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Lidl Calls Out to Irish Food Suppliers to Enter Kick Start Programme

Posted on: 22 Feb 2018

Opportunity to Supply all 157* Lidl Stores Nationwide


Following the success of the first Kick Start Supplier Development Programme in 2017, Lidl is again calling out to Irish suppliers nationwide to enter their products giving them the chance to supply the retailer with a guaranteed volume of their product for a limited edition Best of Ireland food promotion in September 2018. Lidl will select up to 80 of Irelands top products which will be available in all 157* stores throughout the Republic of Ireland. For the first time, 3 products will be given the opportunity to be sold in Lidl stores across Europe.

 
The programme which is run by Lidl Ireland and supported by Bord Bia, is designed to help small and medium Irish food and drink businesses that need support in growing their brand and building their supply network. The final product selection will complement the portfolio of Irish products currently available in Lidl stores. Some of Lidls current Irish suppliers started off as small start-ups who with the help of Lidl have grown significantly and now supply products to all stores across Ireland on an ongoing basis.

Successful suppliers that are selected to be part of the Kick Start Supplier Development Programme will attend a series of free, comprehensive seminars aimed at guiding them through the process and teaching them skills to help grow their business ahead of their products going on sale at Lidl. The seminars will be carried out by a panel of industry experts from Lidl Ireland and Bord Bia and will include topics around quality control, packaging, marketing & PR and brand building.
The response to Kick Start in 2017 was phenomenal with over 450 different products entered by suppliers across the country. After careful consideration, Lidl selected 54 new Irish suppliers to work with on the Best of Ireland food promotion which saw over 71 products go on sale in all 153 Lidl stores across the Republic of Ireland for a limited period while stocks lasted. The range generated a turnover of over 1,000,000  for the company. The range was vast and covered everything from artisan Irish cheeses, gourmet chocolate chip & honeycomb sausages and gluten-free beef burgers to Greek style frozen yoghurt, gourmet marshmallows and premium granola.

Niall Moloney, Founder and CEO of PowCow was one of the successful suppliers last year with his high protein frozen yoghurt. His product sold so well it has now been listed permanently in all 153 Lidl stores nationwide. Niall commented; Kick Start was a fantastic opportunity for us. It allowed us to partner with one of Europes largest retailers and gave us a chance to showcase our products with Lidl. The workshops were ideally timed and were very informative. The Kick Start team did everything they could to ensure we were ready for the launch date. The programme was a great success and we are delighted to be moving to the next stage with Lidl.

If you are an Irish supplier of a food or drink product and would like the opportunity to sell your product in all Lidl stores throughout the country you can enter online now at www.lidl.ie/kickstart  . All thats needed is a picture of your product and a few answers to a short questionnaire. Entries are being accepted from now until April 1st 2018. For a full list of terms and conditions visit https://www.lidl.ie/en/terms-and-conditions-kick-start.htm