CONVENIENCE retailer Musgrave says it has spent £17 million in the last year developing its own-brand 'Fresh For You' range, which was launched as part of a £100m commitment to the local food and drink industry.
The Fresh For You range, available in SuperValu, Centra and Mace - and which was recognised by the prestigious Great Taste Awards - comprises more than 100 individual products supplied by dozens of businesses from across the north.
“We pledged in 2017 to commit a huge sum of money to Northern Ireland’s food and drink sector, and nowhere is that investment more evident than in the production of our Fresh For You range, said Musgrave marketing director Desi Derby.
“This entire range is made by producers who are as passionate about quality local food and drink as we are.
"Through Fresh For You, we’re able to make a positive impact on the economy too by supporting jobs across the food and agri sectors, particularly in the farming community, so it’s a win, win for Northern Ireland.”
He added: “Our partnership with the hard-working families and producers who make our Fresh For You range has allowed us to be innovative and continually improve quality and drive value. It’s something that gives this range real stand-out in the own brand market.
“We’ve started to redesign all our packaging for this brand, calling out the local suppliers name, where they’re from, and telling customers a little bit more about them. Customers say this is what they want – provenance and supporting local is very important to them."
Among the suppliers are Willowbrook Foods from Co Down, Strathroy Dairy and Linden Foods from Co Tyrone and Gilfresh Produce from Co Armagh, who each appear in a series of specially-filmed videos which can be viewed on the Centra and SuperValu Facebook pages.
Desi added: “As well as employing 5,000 people across the Musgrave business, we also support jobs in every county in Northern Ireland.”
