Sainsbury's Northern Irish suppliers to benefit from sourcing scheme

Sainsbury's has launched a programme in association with Levercliff, the food and drink marketing consultancy to assist 100 Northern Irish companies currently supplying or hoping to supply the retailer's stores.

The programme which will run through until February 2013 is part of a drive by Sainsbury's to raise the profile of locally sourced produce.

David McMahon, Regional Buyer for Sainsbury's, said, "This year we have been running a programme called 'Shop Local' to help our shoppers choose produce which has been sourced locally. Our customers want choice but they do want to buy food from Northern Ireland when they can. We welcome and actively pursue the availability of local produce at Sainsbury's. Indeed in the last 12 months we have taken on more than 100 new local lines.

"As part of this project Sainsbury's 'Try Team' has been visiting towns and cities across Northern Ireland cooking with local produce and allowing people to taste dishes using local ingredients.

"Part of this process is to work with our suppliers to help them grow their range with Sainsbury's. We have development groups for many of our sectors and this scheme aims to establish another cluster of producers achieving the highest standards of product delivery. We also want to take more of the tastes of Northern Ireland out across Britain.

"A number of our Northern Irish suppliers have been very successful across the UK including Doherty & Gray, Fivemiletown Creamery and Mash Direct. We hope to grow the number of Northern Ireland businesses supplying Sainsbury's right across the UK."

This scheme will help businesses to understand what is required to help them grow within the Sainsbury's network. The suppliers will attend workshops over the coming months to help them understand how supermarkets buy produce and to identify gaps in the market. They will also work to improve packaging, product and promotions to maximise opportunities.

Sainsbury's already sources in the region of £250 million worth of produce in Northern Ireland annually and hopes to increase this going forward through this scheme and encouraging people to buy local produce.

Pic Caption:Lorraine Beaton, MD, Levercliff; Robin Barnett, Business Development Director, Invest NI and Steve Wallace, Sainsbury's.