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.

The post Coffee campaign brews up support for local charities first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Having marked a decade in business in September 2024, the last 12 months have proven to be an exciting time for Bells of Crossgar, including a fuel forecourt transformation to Texaco.

With a long-standing family connection to the area, the Bell name is a well-known and respected one across Crossgar. Store owner, Gabriel’s father once owned an Esso station and car dealership at the site, while Gabriel and his two brothers also owned a Spar in another part of the town.

Following many successful years in business together, the brothers decided to sell the shop and go their separate ways, with Gabriel subsequently building and opening the SuperValu store at the Downpatrick Road site near to the original car dealership.

As store manager, Darren Fitzpatrick explained, Gabriel wanted to bring a modern and essential service to the local area.

“He wanted to provide something for the community with a bit of a bigger convenience store, something that would entice the customer in and have everything under one roof,” said Darren.

The store stands at 6000 sq ft and boasts free car parking, a Post Office and Texaco forecourt. Now approaching their 11^th year in business, Darren revealed they have exciting plans in the pipeline.

“We are hoping to submit plans shortly to extend out at the back of the shop. Gabriel has acquired land at the back of the site and we are hoping this will give us more space on the shop floor and allow us to increase our storage capacity,” said Darren.

“Storage is at a premium for us and over the years, as we’ve added onto elements of the store and our offering, we need to increase the storage we have on site.”

Over the course of the last 10 years, a lot of work has been done to improve the store’s offerings with the Post Office arriving in 2015 and an expansion to their off licence.

“There was an opportunity for us to see how well the sales were doing in certain areas, and our off licence was probably under spaced, so we extended it as well as our grocery offering,” said Darren.

“We doubled the size of our off licence. Our sales were very strong there from day one and we looked at it and worked out what we could do to improve the size of it.

“We also wanted to keep some more of the products chilled, and so we introduced another fridge into the off licence. We now have two walk-in fridges, they are obviously not unique to us, but they have certainly helped to drive sales.

“We sell the take-home kegs and we keep them chilled and we have had very good feedback from customers on this. We have had customers coming to us from all over, including one who buys the kegs and takes them to his son in Derry, as he said they’re the best ones because they’re chilled.”

The expanded off licence has added significant value to the store’s offering, which in addition to the Post Office and their grocery, fresh food and frozen ranges also boasts a hot food deli, Frank & Honest Coffee, a butchery, Moo’d Ice Cream and is also a National Lottery retailer.

Additionally, they have been working to improve their ‘green credentials’ with the introduction of sustainable practices to the store, including solar panels.

“We were one of the first shops to open with doors on fridges, but we did also have a lot of spider fridges which we have recently changed to all running on plant.

“It’s about moving forward with the environmental aspect and also the element of cost savings, it does all have an impact.”

While eager to move with the times and expand the convenience offerings to their customers, Bells have been conscious about what up-to-date concepts they introduce in-store and have kept their loyal customers front of mind when making some of these decisions.

“An emotive topic for us was the self-scan tills,” said Darren.

“We had nearly put them in but then decided not to. We consulted with our customers and they said they would not like them as they would miss the conversations with staff.

“It’s those loyal customers who are coming in here two or three times a day. We were very close to putting them in and had paperwork signed, but for us it was a personal decision not to put them in, in the end and I do not think it has done us any harm.”

READ THE FULL FEATURE ON BELLS OF CROSSGAR IN THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER HERE

The post The future’s bright for Bells first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Supporting Musgrave’s sustainability strategy, SuperValu and Centra have sponsored 20,000 trees to date, in 70 locations across the region, bringing them a step closer to their pledge of planting 50,000 native trees by 2032.

The project, in conjunction with Trees on the Land, a charity and not-for-profit project from the Green Economy Foundation, launched in 2022 and this year has seen trees planted in Kevin Lynch Hurling Club in Dungiven, Alpha Housing in Portadown, Culloville Blues GAC near Crossmaglen, St Malachy’s High School in Castlewellan, Irvinestown Primary School, Ardmore Cricket Club near Derry~Londonderry, and Limavady Grammar School.

Colleagues from SuperValu and Centra stores across Northern Ireland supported the initiative by pulling on their wellies and visiting many of the tree planting locations.

Desi Derby, Director of Marketing for SuperValu and Centra said: “At SuperValu and Centra, we are committed to supporting our local communities and to reducing our impact on the environment, as we continue our journey to become a more sustainable business.

A POSITIVE LEGACY

“We believe it is our responsibility to leave a positive legacy for future generations and this project is an important aspect of that goal, creating many environmental benefits.

“We are very proud to continue our partnership with Trees on the Land by sponsoring the planting of a further 5,000 native trees to help create a greener future for our local communities.”

Imogen Rabone, Project Co-ordinator and Founder of Trees on the Land added: “We are delighted to be in the fourth year of the partnership with SuperValu and Centra, which has now seen a total of 20,000 trees planted in communities across Northern Ireland.

“Our vision at Trees on the Land, is to establish tree cover and woodland in rural and urban areas that will provide valuable resources for future generations and bring lasting benefits, including absorbing carbon, improving air quality, supporting biodiversity, and protecting soil.

“It is thanks to partnerships like this with SuperValu and Centra through Musgrave NI that makes this possible.”

A commitment to planting 50,000 trees is one in a list of steps being taken by SuperValu and Centra to make their stores and communities more sustainable.

The post Retail brands support local biodiversity projects in communities across NI first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

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.