Kettyle Irish Foods, based in Lisnaskea in county Fermanagh, has won its first contracts to supply award winning dry-aged meats in key Gulf markets such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The company has achieved Halal accreditation for the meats.
Announcing the company’s first business in these developing markets for beef and lamb, Maurice Kettyle, managing director of Kettyle Irish Foods, says: “This is immensely significant business for us in one of the fastest growing markets for premium quality food especially Irish beef and lamb.
“We’ve been targeting affluent Gulf markets, especially the Emirates and Saudi Arabia, for some time and have now secured encouraging business for our 40-day-aged beef and 14 day-aged lamb with leading retailer LuLu and the prestigious Raffles Hotel Group in Dubai and Saudi Arabia.
“This immensely important business follows an introduction to Conor Ryan of Pan Euro Foods, a leading distributor with an extensive network of contacts throughout the Middle East. Pan Euro then helped us to find a suitable representative in these markets which enabled us to secure the contracts.”
Kettyle Irish Foods currently employs around 45 people in its dry-ageing and processing operations in a modern factory in Fermanagh. Kettyle sells beef, lamb and bacon to 15 global markets including France, Germany, the Netherlands and Scandinavia.
The new business will provide Kettyle with a solid base for further growth in these and neighbouring markets in which the high quality, outstanding taste, traceability and provenance of our meat and other foods in being increasingly recognised.
The company, founded by Mr Kettyle in 2004, is now part of Linden Foods, based in Dungannon, county Tyrone, one of the UK and Ireland’s leading meat processors.
Kettyle Foods was launched in 2004 as a specialist in the provision of high quality beef targeted at the food service sector, particularly high-end restaurants, in Great Britain, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The core product is ‘Irish Grass Fed Dry-Aged Beef’ and is in demand from chefs and retailers due to the exceptional flavour and tenderness produced as a result of the highly controlled maturation process.
Dry ageing is a traditional process that requires the meat to be matured on the bone for a minimum of 21 days. The company, which sources its meat mainly from local Aberdeen Angus and Hereford farmers has invested heavily in plant and machinery to provide a facility to produce the high quality product to discerning customers.
The company has also seen significant growth in its beef and bacon business in Germany and has won a string of IK Great Taste for its steak and related products such as its bone marrow butter for enhancing the flavour of its meats.
