Taking the Initiative – IFCR talks to Maxol’s Brian Donaldson
…on progressive new developments…
The launch of a new online meal and grocery delivery service in partnership with Copenhagen-based food-tech company Noahs, is a significant evolution in the Maxol’s foodservice strategy. IF&CR asks Maxol CEO Brian Donaldson, what was the thinking behind this initiative?
“While Maxol’s fresh food offering has traditionally focused on breakfast and lunchtime, customer expectations and lifestyles have evolved significantly. Today’s consumers are busier than ever, and they are seeking greater flexibility, convenience and quality right throughout the day, whether they are at home, at work or on the move” he told IF&CR.
“In response to these changing needs, Maxol has partnered with international food-tech company Noahs to introduce a first-of-its-kind meal and grocery delivery service in Ireland. The partnership reflects Maxol’s commitment to serving customers beyond traditional meal occasions, making high-quality food and everyday essentials available whenever and wherever they are needed.
“Through Noahs’ innovative digital platform, customers can order freshly prepared, cooked-to-order meals alongside grocery items in a single seamless transaction. By partnering with leading delivery platforms including Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats, Maxol can now bring both hot food and selected groceries straight to customers under the campaign tagline – “Bags More, Straight To Your Door”.
“The new service significantly expands Maxol’s food offering, enabling customers to enjoy restaurant-quality meals such as pizzas, burgers, Mexican bowls and more, delivered with the convenience they increasingly expect. It marks an important step in our ongoing focus on providing greater choice, accessibility and convenience for today’s time-pressed consumers.
“While currently available at selected sites in Leinster, we are preparing to roll out the offering to 60+ Maxol locations.”
Customer Feedback
Launched at three pilot sites on 22nd April – Newbridge (Kildare), Ardbrae (Wicklow) and the Long Mile Road store (Dublin) – how has the new service been received by customers and in-store staff?
“Initial customer feedback has been extremely positive, with the new delivery service resonating strongly among consumers who are clearly seeking greater convenience and flexibility. Given that this is a new, innovative – and possibly unexpected – offering for the Irish market, the level of customer interest has been particularly encouraging.
“To build on this momentum, Maxol is investing in targeted marketing support to increase awareness and drive trial, particularly as the service expands across its network.
“The new service has generated real excitement among Maxol’s retailers and staff who are proud to work for a business that continues to innovate and introduce new solutions and services for customers. Colleagues have gotten behind and embraced the opportunity to offer an expanded range of freshly cooked food to customers, helping them to get the most out of their busy days. Being at the forefront of a first-to-market proposition in Ireland has created a strong sense of pride and engagement across the team.
Phased Approach
When can we expect to see the roll out to 60+ outlets in the South?
“We are still working through a phased approach timeline, as we want to ensure we take all the learnings from the initial trial sites. However, the ambition is to drive significant scale by Q4 2026.”
Another ‘first’ for Maxol
It’s another ‘first’ for Maxol in Ireland – and a generation have totally embraced Just Eat, Uber Eat, Deliveroo etc – it seems a ‘no brainer’ that the forecourt sector would eventually embrace the trend too. When did Maxol start work on the initiative and what was involved?
“The partnership with Noahs was fostered over a year ago, through relationships we have built through NACS (National Association of Convenience Stores). We met with Daniel Baven and some of his team and learnt about the great success they have had in other markets, including Denmark and felt it was a great fit for Maxol. It allows us to deliver on convenience in a meaningful way for today’s busy consumers, by bringing “Bags More, Straight to Their Door”.
Digital Kiosks
Maxol is also introducing instore ‘digital kiosks.’
“We have already started the roll-out of our in-store digital kiosks, designed to enhance speed and convenience for busy shoppers. We’ve made it easy for our customers to browse menus, customise orders and choose how they order in-store. This is helping to reduce wait times while creating a more flexible and intuitive experience. And importantly, while our digital kiosks will make for a more seamless experience, they will always be complemented by the friendly and personal service for which our stores – and our retailers – are known.”
Homegrown
Another significant Maxol initiative that’s going from strength to strength is of course Maxol Homegrown. Now in its third year the most recent recipients were announced recently.
“Now in its third year, Homegrown at Maxol has quickly become a recognised platform for fantastic indigenous businesses looking to scale up, offering not just visibility but tangible opportunities and support: PR and marketing, access to nationwide retail distribution through the Maxol store network, mentorship and access to a Homegrown alumni network.
“This year’s Homegrown at Maxol entries revealed a distinct and interesting pattern. For the first time, there was a clear trend among applicants towards products designed for consumers with active lifestyle looking to make smarter choices. It is a shift that mirrors global trends but equally resonates in Ireland, where there is a growing focus on wellbeing and food options that support busy lives. This trend did influence our judging process and helped us decide on our three 2026 Homegrown at Maxol winners, Oatco, Well. Can’d Water and WONDR Jellies, all of which capture this trend perfectly.
“Oatco’s Super Bites, developed by Laura Murphy in Co Tyrone, are bite-sized snacks built around oats and other natural ingredients, designed to deliver sustained energy. Murphy, a working mother and entrepreneur has grown the brand alongside a community-oriented fitness initiative, the Oatco Run Club. Her timing has been fortuitous. Interest in functional snacks has surged in recent years, driven by consumers who want great-tasting options while also being part of a like-minded community.
Something Special
!Laura has clearly developed something special, and commercially viable, with the brand recently securing a €50,000 investment on Dragons’ Den, from investor Steven Bartlett who said her product was ‘absolutely banging’. What we can offer is potentially even more valuable – consistent, everyday nationwide visibility and marketing support.
“Well. Can’d Water, this year’s second Homegrown at Maxol winner, addresses another growing consumer concern – environmental impact. Founded during the Covid period by Mark and Conor Ralph alongside 2024 League of Ireland champion John O’Sullivan, the company is Ireland’s first canned water brand. Its premise is simple but effective: replace single-use plastic bottles with fully recyclable aluminium cans.
“Sourced from the Dublin Mountains and packaged in Ireland, the product taps into a rising awareness around plastic waste and the carbon footprint of everyday consumption. Well. Can’d Water’s proposition and growing success suggest that there is nothing that can’t be reimagined through the lens of sustainability. The convenience of a grab-and-go format is paired with an ethos that resonates with our environmentally conscious consumers.
“WONDR Jellies, the third of our winners, is doing great things in a category that has historically resisted change: confectionery. Developed by ex-League of Ireland footballer Mark Birrane, alongside, Michael Fox, formerly of Fulfil, the brand offers lower-sugar, high-protein and high-fibre jelly sweets aimed at those who want their treats but are also keen to make better choices.
“Fitness communities – including those involved in high-intensity training such as Hyrox – have embraced the product, as it fits into and supports their disciplined routines. There’s a real honesty to this product, which is all about delivering moments of indulgence, without the guilt; and the team behind the brand understands that no amount of health messaging can compensate for a below-par taste experience.
“We particularly liked how all of the 2026 Homegrown at Maxol winners embodied the connection between food and lifestyle. We know that people are no longer just buying products; they are buying into producer stories and brands that reflect their values and their way of living.
Indigenous Irish Producers
Will Homegrown be launched again for a fourth year? What are you specifically looking for from indigenous Irish small food producers?
“The programme has been an outstanding success, both in terms of customer engagement and the opportunities it has created for both emerging and established Irish food producers. Going forward, our ambition is to evolve Homegrown at Maxol into a bi-annual programme, giving us the time and space to work more closely with existing winners and support them as they scale their businesses and maximise the benefits of being part of the Maxol network.
“The initiative is closely aligned not only with our own company values but also with changing consumer expectations. Customers are increasingly seeking high-quality products with strong provenance, and there is a growing preference for supporting local businesses and Irish producers. We continue to see strong demand for products that tell an authentic story and reflect the quality and innovation that exist within Ireland’s food and drink sector.
Entrepreneurship
“When evaluating applications, we look for products that are Irish, innovative and that will appeal to our customer base. We look to identify businesses that can genuinely benefit from our support and whose products bring something distinctive to the market. Quality is paramount, but we are always on the lookout for a clear point of difference; that could be the product itself, the ingredients used, the sustainability credentials, or the story behind the brand. Ultimately, we’re seeking passionate producers with great products and strong growth potential who can help us offer customers something unique while showcasing the very best of Irish food entrepreneurship.Top of Form
Investment Strategy
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IFCR recently featured Maxol Long Road – are there any other forecourt refurbishments/developments in the pipeline with Maxol dealers or company owned sites?
“As part of our investment strategy, we have developed a dynamic capital expenditure programme for 2026 focused on a number of strategically selected sites across Dublin, Cavan, Clare, Laois, Limerick and Louth. The programme combines full redevelopments, partial redevelopments and targeted refurbishments, ensuring that investment is tailored to the specific needs and opportunities of each location.
“Our objective is to transform these sites into even stronger destination locations that deliver a best-in-class customer experience while supporting long-term business growth. This includes creating larger, brighter and more modern retail environments, improving seating and customer facilities, optimising parking capacity and traffic flow, and further strengthening our food service proposition.
“A key element of the programme is the rollout of our new-look Deli concept, designed to provide customers with an enhanced all-day food-to-go experience. We will also continue to expand our successful alliance with Dunnes Stores across selected locations, broadening our retail offer and increasing convenience, and choice, for customers.
“Overall, this investment programme reflects our commitment to continually evolving our network, strengthening our competitive position and ensuring our sites remain relevant, attractive and profitable for the future.”
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Further Initiatives
“Car Wash is a hugely important part of our business and one of our biggest innovations this year is Wash Club, a subscription model, where customers can get up to 10 washes per month for just €19.95 on our Regular plan. It has already gone live at three sites and not only does this deliver exceptional value but it is all app enabled, so time poor customers can activate the wash without going into the shop. This is a brand-new innovation and we’re excited to roll it out across 60+ sites in ROI over the summer, helping retain existing customers while also recruiting new customers to our network, as it’s a real point of differentiation.”
Dunnes Stores Alliance
Another initiative that really sets us apart is our alliance with Dunnes Stores where we have over 350 products listed in selected sites across Dublin. Most of these products are from the much-lauded Simply Better range, offering Maxol shoppers a wide range of high quality, fresh meats, cheeses and vegetables, ready-made meals ,as well as fruit, yogurts, frozen foods and wine. This caters for a convenience top up shop mission, as we constantly strive to deliver value and quality in every shop.”
Fifth Generation
“Maxol is a fifth-generation, Irish family business and we have always focused on our people as our best assets. We’re incredibly proud of our history and the role our retailers play in communities across the island of Ireland. Our strategy is to combine time-honoured values and personalised customer service with modern technology to deliver the highest level of service and support to our customers, delivering a best-in-class retail offering.”
AI Technology
“Maxol ensures value for consumers at the pump by using AI technology which allows us to react dynamically to changes within the market and locally ensuring we are always competitively priced. Using this technology was key in recent times and enabled our team to be more efficient in responding to the impact of unprecedented geo-political events.
“We’re living in unprecedented times, so it is difficult to make predictions. However, we’re continuing to innovate to ensure that Maxol is in a strong position, to meet consumer needs. Food service and a strong retail offering are key to all motorists, whether they are in an electric or a petrol / diesel vehicle.”
