £1.2bn of spending into the economy in one year is an incredible feat and something that doesn’t happen without momentous effort. The company’s commitment to value and supporting local goes a long way to set a new standard, and places Musgrave NI as a leader and inspiration for businesses both within and outside of the retail industry.”

The report findings were released at the launch of Musgrave’s Love Local Campaign which took place in St George’s Market in Belfast on Wednesday 4^th June. The consumer-focused campaign will go live later this month in stores as well as across digital platforms.

Musgrave NI forms part of the Musgrave Group, operating across both retail and wholesale sectors and is the parent company of well-established retail brands SuperValu, Centra and Mace.  The Group has a proud 149-year legacy in food expertise and brand development.

In addition to its retail operations, Musgrave NI’s wholesale division encompasses Musgrave Marketplace, Drinks Inc., La Rousse Foods and recently acquired businesses Robb Wines, Parkview Provisions and AFT.

The post Musgrave announces £1.2bn annual contribution to Northern Ireland economy first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.