LIDL Ireland spent an estimated €6 million on Limerick agri-food products last year, according to the retailer’s latest Supplier Impact Report.
Lidl’s key Limerick suppliers include Ballyneety-based Ishka who supply the group with spring water and Ballyhoura’s Applewood Farm who have supplied them with a selection of award-winning condiments since 2018.
The €6 million spent on Limerick products was part of an overall €1 billion worth of goods that the group purchased from more than 400 suppliers the Irish agri-food industry last year.
Of that €1 billion, €682 million was sold in Lidl’s Irish outlets and €318 million was exported internationally through Lidl’s network of stores.
At a micro-level, Lidl’s Kickstart Supplier Development Programme supported by Bord Bia, is designed to give small and medium-sized Irish food and drink businesses the opportunity to advance their business with support from Lidl experts along the way.
Now in its seventh year, Lidl has invested more than €7 million in the Kickstart programme to date, empowering hundreds of Irish artisan suppliers to showcase their produce to more than 1.5 million shoppers each week.
Lidl Ireland chief executive JP Scally said that since 2018, they had expanded their product range by more than 40 per cent and tripled their buying team to focus on sourcing as many Irish products as possible.
Bord Bia chief executive Jim O’Toole said that over the past 20 years, Lidl had demonstrated a strong commitment to sourcing Irish produce, giving a wide range of Irish food, drink and horticulture producers access to a large customer base in Ireland as well as export opportunities.
“2022 saw record export growth for the Irish agri-food sector, and strong partnerships with retailers, such as Lidl, are a key factor of that growth,” Mr O’Toole added.
