From 18^th May, the Belfast brand’s 50g impulse bars will be available as part of the meal deal across all 29 Tesco superstores in Northern Ireland.

The listing includes three core SKUs – Traditional Butter, Salted Caramel and Madagascan Vanilla.

The move marks a significant milestone for Melting Pot Fudge as it continues to grow its retail footprint and increase accessibility for shoppers in the convenience and impulse space.

Jack McAdorey, General Manager of Melting Pot Fudge said: “Securing a place in Tesco Northern Ireland’s meal deal is a major step for the brand. It gives us strong visibility in a high-footfall retail environment and creates an important opportunity to drive trial among mainstream shoppers.

“For us, this is about making Melting Pot Fudge more accessible and continuing to build our presence within grocery retail. The meal deal format is a highly competitive space, so to secure this listing is a strong endorsement of the brand and the product.”

The launch gives Melting Pot Fudge access to a key impulse purchase occasion and supports the business’s wider growth ambitions as it looks to scale distribution across the island of Ireland and beyond.

Handmade in Belfast, Melting Pot Fudge has built a strong reputation for its traditional production methods, simple ingredients and award-winning flavour range. The Tesco Northern Ireland meal deal listing represents the latest step in the brand’s commercial growth strategy, with the business focused on increasing distribution, driving awareness and bringing the brand to more consumers through mainstream retail channels.

“As we continue to grow, securing listings like this is key to getting more fudge into more hands and building long-term momentum for the brand,” added Jack.

Visit https://www.meltingpotfudge.co.uk/  for more information.

The post Melting Pot Fudge secures Tesco NI listing first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Grocery inflation eased slightly to 4.3%, offering modest relief to shoppers, who on average spent £476 at the supermarkets in December – an additional £15 in comparison to December 2024.

The latest data from Worldpanel by Numerator reveals that spending on promotions and deals reached its highest levels since before the pandemic at 33.3%, while supermarket premium own-label sales exceeded £1 billion for the first time.

As anticipated, Monday 22^nd December was the busiest day for grocery sales, however shoppers made the most trips on Tuesday 23^rd December, spending less but topping up on last-minute festive essentials.

While traditional, large format supermarkets accounted for 60.3% of sales over the four-week period to 28^th December, discounter retailers saw their biggest ever share of sales at Christmas, reaching a total of 16.8%. Online retail grew also at 7.5%, reaching a total share of 12.2%.

Notably, chocolate remained one of the top purchases for consumers, despite higher prices, with chocolate’s exposure to inflationary cocoa process bring the typical price of seasonal tubs to over £5 for the first time. And despite average pack sizes shrinking by 5% down to 551g, these festive favourites remained a tradition with sales rising by 19% in the four weeks to Christmas, with nearly one million shoppers buying into the category.

Fraser McKevitt, Head of Retail and Consumer Insight at Worldpanel by Numerator said easing inflation gave households a little more room to spend.

“It was a Christmas of smart savings and considered choices – almost every household bought into supermarkets’ premium ranges, while price remained front of mind,” he said.

“Over the last five years, the number of households cutting alcohol out of their shopping basket altogether has steadily increased. Alongside this, we’ve seen a rapid rise in sales of low and no-alcohol alternatives. However, the slight dip in the numbers of buyers in December may signal that the category is beginning to mature, while the rise in sales shows that converted households are doubling down on their favourite low and no-alcohol tipples.

“What’s clear is that as consumers, we’re open to more variance during those traditional, festive moments – whether it’s switching the Bucks Fizz for Kombucha or enjoying a classic cocktail alongside a more health-focused option, consumers are finding enjoyment in more choice.”

Meanwhile, Tesco sales were higher than in 2024, with its share rising by 0.2 percentage points to 28.7%, the greatest proportion of the market since March 2015. Lidl made the greatest gain in market share among the supermarkets, adding 0.5 percentage points to claim 7.8% of the market – a record for the discounter over the festive period.

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Currently Chief Operating Officer in Ireland, Geoff has a long and varied career in Tesco since joining in 1989.

As Chief Operating Officer since 2014, Geoff has responsibility for the retail operations of all stores, the distribution network, property and their GHS business.

Meanwhile, outgoing Tesco Ireland & NI CEO, Natasha Adams has been appointed to a newly-created role on the Executive Committee, as Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer. She will take up the role on 9^th June.

Under Natasha, the Irish business has enjoyed a period of expansion and growth, with market share gains for 39 consecutive periods.

Natasha said she was excited to take up the new role, building on the “strong progress we’re making with our growth ambitions by helping us to further scale and accelerate our long-term strategic plans and innovation pipeline”.

Geoff Byrne said: ”I have spent my entire career in Tesco Ireland; I love this business, and I am so proud to now have an opportunity to lead it.

“I’m really excited about the opportunities ahead. I’d like to thank Natasha for her leadership – I have a hard act to follow!”

The post New Ireland and NI CEO announced for Tesco first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

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%.

The post Healthier choices drive supermarket spending in new year first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

The move follows the conclusion of a civil trial, in which a woman won her claim against the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter, when a jury found he had sexually assaulted her.

McGregor, from Dublin, has been ordered to pay out over £200,000 in damages. In a social media post in the days after the case concluded, McGregor said he had instructed his legal team to appeal the decision.

In the wake of the outcome of the civil trial, several retailers have said they will no longer sell alcohol products associated with the MMA fighter in their stores.

Musgrave confirmed to NR that both alcohol lines – Proper No. Twelve Whiskey and Forged Irish Stout – are no longer available to purchase in their stores across the island of Ireland.

Their store network includes SuperValu, Centra, Mace and Daybreak.

Tesco also confirmed in a statement to NR that they are “removing Proper No. 12 Whiskey from sale in Tesco stores and online”.

It is understood a number of other retail outlets are to stop stocking products linked to McGregor in their stores.

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