Truly Irish Country Foods has secured a listing in 60 Tesco Ireland stores for creamery butter produced by traditional churning — the same method which has been used for centuries on Irish farms.
Formed in 2008, the farmer-owned business with head office in Newcastlewest, Co Limerick, supports more than 8,000 jobs. It was set up by pig producers on the island of Ireland with shareholders who are based in every county.
The aim is to give farmers full control of their products from farm to market. It already supplies Tesco stores with a range of premium pork products.
It has won numerous awards for its rashers, sausages, and puddings and is helping students to understand where their food comes from while helping them with their syllabuses and enterprise modules.
Truly Irish farm tours also give a hands-on approach look at career options in the agri-food industry in Ireland.
It is also committed to third level on-farm placements for students who come from a variety of courses — agriculture, animal science, and veterinary medicine.
Mike McAuliffe, chief executive, said the launch of its butter product was a natural progression for the company as some of its farmer shareholders are also dairy and beef producers.
“We hope to expand our range over time while standing by our motto to ‘absolutely refuse to compromise quality for profit’,” he said.
“We’re hoping to grow our business with Tesco and in time look to supply its stores in the UK, which would be a real game-changer for our business.”
Tesco Ireland recently launched a report, conducted by economic consultants Indecon, into the company’s impact on the Irish economy.
It found that Tesco is the world’s biggest buyer of Irish food and drink and is responsible for nearly 47,000 jobs.
The retailer employs 14,500 people directly in 149 stores, head office, and depot and supports a further 32,180 jobs in its supply chain.
Tesco Ireland says 100% of the fresh lamb, beef, pork, eggs, and milk that it sells is Irish. It works with more than 480 small and medium Irish local suppliers. Over 13,000 Irish farm families supply it with their produce.
Source: © 2015 IrishExaminer.com
