Henderson Wholesale, part of the locally owned Henderson Group in Northern Ireland, has dramatically increased its enjoy local own-brand range, giving local bakeries here a huge opportunity for growth with a further £1.3m sales projected.
20 new bakery products make up the enjoy local Bakery line, all produced collaboratively with local and family run businesses across Northern Ireland who will now enjoy the benefits of Henderson’s huge distribution network to over 360 company owned and independent stores.
Enjoy local was launched in 2015 with a £25m investment alongside 20 local suppliers, and local Dromore family Bakery Graham’s have been added to the roster to help expand the enjoy local bakery line.
Graham’s joins Daily Bake in Armagh and Scott’s Bakery in Fivemiletown to produce the line, with all companies investing in their team and facilities to deliver the enjoy local range which includes salted caramel, coffee and carrot cakes, chocolate orange as well as raspberry muffins and mini cupcakes, Viennese Whirls, Coconut Jam Delights and a cupcake platter.
These new Bakery products join 125 other fresh products under the enjoy local brand, which have been independently taste tested by over 2,000 people in collaboration with the Food and Consumer Testing Suite at Ulster University.
Eamon Taggart, Trading Manager at Henderson Group commented; “At Henderson Wholesale, we have a great relationship with many local food producers, including local artisan suppliers whose growth we can support through our distribution network”
“Therefore, last year, we collaborated with a range of bakers to create a new line of local products that would proudly sit on the shelves of our stores as part of our hugely successful enjoy local range. We’re enabling smaller bakeries to expand their team and distribution throughout the country thanks to our robust distribution network, whereas before they may have only been supplying to their local store.”
Now, through the enjoy local range, the products will be available throughout SPAR and EUROSPAR stores across Northern Ireland.
The expansion will also benefit retailers, enabling them to provide even better value, quality and choice for shoppers, and consumers who are continuing to choose provenance for their food shop in everything from meat and poultry, and now a great new range of bakery goods.
Eamon continued; “to ensure our suppliers and retailers get the most out of enjoy local Bakery, we have made a further investment of over £20,000 towards a comprehensive marketing campaign, which encompasses in-store signage and outdoor advertising and in-store radio.”
Since the launch of the enjoy local brand, the range has experienced a series of developments in the past four years including an exclusive meat range with K&G McAtamney butchers in Ballymena, several Great Taste Awards and a packaging overhaul just last year.
The six-figure investment into the enjoy local brand and packaging in 2018 highlighted local suppliers and importantly, included an official town stamp of where the product was made, baked, bottled, boxed or farmed in Northern Ireland.