Lidl Ireland invests €50m in Irish drinks industry
Investment comes amid uncertainty in the drinks industry due to temporary closure of restaurants and bars
Print18 June 2020
Lidl Ireland plans to invest €50 million in the Irish drinks industry. The substantial investment comes at a time of great uncertainty in the industry, as restaurants and bars remain temporarily closed due to COVID-19.
According to a statement from Lidl Ireland, it will facilitate supply contracts with its counterparts in 27 countries, making nine Irish suppliers’ products available on in over 10,000 Lidl stores worldwide.
Among these partners is Celbridge-based, Rye River Brewing Company, which has supplied Lidl since 2014 and created 14 new local jobs off the back of the investment. The retailer has facilitated a landmark deal in 2020, which sees the small brewery export more than 3.5 million bottles of its craft beer to 21 European countries this year.
Terra, who have supplied Lidl with luxury Irish cream liqueurs since 2009, has seen its workforce grow by more than 40% off the back of the retailer’s investment which also saw the expansion of a high-speed automated production line in 2015. The line produces up to 70,000 bottles of speciality Irish cream liqueur per day to meet demand from 16 European countries and Lidl’s stores in the US.
West Cork Distillers has been supplying Lidl Ireland with premium, award-winning spirits since 2015 and supplies the retailer with its own brand of luxury Irish whiskeys and gins, including Wild Burrow Irish Gin and Dundalgan Irish Whiskey. The Skibbereen distillery has secured a contract that will see these bestselling spirits on the shelves of thousands of Lidl stores across the continent and has already proved to be a hit with customers, including being chosen to front national marketing campaigns for Lidl Germany.
“Developing and supporting our supplier network is at the core of our business, and we’re extremely proud to be in a position to showcase the sublime quality Irish suppliers have to offer on a global stage,” said Kevin Haverty, buying director, Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland. “In these challenging times, it is our priority now more than ever to support our Irish suppliers and enable them to build their capacity and grow their workforce to supply the island of Ireland and beyond.”
“It is an extremely challenging time for Irish food and drink businesses,” said Tara McCarthy, CEO of Bord Bia, “The response of these companies demonstrates in practice the resilience, agility and determination of the sector. I am pleased to see Lidl Ireland’s continued commitment and ambition to promoting the Irish food and drink industry across the globe, and therefore supporting the development of homegrown local suppliers the length and breadth of the country.”
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