ased Irwin’s Bakery has been assisted by Invest Northern Ireland to win its first export business in Abu Dhabi. Northern Ireland’s leading local bakery has secured a deal to supply its Rankin Selection range of traditional Irish breads, including soda farls, potato farls, stone-ground wheaten, to LuLu Group in Abu Dhabi, one of the biggest retailers in the Gulf states. The contract is worth an initial six-figure amount.Dr Vicky Kell, Invest NI trade director, says: “This very important contract for Irwin’s Bakery is an excellent example of an ambitious local company seizing the business opportunity provided by our strategic focus on identifying markets of potential for Northern Ireland food companies and then bringing relevant international food buyers to meet local food producers and to see and sample the quality, innovation, heritage and, of course, safety underpinning our products. LuLu set Irwin’s quite a test in terms of delivery of the products, which this very professional and progressive company has achieved. It’s great to know that the traditional breads which we tend to take for granted here are now being enjoyed in the Gulf, set apart by their outstanding flavours and serving versatility.”
Brendan Lappin, Irwin’s Bakery business development manager, comments: “This is a very significant contract for Irwin’s with one of the biggest and most successful retailers in the Gulf, which gives us a solid platform for further growth in a very dynamic marketplace. It’s a market that we’ve been targeting for some time and is the result of ongoing discussion over the past 18 months, which followed meetings with LuLu in Northern Ireland arranged by Invest NI.
He adds: “The Rankin Selection range will be on sale in an initial eight LuLu supermarkets within 24 hours of leaving the bakery in Portadown – a significant logistics operation involving a distributor in Liverpool. The supermarket asked us if we could provide the bread as fresh as possible and we’ve been able to meet the challenge.”
