Starting with a quality bean-to-cup offering through its retail network, BWG Foods will also develop Brevato as a store-in-store offering with baristas in convenience stores, and as a stand-alone café offering, bringing the whole Brevato experience to consumers.

The first in-store Brevato offering has been launched in SPAR IFSC and the first standalone café is set to open nearby in Dublin City Centre over the coming months.

BWG Foods has been an innovator and leader in coffee in convenience for over two decades, working closely and collaboratively with high profile coffee partners including Bewley’s and Insomnia. With the continued growth and popularity of coffee both in convenience and in the stand-alone café space, BWG Foods is ideally positioned to drive and innovate this new offering in partnership with its retailers.

The Brevato range has been developed to offer a broad range of coffee choices, blending exceptional quality normally associated with speciality coffees and convenience together. The development of the new coffee offering has been guided by the latest trends, with a wide range of standard, oat, and iced coffees available as part of the Brevato range.

Brevato is targeted at coffee consumers who don’t want to compromise taste for convenience, promising an enhanced coffee experience. The design of the brand is bright, vibrant, and uplifting, aimed at creating an elevated coffee experience.

Simon Marriott, BWG’s Chief Retail and Commercial Officer said:  “BWG Foods is more focussed than ever before on driving the latest food and beverage innovations in collaboration with our retail partners across SPAR, EUROSPAR, MACE and Londis. The Brevato brand and coffee offering has been developed to offer consumers an enhanced experience in a convenient setting, and we will now look to build it into one of Ireland’s leading coffee brands.”

Niamh Preston, BWG Foods’ recently appointed Category and Innovation Director, will oversee the roll out of BWG’s new company owned coffee brand.

Brevato is proud to be Rainforest Alliance Certified, which is an official seal of approval that demonstrates that Brevato’s coffee farming partners meet high environmental, social and economic sustainability standards, helping to improve the lives of farmers, whilst promoting workers’ well-being and strengthening the rights of rural communities.

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Retail chain and wholesaler Musgrave said they were in constant contact with suppliers, and have a robust and resilient domestic and international supply chain.

A spokesperson told the Sunday Independent: We are working with suppliers to understand the impacts of the war in Ukraine, and our focus remains to ensure our customers continue to have access to their favourite ranges.

“We are confident that with 75% of all our goods being sourced in Ireland, we can continue to deliver the best value and quality Irish products for our customers during this uncertain time.”

The SuperValu owner also said it previously stocked a “very limited” number of Russian manufactured products and decided to discontinue them.

BWG Foods also said it had decided to cease the supply of products from Russia. It sourced a limited supply.

The Eurospar owner also said it was “engaging proactively and regularly” with many of its suppliers since the beginning of the conflict to determine the impact on food supply chains.

“Inflationary trends have been prevalent for several months now – however the combination of sanctions imposed on Russia and paralysed production in Ukraine, with both countries ranking amongst the world’s largest agricultural producers and exporters, is causing a surge in some food prices globally,” said Simon Marriott, chief operations officer of BWG.

“Our own supply chain in BWG Foods remains robust, and we do not expect any material impact on supplies, however some suppliers will undoubtedly seek to increase prices as a means of accounting for their higher input costs, and this will have implications for the wider grocery sector and also the
foodservice sector too.”

Lidl Ireland also said it is in constant contact with its suppliers to discuss sourcing or supply chain challenges, be that “other external factors such as the war in Ukraine” or inflationary pressure. However, it added that it was “difficult to predict” the war’s impact.

Aldi Ireland group managing director Niall O’Connor said the supermarket had been working hard to ensure its customers were protected from any inflationary pressures.

“Our buying teams are working very closely with our suppliers to ensure that there is minimal disruption to our supply chain so that our customers across the country have access to all the food and provisions they need.

“Aldi will continue to do everything to shield our customers from price increases as much as possible.”

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More than 1,000 independent retailers from the across the country attended Ireland’s largest virtual retail trade event hosted by leading grocery retail and wholesale group, BWG Foods earlier in July – with record breaking sales generated for exhibiting suppliers. Reflecting the continued reopening of the economy and a significant increase in staycation activity across the country, food and beverage products in impulse categories were among the strongest performers across the two days.  Suppliers that secured a significant uplift in sales versus last year included Innocent Drinks (+63%), Suntory (+50%), Coca-Cola (+31%) and Tayto Snacks (+24%).

Over 200 indigenous and multinational suppliers, spanning categories including health and wellness, fresh food, pre-prepared meals, chilled produce, beverages and confectionary, received exclusive access to the largest grouping of retailers in Ireland – representing over 1,000 retail stores across the SPAR, EUROSPAR, MACE, Londis and XL retail brands.

BWG Foods first established what has become the largest food industry event of its kind in 2010, and last year hosted the event virtually for the first time due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Managed by video-conferencing tools, suppliers delivered 25 presentations and seminars that generated record sales via a purpose-built online purchasing platform.

Speaking about the success of the BWG Trade Show, Simon Marriott, Chief Operations Officer, BWG Foods, said “When we first held the BWG Foods Trade Show, we were in a period of economic uncertainty and now, 11 years later, we are once again faced with an uncertain environment due to Covid-19. We feel strongly that new ways of doing business must be embraced as a means of overcoming the current challenges and we’re therefore extremely proud of the overwhelming success of our virtual trading event last week.  We are proud to partner and showcase the incredible Suppliers that operate in the Irish market to our community network of independent retailers across SPAR, EUROSPAR, MACE, Londis and XL and in turn their local shoppers.”

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 Two of Ireland’s most exciting food brands, Fulfil and Mude, have secured potentially highly valuable commercial agreements with SPAR International, as part of the group’s Challenger Brand Programme which connects the SPAR network across the world with pioneering food brands having strong international growth potential.

Through these commercial agreements, Fulfil, based in West Dublin, and Mude, based in County Kildare, will gain access to selected buying teams across the 48 countries in which SPAR operates worldwide. Both brands are already in consultation with SPAR internationally  as part of their new commercial agreements.

Brand Challenger Programme

SPAR International’s Brand Challenger Programme was established in 2019 with the aim of identifying innovative and purpose-driven brands capable of disrupting the food and beverage industry. Through this programme, each of SPAR’s 48 markets globally have the opportunity to nominate extraordinary candidate brands that meet a strict set of criteria.

Fulfil and Mude are the first Irish brands to have secured places in the programme and to obtain international commercial agreements as a result, having been nominated by BWG Foods, owner of SPAR Ireland. Fulfil was selected based on its track record of disrupting the protein bar category through its portfolio of innovative products that prioritise high protein, vitamins, and low sugar. Mude, a carbon neutral beverage company, was selected based on its strong commitment to sustainability and transparency in creating healthy, functional drinks. As a prerequisite, both brands were required to demonstrate their ability to uphold robust supply chains in meeting increased international demand as they continue to expand.

Potential for international growth

Simon Marriott, Chief Operations Officer, BWG Foods said, “From working closely with the teams in Fulfil and Mude and having observed how they have successfully disrupted the Irish market in their respective categories, it’s clear that these brands have significant potential for international growth. Their brand propositions are closely aligned with the wants, needs and expectations of today’s increasingly savvy consumer and I’m delighted that we in BWG Foods have the opportunity to help accelerate their international growth trajectory.

Tobias Wasmuht, CEO of SPAR International added, “Fulfil and Mude fit with SPAR’s goals of introducing innovative, purpose-driven brands with a proven success in one or more markets, to new regions through our international network. These agreements offer a global platform to both companies to replicate their success in Ireland and grow their market presence together with SPAR worldwide.”

Fulfil first listed with BWG Foods in 2016 and experienced phenomenal sales growth, gaining significant market share in the bar category. Fulfil is now on sale in approximately 400 SPAR stores across the country. Mude was first listed with BWG Foods during the pandemic in September 2020 and is projected to experience strong sales growth over the coming summer period.

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