Musgrave expand presence in Middle East following major new partnership with UAE retailer

Musgrave has agreed a significant new supply partnership with Choithrams, a leading retailer with over 40 stores across the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The agreement will see Musgrave supply Choithrams with more than 500 products from its SuperValu own brand range alongside other Irish brands and products from SuperValu’s Food Academy programme, which operates in partnership with Bord Bia and the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) network. The SuperValu Food Academy programme helps small businesses through the journey from start up to getting their products onto shelves. Choithrams customers can expect to see brands including The Happy Pear, which started out in Food Academy, on shelves soon.

The new partnership represents a meaningful expansion of Musgrave’s presence in the Gulf and comes following the Company’s announcement last year that 250 SuperValu products were available across the UAE on noon Grocery, the Middle East’s largest online grocery marketplace and noon.com’s dedicated fresh grocery platform.

Commenting as the announcement was made at the Gulfood Conference in Dubai, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue, T.D. said: “Tremendous progress has been made in recent years in expanding the reach of Irish food to consumers across the globe. Global demand for Irish produce continues to grow thanks to its outstanding quality and the dedicated efforts of Bord Bia and the initiative of successful home-grown companies such as Musgrave.”

Noel Keeley, Musgrave CEO, said: “As Ireland’s leading food retail and wholesale business we have built a robust and reliable supply chain, which enables us to deliver much-loved Irish products to markets around the world. Our international export offer includes more than 14,000 own brand product lines for grocery and wholesale, from high quality fresh, chilled and frozen foods to dried food. This new partnership with Choithrams is a superb opportunity for Musgrave to continue strategically expanding our presence in the Middle East. We look forward to offering customers the great value, premium quality produce which SuperValu is renowned for.”

Choithrams CEO, Rajiv Warrier, commenting on the agreement, said: “This deal will see Musgrave supply Choithrams with more than 500 of its SuperValu own brand range products, as well as a number of other Irish brands. We have always been inspired by how passionate Irish people are about their heritage and their food. With Musgrave, we found a partner that we have perfect synergy with. This is a great opportunity to get the best of Irish food onto the supermarket shelves of Choithrams.”

Liam Hyland, Director of Export and International Trade at Musgrave added: “Choithrams is one of the leading retailers in the UAE and this deal means we can look forward to seeing SuperValu own brand and other Irish products in all corners of the Gulf market. Musgrave has always been a huge supporter of small local producers. Some 75 per cent of all our goods are sourced in Ireland and more than 1,800 local food producers and suppliers are supported by SuperValu. We’re immensely proud to work with so many local, Irish producers and we’re delighted to be able to offer them access to a wider global market of potential customers.”

Shane Hamill, Bord Bia’s Regional Manager for Asia, Middle East, Africa and Russia commented: “Irish produce is known for its premium quality and provenance and sustainability credentials. This new agreement opens a world of possibilities for Irish suppliers and producers who will now have a further new avenue to sell their products to a growing international market. I’d like to congratulate Musgrave and Choithrams on this new partnership. I have no doubt that it will be a success for both companies and, importantly, for Irish producers.”

Caption: Liam Hyland, Director of Export and International Trade at Musgrave, Kirti Meghnani, Procurement Manager, Choitrams, Rajiv Warrier, CEO Choitrams, Brendan Gleeson, Secretary General at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Noel Keeley, CEO of Musgrave, Ashutosh Arun Chakradeo, Head of Retail Choitrams.