The best of the year

Cully & Sully won ‘Best in Ireland’ from Bridgestone Food Guides in 2007, and ‘Best Chilled Non-Dairy Product’ at the SIAL d’Or awards this year

Creators of consumer brands understand now more than ever the need for dynamism and true innovation. ShelfLife looks at the cream of this year’s offering.

Brand Central

9 December 2008

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Cully & Sully

Cully & Sully won ‘Best in Ireland’ from Bridgestone Food Guides in 2007, and ‘Best Chilled Non-Dairy Product’ at the SIAL d’Or awards this year

Having attained multiple accolades for its scrumptious chilled soups, including the coveted Bridgestone and SIAL d’Or awards, the eclectic culinary duo relaunched its entire pie range this September, after undertaking the mammoth task of moving production from France to Ireland. Cully & Sully went through an 18 month development phase at Country Crest farm, where the pies are now made, in order to produce five new recipes for the relaunch in Ireland.

The products, which include Beef & Mushroom, Spiced Lamb, and a great Fish Pie, are made using only “ingredients that you would find in your kitchen cupboard.” The fish of the Fish Pie is naturally smoked, the feta of the Pasta, Chicken & Spinach Bake is real origin Greek feta, and all of the meat is certified Irish.

Cully & Sully soups and pies offer an authentic, genuine high quality proposition, for Irish consumers who like real food. With growing local and international acclaim, and a growing fan-base at home, Cully & Sully has become ‘the’ must-stock brand for the chilled cabinet. For more information contact Sully at 086 6058471 or Cully at 086 6076030.

Mars Ireland

Snickers ‘Get Some Nuts’ campaign featuring Mr T was overall winner in the Digital PR Category at the Awards for Excellence in Public Relations 2008

Of course no review would be complete without taking a look at the highlights of the year for Mars Ireland and its top brands. One of the standout campaigns this year was Snickers ‘Get Some Nuts’ featuring TV legend, Mr T. The campaign, which called on the men of Ireland to ‘Get Some Nuts’ and refuel with Snickers, was overall winner in the Digital PR Category at the Awards for Excellence in Public Relations 2008.

A fully integrated programme, the campaign included media relations, radio activity and, a first for Mars Ireland, a mobile internet WAP promotion. With exceptional results and reaching almost 300,000 unique users, the WAP promotion was the single best consumer campaign ever run on Vodafone Live! With +6% value gains year on year (AC Nielsen MAT Sept 07), Snickers deservedly retained its best-seller bar status throughout 2008.

Also having a good year in 2008, Galaxy built on the relaunch of 2007 with its successful sponsorship of the Popular Fiction Category in the Irish Book Awards, as well as being official partner to the eagerly anticipated Sex and the City movie.

Cuisine de France multiseeded grain baguette

Cuisine de France

2008 was a very busy year for Cuisine de France. New to the range this year was the Multiseeded Grain Baguette, an exciting new line to compliment the existing French bread range. In a move to create excitement through innovation in the in-store bakery category, the Multiseeded Grain Baguette taps into the consumer trends towards health and wellbeing and offers consumers further

Chicken Snak Stik is available at a great value for money price of only €1.79

choice for all their usage occasions.

This year also saw the introduction to Cuisine de France Pierres chicken range of its new Chicken Snak Stik: a unique breaded chicken kebab. Generous chunks of whole chicken fillet, rolled in a golden bread crumb and individually placed on stick, makes this newcomer a fun and tasty lunch or snack option, at a great value for money price of only €1.79. Chicken Snak Stik is sure to pick up new young customers and spread word of mouth quickly.

Cuisine de France Pierres is committed to steady ongoing growth, and is constantly looking at new opportunities to provide a range of best in class snack and meal solutions that includes something for everyone.

This water

This Water, the range of drinks made from spring water and pure fruit juices and free from preservatives, colourings and flavourings, is the most natural water-based juice drink available in the shops. Stored as an ambient or chilled beverage, the product is convenient for retailers and consumers.

This Water comes in four varieties which answer consumer demand for natural and different experiences: pomegranates, lychees, blackcurrants & spring water; mango, passion fruit & spring water; lemon, lime & spring water; and cranberries, raspberries & spring water.

To compliment the brand’s natural goodness positioning, This Water supports Water Aid’s work in Ethiopia, helping to transform the lives of families in Achefer Woreda, Amhara regional state where only a small percentage of people have safe water. For more information on This Water or its POS, call 01 879 6600 or visit www.thiswater.ie.

Seeds of change

Seeds of Change, Mars Ireland’s range of 100% organic pasta sauces, first launched in 2006. After only two years the brand is now listed in all major grocery outlets and is fast gaining a strong share-hold and loyal customer base in the premium Italian cooking sauce sector.

In our health-conscious society, consumers are increasingly looking for premium and nutritious, yet easy-to-prepare sauces, without compromising on taste. The Seeds of Change range aims to deliver these needs, through its four variants: Basil, Parmesan & Cherry Tomato; Tomato & Roasted Pepper; Roast Garlic & Tomato; and Mediterranean Vegetable, all available in 350g jars.

All Seeds of Change sauces are certified organic and display the Soil Accreditation stamp on-pack. To demonstrate its commitment to biodiversity, Seeds of Change will also donate 1% of its sales to the research and promotion of sustainable farming practices.

Seeds of Change has also recently introduced four delicious Indian sauces: Tikka Masala, Korma, Jalfrezi and Balti. (RRP €2.79 across both ranges).

The Natural Confectionery Company

Playful Pals is the newest addition to the inimitable Natural Confectionery Company family bag range. Children of all ages will love the new penguin shaped treats, with TNCC’s unique fluffy foam and jelly combination; in six great flavours. Most of all, the favourite confectionery brand offers parents a guilt-reduced treat to share with their family, with its promise of no artificial colours or flavourings across the range.

The Natural Confectionery Company is Ireland’s number one sugar family bag brand and has seen double-digit growth for the past three consecutive years. The brand is now worth €8.6million. The launch of Playful Pals coincides with a new TV ad and a brand partnership with Imaginosity, Ireland’s first children’s interactive museum, based in Dublin.

Sweetbird 100% Real Fruit Smoothie

The juice market is a highly lucrative option for any retailer, although storage can be an issue; product often requires chilling before being put out on display, which in turn raises issues of space, cost and even health and safety. Sweetbird looked for a solution and, using flash pasteurisation (developed in the US in the late 1990s), it came up with an ambient storage 100% fruit smoothie that gives at least three months shelf life.

Sweetbird 100% Real Fruit Smoothies, launched in April this year, have already seen record sales growth and high market penetration in the coffee shop market, and are now ready to replicate that success in the grocery sector. Offering consumers 30% more, with its 330ml serve, and containing no added sugar, preservatives, GMOs, artificial flavours or colourings, Sweetbird 100% Real Fruit Smoothies have been designed to offer consumers, and retailers, everything they need.

Available in three all fruit varieties: Orange & Mango, Pineapple & Passion Fruit and Blueberry & Blackberry, the brand prides itself on being made only from ethically sourced fruit. For more information contact Beyond the Bean on
0044 117 953 3522 or email info@beyondthebean.com.

Sweetbird 100% Real Fruit Smoothies use flash pasteurisation to give at least three months shelf life

Big Al’s Express

Big Al’s is the number one frozen convenient meat brand with a dominant share of both red meat and poultry. (AC Neilson YTD vs LY ending 7 September 2008). To build on the phenomenal success of the past number of years, Kepak Convenience Foods has recently launched Big Al’s Express Range; intending to take the cooked category by storm and double the market’s value in the next two years.

The top-quality range of microwavable burgers and sausages is truly innovative and offers a genuine quality convenience meal or snack solution. Furthermore, in response to research on convenience food consumption, the new range targets both ‘mums’, for the quick and easy dinner, and teenagers for a quick snack option.

Packaging was designed to highlight the product concept to consumers, reinforce quality cues and clearly communicate the Irish meat provenance.

The Sunday Times

According to the latest ABC figures, The Sunday Times achieved record monthly sales in the Republic of Ireland during the months of September and October. Bucking the trend of declining sales which is affecting competitors, the publication achieved record average monthly sales of 113,585 in September, surpassing this in October with “an historic all time high” of 114,282 copies sold; breaking its sales record set in April 2004.

The stunning success follows substantial investment in the brand over the past six months. The Sunday Times underwent a complete redesign earlier this year which was supported with a €1 million advertising campaign across a variety of media. The redesign includes new modern typefaces, more colour and a variety of new features which give the title a fresher and more vibrant feel.

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