Irish Food Producer Awards

The who’s who of those that love quality Irish food gathered in Dublin to celebrate the SuperValu Irish Food Producers Awards. These awards recognise the superior quality and excellence which is found among food and beverage producers in Ireland.

A winner was selected for each category:

• Quality Award - Dunn’s of Dublin
• Best Local Producer Award - St. Tola Goat’s Cheese, Clare
• Best Newcomer - Farmers to Market, Cavan/Monaghan
• Best Fresh Product - Keeling's, Dublin
• Innovation Award - Oliver Carty, Roscommon
• The People’s Choice Award - Barry's Tea, Cork

Finally, from this elite group an overall winner was crowned SuperValu Irish Food Producer of the Year and that winner was Oliver Carty Limited. A company found to have created the highest quality produce and consistently demonstrated a commitment to excellence in all aspects of business.

Launching this year’s awards, Martin Kelleher, Managing Director SuperValu said; “We are extremely proud to be working with Enterprise Ireland and the Irish Independent to recognise the importance of the Irish food business and the top performing companies within this dynamic and innovative sector. The Awards are a reflection of SuperValu’s commitment to local sourcing and we are proud to back Irish businesses and recognise local entrepreneurs.

Ireland’s food and beverage sector is renowned for delivering high quality, excellent produce and is a sector where SuperValu has a real affinity.

“Ireland’s food and beverage sector is renowned for delivering high quality, excellent produce and is a sector where SuperValu has a real affinity.

Local and Irish produce is something that goes to the heart of Irish culture and where possible SuperValu provides innovative, local Irish companies with both a local and national route to market, providing shoppers with exactly the type of products they want to be able to buy.

As a brand, we support over 30,000 jobs in the Irish food and farming sector. These awards acknowledge the hard work and dedication of these sectors and some of the best companies in this industry,” Kelleher concluded.

The Irish Food Producers Awards are a further example of SuperValu’s commitment to Irish suppliers and producers which includes sales of over €1 billion worth of fresh Irish food every year.

In 2010 the total purchases of Irish goods and services made by SuperValu was worth over €1.6bn to the Irish economy, serving to both create and protect almost 30,000 Irish jobs in the farm, food and retail sector.