SuperValu guarantees the full Irish Christmas dinner with locally sourced vegetables, meat and desserts available
SuperValu, Ireland’s leading grocery retailer, has announced that it expects to sell almost 2,000 tonnes of locally sourced vegetables over the festive period, amid surging demand for vegetarian and vegan options alongside Irish Christmas dinner essentials such as brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnips and potatoes.
SuperValu expects an increased interest in Irish food this Christmas, with shoppers keen to support local producers and suppliers. This support for local, coupled with a spike in demand for vegetarian and vegan alternatives, means that SuperValu expects that it will sell just under 1,900 tonnes of Irish vegetables alone over the festive period – the same weight as 20 NASA space shuttles combined.
Dublin’s K&K Produce is supplying that other great Irish dinner table favourite, the potato, to shoppers, selling almost 1,000 tonnes of fresh potatoes this festive season at SuperValu. Families will also be able to get the very best parsnip and carrots in store, with K&K Produce supplying 48 tonnes of the popular parsnip and carrot combination.
Begley’s, who recently won a National Organic Award for their leeks, expect to supply 110,000 units over the festive period, across their carrots, parsnips, fresh beetroot, kale, celery and leeks ranges, while Kilkenny’s O’Shea’s Farms are supplying 592 tonnes of carrots, a popular vegetable for all including Santa’s busy reindeers.
SuperValu says IGWT and Grove Farm Turkeys in Co Monaghan are supplying €2.5 million worth of 100% Irish, Bord Bia-approved Irish turkeys this Christmas and that by Oliver Carty Ltd who are celebrating the twenty-fifth year of their trading partnership with SuperValu this year, will supply €2m worth of Irish hams.
For an opening course option, the retailer says that it expects to sell €1.2 million worth of Smoked Salmon, which includes the SuperValu Signature Tastes range of smoked salmon supplied by Dublin’s Dunns Seafare, Ireland's oldest fish company. The range includes a number of varieties including Applewood Smoked Salmon, Dingle Gin Infused Smoked Salmon and a new range of Hot Smoked Salmon selections. SuperValu will also be selling an Irish salmon paté from Union Hall in West Cork, with their delicious range including a Whiskey-Infused Smoked Salmon Paté.
SuperValu is also showcasing some of Ireland’s finest bakery and dessert suppliers this Christmas Carlow-based Seerys are supplying 160,000 delicious Christmas puddings, O’Hara’s Bakery from Mayo are supplying SuperValu’s Signature Tastes Round Christmas Cake; the SuperValu Signature Tastes Mini Bites are sourced from Carleton Bros from Cavan and this festive season also sees SuperValu introducing its Blas award winning Signature Tastes Chocolate Yule Log from dessert-makers Couverture in Co. Kildare.
Commenting on SuperValu’s local and Irish Christmas dinner range, Ray Kelly, Interim Managing Director, SuperValu, said, “Supporting local is in our DNA as we source from Irish suppliers wherever possible and we expect increased interest from shoppers in buying the very best in quality Irish food this Christmas. We are very fortunate to have long-standing partnerships with a range of Irish companies, which allows our customers to put the best of local and Irish on the table for their Christmas dinners.
“Whether it’s the superb brussels sprouts we source from Paudie Hanafin, who we have partnered with for 13 years, or the delicious paté from Union Hall, a west Cork supplier that came through the Food Academy programme, when you shop with SuperValu, you can rest assured that you are supporting the local economy. So when you make your Christmas dinner list, make sure that buying Irish is your top priority to give food producers from across the country a boost during the busiest trading period of the year.”
SuperValu serves over 2.6 million customers every week and has 223 stores nationwide. Together with its retail partners, SuperValu employs approximately 14,500 colleagues, making it one of the State’s largest private-sector employers. SuperValu continues to source locally wherever possible which helps to sustain 30,000 jobs in the Irish economy.
