Conor Browne Wreaths secures new deal with Lidl Ireland
New deal with supermarket giant Lidl, creates more than 20 local jobs at Wicklow business
Print2 November 2022
Lidl Ireland has signed a brand-new deal with local producer of fresh Christmas wreaths – Conor Browne Wreaths & Mountain View Christmas Tree Farm, based in Co. Wicklow.
The deal will see the business supply a selection of fresh Christmas wreaths to Lidl’s 217 stores throughout Ireland. With the new investment by Lidl, the Wicklow business will create more than 20 new jobs.
Conor Browne Wreaths & Mountain View Christmas Tree Farm is Ireland’s largest producer of fresh Christmas wreaths, fresh non-shed Christmas trees, fresh cut foliage and florist supplies from their extensive farms in county Wicklow.
Originally from Leixlip, owner and operator Conor Browne was introduced to wreath making in sixth class at school. In admiration of his first wreath, his mother encouraged him to make more to sell to neighbours, friends, and family.
After a flurry of requests at the age of 10, Conor began expanding his business selling his wreaths door to door in his local housing estate. By the age of 14 he had a small team working alongside him and a small, rented premises in his hometown of Leixlip, making and selling more than 10,000 wreaths that year.
A passionate salesman and entrepreneur, he established a high-volume business after identifying the demand for his fresh wreaths. The demand grew year on year. Now 20 years on, Conor owns a large facility in Wicklow, with a large farm and forest where he manufacturers his handcrafted wreaths. He has full-time employees all year round to care and nurture his crop, with a huge influx of new jobs for the busy production season.
With a keen focus on sustainability, Conor Browne Wreaths only use locally grown foliage and recyclable ribbons and tree netting. To further benefit the environment, he has moved to a flock of over 60 special sheep to offer natural weed control around his trees and in turn offer a natural fertiliser to fertilise the land.
The partnership will see the fresh wreath provider supply Lidl stores across the island of Ireland with Deluxe Christmas Wreaths, uniting fresh Noble Fir foliage, a combination of gold and white tipped natural Austriaca pinecones and luxury tartan pullbows alongside a budget friendly Christmas Wreath combining Noble Fir foliage, Austriaca pinecones and plain red pullbows. All foliage in the freshly made wreaths are grown on Conor’s Mountain View Farm in county Wicklow.
“We are thrilled to sign this brand-new deal with Conor Browne Wreaths, this will be the first year we will be offering their fresh wreaths in our stores. At Lidl, our team thrive off working with Irish suppliers and are constantly looking for standout locally sourced products that our customers will love as much as us,” said Ian Mourão, senior buyer- Plants & Flowers, Lidl Ireland & Northern Ireland.
Conor Browne, owner and operator of Conor Browne Wreaths & Mountain View Christmas Tree Farm described the deal as “a great achievement”.
“ This Christmas will be our biggest yet and we are forecasted to make over 160,000 wreaths at our farm in Wicklow,” he said. “The new deal with Lidl has provided the opportunity to upscale our production and increase our team by creating over 20 new local jobs.”
What’s more, for every tree harvested, the business plants four new ones in return.
Conor Browne’s fresh wreaths will be available to customers in Lidl stores from Thursday, 24 November 2022 when the Christmas Wreath will be available, with the Deluxe Christmas Wreath arriving in store from Thursday, 8 December.
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