Earlier this year, leading retailer Musgrave announced a £100 million commitment to the local food and drink industry, as well as a £10m investment into its store network, across Northern Ireland.

To date, the company has spent £17m developing its own brand range, Fresh for You, which is available in leading convenience retailers, SuperValu, Centra and Mace, said Desi Derby, Marketing Director, Musgrave.

“We said we would commit a huge sum of money to Northern Ireland’s food and drink sector and nowhere is that investment more evident than in the production of our Fresh For You range.

“This entire range, comprising over 100 individual products, is made by local producers from right across the province that are as passionate about quality local food and drink as we are. Through this range we’re able to make a positive impact on the economy too by supporting jobs across the food and agri sectors, particularly in the farming community, so it’s a win, win for Northern Ireland,” said Desi.

He continued: “Our partnership with the hardworking families and producers who make our Fresh For You range has allowed us to be innovative and continually improve quality and drive value. It’s something that gives this range real stand-out in the own brand market.”

The ‘Fresh For You’ range of products are only possible due to the calibre of the highly skilled producers available in Northern Ireland, continued Desi.

“We’ve started to redesign all our packaging for this brand, calling out the local supplier’s name, where they’re from and telling customers a little bit more about them. Customers are telling us this is what they want – provenance and supporting local is very important to them. Some of these suppliers include Willowbrook Foods from County Down, Strathroy Dairy from County Tyrone, Linden Foods from County Tyrone and Gilfresh Produce from County Armagh, to name a few, who each appear in a series of specially filmed videos which can be viewed on our Centra and SuperValu Facebook pages.”

“Musgrave’s commitment to the food and drink sector in Northern Ireland cannot be underestimated.” Desi concluded

The Fresh For You range is now award-winning too, having been recognised by the prestigious Great Taste Award recently.

Speaking at the launch, Pauline Gordon – Marketing Executive at Linden Foods said, “Linden Foods very much welcome the new investment from Musgrave for the ‘Fresh For You’ range. This is a huge endorsement to the quality of product within this category and a testament to the local agri food industry.”

“We are delighted to be a supplier for Musgrave and have fantastic working relationships with their team. We are exited about the future of this brand and for both our Primal and Retail accounts. Over the last few weeks we have enjoyed assiting in the promotional videos and feel very proud to be representing Musgrave on screen.” Concluded Pauline

Pictured: (L-R) Pictured with Julie Cherry, Category Manager, Musgrave & Pauline Gordon – Marketing Executive, Linden Foods