October issue of ShelfLife magazine

Read the October issue below:

 
Our cover interview this month is with the founder of an ideal product for our current times. With drinks that have been turbocharged with beta glucan to boost the immune system, The Naked Collective’s CEO Niall Phelan fills us in on his similarly turbocharged growth plans for the company ‘powered by plants, people and purpose’, established just over a year ago.

Elsewhere, journalist Dan White examines what Asda’s sale reveals about the UK supermarket sector. At first glance, Walmart is emerging from the £6.8 billion sale of its majority stake in Asda with a slight profit on the figure it paid more than 20 years ago. However, the reality is considerably less rosy, according to our seasoned correspondent.

We also caught up with Gala CEO Gary Desmond to hear how the group which has now been operating for over 22 years, with 170 Gala and 35 Your Stop stores, has been facing the challenges presented by a global pandemic head-on.

In this month’s issue, we virtually visited several convenience stores to learn about their progress in recent weeks. John Eivers, owner of Spar Irishtown, Kilkenny tells Julia O’Reilly about his passion for retail and his recent renovation amid the Covid-19 crisis. Meanwhile, Nasheen Khan who runs a Primo store in Balgaddy, Dublin, explains to Fionnuala Carolan how his recent rebrand has breathed new life into his business.

And, as the end of the Brexit transition period looms ever closer, Roisin O’Shea, head of food and drink at Bank of Ireland, outlines important issues for Ireland’s food and drink exporters.

As always, our category features provide an in-depth look at the trends, brands and innovations driving sales in-store, with this month’s issue focusing on the soup, Irish brands, fuel, no and low alcohol, newspapers, cash and carry and mixer sectors.