11 Food Firms Complete Development Programme

Eleven innovative food companies have recently completed the Enterprise Ireland SuperValu Supplier Development Programme at SuperValu’s Head Office in Cork.

Through a series of highly interactive workshops the programme has given the companies a deep understanding of how SuperValu operates and what it takes to engage effectively with the brand and its independent retail partners.

Now in its sixth year, the programme aims to support food companies to achieve retail listings with supermarkets in Ireland and internationally and has been responsible for the creation of €20 million in new business for indigenous Irish companies.

One such company is Simplee who, as part of the programme, has secured a listing for its entire product range in 65 SuperValu stores nationwide.

"As a two-year old company it was a fantastic opportunity to grow our brand nationwide and we are very grateful to SuperValu for giving us the opportunity to grow with them," said Edel Cooney, MD of Simplee, at the programme close.

Simplee was founded in 2011 by Edel Cooney. When she was made redundant from her banking job in 2010, she decided to turn her hobby of creating flavoured sea salts into a new career. She spent a number of months in her kitchen perfecting the range, which now includes garlic sea salt, lemon pepper, sweet and smokey salt and salt free seasoning. She started selling locally to independent shops and butchers in the Cork area and when the opportunity to participate in the Enterprise Ireland SuperValu Supplier Development Programme came up, she jumped at it.

"This Programme gives you a unique opportunity to see how SuperValu really works behind the scenes and most importantly how to align our way of doing business with theirs. The biggest learning for me was getting face to face time in front of buyers responsible for multi million euro portfolios who shared exactly what they wanted to achieve for SuperValu and why. Also the opportunity to network with 10 other businesses in the same boat as me was hugely beneficial," said Edel.

Edel's partner in business is her father the renowned Christy Cooney. He retired as president of the GAA April 2012 and then came on board handling logistics and finance for the Simplee. "SuperValu is the largest independent retail network in Ireland, so the opportunity from a business perspective was immense. SuperValu is ingrained in the fabric of Irish society and it gives us great pride to now see our products on their shelves," said Christy.

New entrants to the Food industry are an essential part of its future growth and are an important contributor to achieving the National objectives as set out in Harvest 2020.

(CD)