FDBusiness.com

Musgrave, Ireland’s leading food retail, wholesale and foodservice company, has announced a new multi-million euro deal with Lusk-based ready meal producer Ballymaguire Foods, valued at €170 million. The new contract will continue to supply homegrown, Irish-made prepared meals and side dishes to Musgrave retail brands SuperValu, Centra and Daybreak.

The new contract comes as shoppers increasingly seek out healthy pre-prepared meal options. The extensive range of exceptional quality foods offers shoppers lunch and dinner solutions in the form of prepared meals as well as soups and sauces. Musgrave wants to continue to grow its range with Ballymaguire Foods in the form of new own brand healthy meals which are the perfect solution for a hassle free, home-cooked tasty meals.

Ballymaguire Foods is a sister company to Country Crest which was established in 1993 by brothers Michael and Gabriel Hoey. Country Crest is a family-run business which has been growing potatoes for generations in North County Dublin. Today, it is one of the largest suppliers of potatoes, onions and sweet potatoes to Irish retailers. Ballymaguire Foods which was established in 2008 is now Ireland’s largest producer of fresh prepared meals.

Ballymaguire Foods has won a multitude of awards including Blas na hÉireann, Irish Quality Food Awards, Great Taste Awards, and Fingal Chamber Business Excellence Awards. Ballymaguire Foods is passionate about sustainability and prides itself in sourcing ingredients that are 100% local and are carefully selected from trusted farmers and suppliers, keeping food miles low. Their dedicated team of over 250 people, including experienced chefs and producers, have been supplying the Musgrave Group with food of the highest quality for 13 years and will continue to for the next 5 years.

Ian Allen (pictured right), Managing Director of SuperValu and Centra, commented: “We are very pleased to work with suppliers who share our values of wanting to support local and do good for our communities. We set out an ambition to help our customers make more sustainable choices and we are delighted to support Irish suppliers who operate in a way that makes this possible. In recent times, we have seen an increase in demand for healthy meals and we are very happy to continue to work with Ballymaguire Foods who continue to innovate and evolve to meet shoppers needs.  A long-standing partner of ours, their passion about sustainability and reducing their impact on the environment, is important to us. We are delighted to continue a partnership that has run for 13 years and look forward to the next five years.”

Edward Spelman (pictured left), Managing Director and Co-owner of Ballymaguire Foods, said: “Ballymaguire Foods is well regarded for producing high quality own label, fresh prepared meals for its retail and food service customers – sourcing the best of ingredients and creating tasty and healthy recipes using a handmade approach. We’ve worked with the Musgrave Group for over 13 years and are very pleased to see how much we have grown in that time. We are delighted to strengthen our partnership and further enhance the Musgrave fresh prepared meal offering – that fits with consumer’s busy lifestyles.”

As part of its sustainability strategy, Musgrave is working closely with suppliers to collectively reduce its environmental impact. As well as sourcing the best of Irish ingredients, Ballymaguire Foods operates on 100% renewable energy, with a wind turbine generating nearly half of its power and the rest coming from other renewable sources. As part of Musgrave’s sustainability strategy, Musgrave has committed that 100% of its Own Brand packaging will be compostable, reusable, or recyclable by 2025. To date, 96% of this ambition has been achieved by SuperValu and Centra. Ballymaguire Foods has replaced 35 tonnes of unrecyclable black plastic with alternative sustainable packaging in line with this.