Keohane’s Seafood
Growing up near the sea in Bantry, in the heart of West Cork, gave father and son team, Michael and Coleman Keohane, their innate love of seafood.
However, it was their involvement with the SuperValu Supplier Development Programme that saw them bring their passion for fish from the sea to the shelves of Ireland’s biggest grocery group.
Isn’t it a strange phenomenon that an island nation with such an abundance of access to fresh seafood should be one of Europe’s lowest seafood consumers? According to Coleman Keohane, “It’s not that Irish people don’t enjoy fish when it’s presented to them on a plate, it’s basically a fear of how to cook it” However, it was this peculiarly Irish fear of fish and how to cook it that was to provide Keohane’s of Bantry with an exciting new product opportunity.
Coleman and his father Michael have a long association with seafood. Coleman himself runs the Central Fish Market in Bantry and is involved, with his sister, in a renowned restaurant in Bantry called The Fish Kitchen.
Up to five years ago, Michael was the Managing Director of Bantry Bay Sea Foods. He then decided to team up with son Coleman and use the knowledge of the fish industry that he had picked up in Ireland and Europe for a new venture.“A few years after I retired, we put our heads together and we saw a gap in the market for an added value seafood product. We realised that the biggest fear people have with fish is how to cook it and that’s what attracted us”
“We knew from a lot of sources that SuperValu had a genuine interest in promoting Irish producers, so we were delighted to discover just how genuine that interest was”
Keohane’s originally worked with Bord Iascaigh Mhara on developing their idea but it was the input of SuperValu and the Supplier Development Programme, however, that really brought the whole process from concept to reality. As Michael says, “We knew from a lot of sources that SuperValu had a genuine interest in promoting Irish producers, so we were delighted to discover just how genuine that interest was”
The SuperValu Supplier Development Programme was created by the supermarket chain initially to work with existing suppliers. As it progressed, Enterprise Ireland became involved and, with assistance from Bord Bia and Teagasc, the six-month programme now takes small and emerging food companies and guides them towards achieving their full potential.
The SuperValu Supplier Development Programme was a perfect opportunity for Keohane’s and taught them things about distribution, logistics, planograms, the way stacking is planned out, marketing, branding and it gave them the chance to talk face to face with people who could really help. Most importantly, it brought them face to face with the buyers at SuperValu. “When they heard about our idea they seemed really interested”
SuperValu Marketing Director, Ray Kelly explains, “We really believe in supporting local producers. We believe it is one of the things that make us different from other supermarket chains. And, perhaps most of all, we believe that bringing our customers the best from local Irish businesses at the right price is a crucial ingredient in helping our economy grow again” As Michael says, “SuperValu went with us the whole way, from start to finish” When Keohane’s started on the Supplier Development Programme all they had was an idea and an empty production site.
Now, a few short months later, they have invested over €550,000 on a new production facility, launched a range of prepacked wet fish under the SuperValu brand, two microwavable products (salmon darns with garlic butter and fresh prawns in garlic butter) and are the first company in Europe to produce a fresh fish product that is fully microwavable in pack. “A person can just come in, buy our product, pop it in the microwave and their meal is ready in two and a half minutes. You don’t have to pierce or even touch the product. There’s no worrying about how to cook it and what sauces to use. When it’s done you just peel off the film and leave it sit for a minute, so it’s a really good package for the customer”
Talking to Coleman and Michael you can sense a real passion for what they do. “We’re really passionate about putting fish on the menu for the average consumer and reducing the fear so much of the population has of using it. We’re giving them a solution to their problem. Our packaging is a skin film process where the fish is simply placed on a tray and a top web goes over the fish and all the oxygen is removed from the package, the top web shrinks around the fish and takes the form of the fillet to give a really dramatic presentation and it helps with the shelf life. The packaging is crystal clear, skin tight and really stands out on the shelf, people
see exactly what they’re buying”
“The SuperValu Supplier Development Programme is about believing in our own. It’s about encouraging and mentoring small suppliers to make them more ambitious and professional”
Convenience and quality are very much part of Keohane’s offering. “Our philosophy is to give our customers a good quality product that they can feel comfortable with. We’re trying to make fish easy for them. All our fish comes from sustainable sources; we buy nearly all our white fish from the port at Castletownbere. We believe that giving real quality to our customer will help us to keep that customer. So, basically, what we’re all about is quality and fish made easy”
However, they’re quick to point out that Keohane’s was far from an overnight success. “Success didn’t come easy, this has been in the planning for over two years. It’s far from easy, a lot of hard work. Having said that, we got a lot of help along the way. We didn’t receive negative responses to any of our requests. When we were looking for help, everyone we met was more than willing to put us onto the right person and give us advice. We found the belief that SuperValu showed in us gave us the confidence to go forward. The kind of commitment that’s needed isn’t easy on anybody and sometimes family has to play second fiddle but, hopefully, just in the short term. You have to make short term sacrifices if you want long term benefits.”
In today’s austere times, Coleman and Michael’s plans for the future strike a refreshingly upbeat note. “We see huge potential for our products both nationally and internationally. As our company grows, we can see enormous benefits in terms of staff recruitment and in terms of the local economy”
In fact, since their partnership with SuperValu, Keohane’s of Bantry have already added an additional five people to their workforce. For SuperValu, success stories like Keohane’s of Bantry bring home what the SuperValu Supplier Development Programme is all about.
As Ray Kelly, Marketing Director of SuperValu, says,
“The SuperValu Supplier Development Programme is about believing in our own. It’s about encouraging and mentoring small suppliers to make them more ambitious and professional. The way we look at it is that by supporting and growing Irish products, we’re creating jobs and every extra job has a positive impact not just on that employee, but also on their family and how they spend their money in the local area.”