The journey to launching Guinness 0.0 has drawn on Guinness’s proud 261 year history of innovation and brewing brilliance dating from 1759. A commitment to retaining the distinct character and taste of Guinness was central to the four year process led by the technical and innovation teams at St. James’s Gate, the Home of Guinness.

To create Guinness 0.0 the St James’s Gate brewers start by brewing Guinness exactly as they always have, using the same natural ingredients; water, barley, hops and yeast; before gently removing the alcohol through a cold filtration method. The cold filtration process allows the alcohol to be filtered out without presenting thermal stress to the beer, protecting the integrity of its taste and character. The brewers then carefully blend and balance the flavours to ensure the distinctive flavour profile and taste characteristics of Guinness.

The resulting product is a stout that is unmistakably Guinness, just without the alcohol, featuring the same dark, ruby red liquid and creamy head, hints of chocolate and coffee, smoothly balanced with bitter, sweet and roasted notes. In taste tests by an independent panel, they found that Guinness 0.0 ‘exceeded expectations’ with its taste lauded as ‘outstanding’*.

Gráinne Wafer, Global Brand Director, Guinness said: “This is an exceptional day for Guinness, as we finally reveal Guinness 0.0. The launch of Guinness 0.0 highlights our long-held commitment to innovation, experimentation, and bravery in brewing, harnessing the power of our brewers and our ingredients, to create an alcohol-free beer that is 100% Guinness but 0% alcohol.

“We know people want to be able to enjoy a Guinness when they choose not to drink alcohol without compromising on taste, and with Guinness 0.0 we believe they will be able to do exactly that.”

Aisling Ryan, Innovation Brewer at St James’s Gate said: “Guinness has always had an unwavering commitment to quality and our entire brewing team is hugely proud of the care and effort that has been put into the four year development process for Guinness 0.0. We have created a taste experience that we believe is truly unrivalled in the world of non-alcoholic beer and we can’t wait for people to finally be able to try it!” 

Guinness 0.0 is also a low-calorie option for those choosing to moderate, with only 16 calories per 100ml. This means a standard can of alcohol-free Guinness 0.0 contains just 80 calories.

Guinness 0.0 is brewed at St. James’s Gate in Dublin, the Home of Guinness and will be rolled out in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Guinness 0.0 will be available in 500 ml can format in off-licences and supermarkets from November 2020 at a RRP of £4.50 for a 4-pack and will be available in pubs across the UK and Republic of Ireland from Spring 2021 and available in more markets throughout the world later in 2021.

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No, this isn’t just a bunch of hocus pocus –  Circle K has introduced the Black Jack Burger to its menu just in time for Halloween. The Black Jack Burger is a succulent beef burger served in a delicious charcoal-coloured bun and on a bed of greens with a crunchy tomato, mouth-watering cheese and tasty ketchup.

The burger, perfect for all ghosts and ghouls, is available until Halloween on Circle K’s new Deli menu, which is now in all stores with a deli offering across its company owned network.

This eerie addition is only available to try this month, so don’t miss out! To find your nearest Circle K deli site, visit www.circlek.ie/service-station/site-locator/

 For more information on Circle K’s food ranges, visit www.circlek.ie, Circle K Ireland on Facebook or @circlekireland on Twitter and Instagram.

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When living in the state of flux caused by Covid-19, one thing we all desire in our lives is certainty. But, with the recent publishing of the Government’s new ‘Living with Covid-19’ five level plan and the potential of continued regional lockdowns, it seems clear that the return to travelling, socialising and eating when and where we want is still some time away.

However, when it comes to sustenance on-the-go, the one thing that has, and will remain a constant through all of this is convenience retail and the provision of breakfast, lunch and all-day hot snacking options for people on the move. According to research1 of 1,000 adults commissioned by Circle K, 58% of Irish people continued eating on-the-go since Covid-19 interrupted our lives, and over a quarter (26%) buy ready-made meals from a convenience retailer at least once a week.

Forecourts are a key aspect of Ireland’s convenience retail sector but almost half (48%) of Irish people think that there is a lack of food options to choose from at the forecourt. Overall, 60% felt they were compromising their food preferences when choosing to eat on-the-go. When asked to rank what was most important to them when choosing food on-the-go, the majority (28%) of people said taste, 25% said quality, 14% said value, 10% said convenience and 7% said choice.

Circle K set out to challenge these perceptions and deliver upon the public demand for quality, choice, taste, value and convenience, and in response has just launched its new ‘Grab and Go’ range that significantly ups the game in the forecourt food market.

Grab and Go

Circle K’s new offering represents the tastiest and highest quality food range it has ever produced. With a huge choice of new convenient ready-made sandwich and baguette options including a Southern Fried Chicken and Cheese Baguette, Cajun Chicken Baguette and tasty salad products, lunch and all-day hot snacking for people on the move has reached great new heights.

In addition to the ready-made options, Circle K has also added new items to its hugely popular breakfast range. Joining the breakfast range line up is several delicious meals such as Sausage or Egg and Bacon on a Brioche Bun, a Breakfast Muffin complete with Ballymaloe Relish, a Veggie Omelette Bagel and a tasty Breakfast Baguette, garnished with a sauce of your choice and served on sourdough bread.

A firm favourite, Circle K’s selection of Irish, Gourmet Chilli, BLT and French hot dogs – all made from the same high-quality ingredients and toppings – are also available in sites nationwide as part of the new Grab and Go offer.

Judy Glover, Senior Market Director, Circle K Ireland commented on the new food range: “At Circle K, we strive to make our customers lives easier every day and have been listening to what consumers want from food options while on the go: taste, high quality, great value, excellent choice and convenient access. We have developed a new ‘grab and go’ range that delivers on these needs, is consistent at all sites and will assure consumers that they do not need to compromise on their food preferences when they opt for a lunch or hot snack on the go.

One of the busiest times in-store is at the start of the day, when our customers stop by our sites to look for morning fuel, both for their vehicle and for themselves.

Research shows that while people are buying food while ‘on the go’ in convenience retailers regularly, when it comes to forecourt food, there is a perception amongst many that there is a lack of quality and taste in what’s available. Our new breakfast range has products to satisfy the morning cravings of any food connoisseur and make sure that no one feels they must miss out on the most important meal of the day”.

Circle K’s new ‘grab and go’ food, gourmet hot dogs and breakfast range are available to purchase at select sites across its company owned network.

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The Müller in the UK is to consolidate its FRijj brand into another trading division from the start of next year.

Leverage

The business has said the move enables it to leverage its full brand building, product development and marketing capabilities to fuel the product’s growth in the branded milk drinks category”.

Müller says it has significantly improved the FRijj proposition but its primary focus is on excellence in private label milk, flavoured milk, cream, butter and ingredients.

Bergen Merey, chief executive of Müller Yogurt & Desserts, added: “This move will allow FRijj to benefit from our first-class marketing and product development capabilities.

Taste to life

“Our purpose is to add taste to life for consumers, and we see a real opportunity to do exactly that. Retailers are unlocking more space in store for milk drinks, and over half of the UK population is still to access and enjoy this category.

“There’s an opportunity here, and we’re excited to grow our presence in the branded milk sector.”

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The donuts are already available across 41 Spar, Eurospar, Mace, and Londis stores, with plans to roll them out across a further 96 stores.

The pre-packaged donuts will include four flavours:

Boston Kreme – A classic Dunkin’ donut variety filled with Bavarian cream filling and topped with chocolate icing.
Cocoa Hazelnut – A premium donut filled with delicious cocoa hazelnut filling and topped with rich cocoa icing and candy pieces.
Strawberry Sprinkle – A premium ring donut filled with strawberry jam filling and topped with sweet pink icing and rainbow sprinkles.
Cheesecake Crumble – A premium ring donut filled with decadent cheesecake-flavored filling, topped with sweet white icing and cake crumble.

“As we continue Dunkin’s strategic CPG expansion across Europe, we’re thrilled to offer our delicious donuts to consumers in Ireland,” said Caner Gursoy, Dunkin’ Brands’ regional vice president, Europe, Middle East, and Africa. “We’re excited to work with BWG Foods, one of the leading retail groups in the country, to offer pre-packaged assortments of our premium donuts to their customers.”

“We’re very proud to make the iconic Dunkin’ brand easily accessible to our shoppers across Ireland. The pre-packaged assortment of Dunkin’ donuts that we will be offering are delicious additions to our extensive product range,” said Simon Marriott, trading director, BWG Foods. “We are thrilled to bring these beloved treats to the Irish market and are confident that they will resonate strongly with our customers.”

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