Clonakilty Gluten Free Kitchen Launched

Clonakilty Gluten Free Kitchen Launched
Gill Brennan, CEO of the Coeliac Society of Ireland; Niamh Scally MD of Clonakilty Gluten Free Kitchen and Tara McCarthy, CEO, Bord Bia pictured at Clonakilty Model Village, West Cork of Clonakilty Gluten Free Kitchen, a range of delicious artisan bakery products suitable for coeliacs and those with a gluten intolerance, but with a taste the whole family will love. The scratch bakery range includes 17 lines including yeast breads like their rustic white loaf, multigrain and white rolls, specialty loaves, oat and yogurt loaf, corn bread and brioche, and confectionery lines including apple tart, tea brack and more. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision

Clonakilty Gluten Free Kitchen range is now available throughout Cork.  The artisan bakery products are suitable for coeliacs and those with a gluten intolerance, but with a taste the whole family will love. The company also has plans underway to expand throughout Munster.

The Clonakilty Gluten Free Kitchen launched its new brand on 7th July and celebrates its rapid expansion over the last number of months from 2 to 20 stockists across County Cork and edging its way into Limerick and Kerry.  The scratch bakery range includes 17 lines including yeast breads like their rustic white loaf, multigrain and white rolls, specialty loaves, oat and yogurt loaf, corn bread and brioche, and confectionery lines including apple tart, tea brack and more.

Scally’s SuperValu

Clonakilty Gluten Free Kitchen originated in 2015 as a specialised in-store gluten free bakery (the first of its kind in Ireland,) in Scally’s SuperValu in Clonakilty. Following a conversation with the mother of a Coeliac child who wanted a novelty birthday cake just like all the other kids had, owners Eugene and Catriona Scally quickly identified a gap in the market for a wider gluten free offering and invested in a specialist gluten free bakery. There’s a huge market for quality gluten free produce in Ireland with an estimated 50,000 people living with coeliac disease in Ireland and a further 400,000 who are gluten intolerant.

The initiative proved popular, with customers travelling far and wide for the range. In autumn 2020, daughter Niamh Scally took the reins to grow the brand from a gluten free unit to the rear of the store into a fully-fledged independent business. With Niamh at the helm, the brand moved into a new stand-alone production unit in Bandon last October, and now employs five staff.

Rollout

Since its inception eight months ago, the brand has grown from 2 to 20 stockists, with a strategic focus on reaching communities across Cork City and County. Now that that’s nearly complete, it’s starting to edge its way into Kerry and Limerick as part of a planned rollout across Munster, and Niamh is looking forward to further enhancing production and store listings once space allows.

“The response from the consumer has been incredibly positive, they have a real appreciation for the freshness, taste and breadth of range and we recently launched our apple tart as a result of listening to our audience. We have a brand that is positive and vibrant and fun; and part of that ethos is to provide food that makes living with coeliac disease a joy and positive experience. It is my personal mission to deliver products that people will love and my team are passionate about serving those needs through the development of our trusted gluten free range.”

Certified gluten-free

Whilst safety is paramount with the brand only using suppliers that are certified gluten-free, the focus is on variety and taste. Clonakilty Gluten Free Kitchen has been developed by non coeliacs for coeliacs with expert bakers taking the time to perfect the recipes to achieve the brand’s signature great taste.

The allergy safe brand is included in the Coeliac Society of Ireland Food List for 2021 which is compiled in accordance with current EC legislation and, in addition to checking food labels, offers coeliacs and those with a gluten intolerance reassurance about what is safe to eat.

Online

Clonakilty Gluten Free Kitchen is available to shop online through selected SuperValu stores as part of the SuperValu Food Academy programme and is also available in 13 SuperValu outlets and 4 Centra stores in Munster. It is also served in five-star hotel The Europe Killarney and The Great Southern Hotel Killarney. “SuperValu’s Food Academy which is supported by the Local Enterprise Office and Bord Bia has been a fantastic support through offering expert advice and guidance on upscaling and growing the business. As part of that, SuperValu retailers have given me my first chance which is critical for small producers when it comes to growth and I am really grateful for that support.”

Niamh officially launched the brand at a ceremony on 2nd July, saying “I am delighted to be officially launching the brand in my hometown of Clonakilty with special guest, and another Clonakilty native, Tara McCarthy CEO, Bord Bia. Since beginning in October 2020, the range has been wonderfully received by customers and retailers and celebrated by those on a coeliac or gluten free diet for its quality, choice and most of all ‘real taste.’ We are really proud of our offering and thrilled to be bringing something new and delicious to the table.”

Special guest Tara McCarthy, CEO, Bord Bia, said at the launch, ‘Bakery is a challenging and competitive sector, and one of the more mature categories in retail. However, we know from Bord Bia research that there is opportunity for growth and despite the disruption of a global pandemic, Niamh and her team have expanded rapidly since launching last year. I am looking forward to officially opening the new Clonakilty Gluten Free Kitchen early next month and learning more about the company’s further plans for expansion throughout Munster and beyond.’

Gill Brennan, CEO of the Coeliac Society of Ireland, added, “I am really excited to attend the official launch of Clonakilty Gluten Free Kitchen. To see this business grow so significantly in such a short space of time speaks volumes. I would like to congratulate all the staff involved who have put in a great amount of work to get here. We do get to hear the positivity back from our members in West Cork who have said they love the taste and freshness from the Clonakilty Gluten Free Kitchen range. At the Coeliac Society we love to support Irish gluten free businesses in any way we can. So please look out for the Clonakilty Gluten Free Kitchen range in our Food List and of course in our new app.”

The Clonakilty Gluten Free Kitchen range can be found in the following stores:

SuperValu: Cork Clonakilty, Bandon, Skibbereen, Bantry, Dunmanway, Ballincollig, Tower, Togher, Grange, Glanmire, Blackrock, Carrigaline, and Kinsale.

Centra: New Road Bandon, Aherla, Crosshaven and Drimoleague.

Also served at the five-star hotels including The Europe Hotel Killarney and The Great Southern Hotel Killarney.

Keep up to date with the latest news by following Clonakilty Gluten Free Kitchen on Instagram @clonakiltygfkitchen or Twitter @clonakiltykitch