SuperValu producers triumph at 2023 Blas na hÉireann Awards with 94 wins
SuperValu celebrating another "stellar year" at the prestigious Blas na hÉireann awards
Print2 October 2023
Producers of SuperValu, Ireland’s largest grocery retailer, took home a remarkable 94 Blás Na hÉireann awards at the awards ceremony yesterday in another winning year for the retailer and its local producers.
SuperValu Own Brand and its Food Academy producers picked up a huge total of 94 awards – winning 26 Gold, 24 Silver, 30 Bronze, five Chef Larder and nine speciality awards.
SuperValu Signature Tastes won five Gold awards: highlighting the exemplary quality across the top-tier range.
The latest results bring the total number of awards won by SuperValu and its suppliers over the last three years up to an incredible 303 awards across SuperValu Own Brand, SuperValu Signature Tastes, Food Academy, and The Happy Pear.
Considered to be the ‘Oscars of the Food World’, the prestigious Blas na hÉireann awards celebrate and reward the very best tasting Irish food and drink products, and the passionate, committed producers who produce them.
SuperValu award winners included a prestigious ‘Chef’s Larder’ award, won by Oliver Carty for its Signature Tastes Hampshire Easy Carve Gammon. Food Academy producers took home four of the highly coveted Chef’s Larder awards; including Cherry Orchard Community Garden’s Mixed Salad Leaves, Clonmore Farm’s Mixed Salad Leaves, Dainty Greens Microgreens Medley, and Roll It Pastry’s All Butter Puff Pastry.
The highly regarded Chef’s Larder title is awarded for ingredients, specialist products or recipe staples that a chef would find to be a valuable part of their larder. Another key highlight was for SuperValu Food Academy producer Achill Island Sea Salt, taking home the ‘Best New Product’ for Achill Island Sea Salted Nougat with Cashew Nuts.
And the good news didn’t stop there for SuperValu! SuperValu Signature Tastes & Own Brand took home a total of 10 Gold awards including SuperValu Natural Kefir of Clóna Dairy Products Ltd, a West Cork based manufacturer of 100% Irish fresh milk and cream products and SuperValu Rapeseed Oil of Newgrange Gold.
Also included in the Gold award line up was SuperValu Signature Tastes Irish Hampshire Smoked Rack of Bacon (exclusive to SuperValu), produced by Oliver Carty. The business is owned and run by Ted Carty, whose foresight, innovation, and love of the business has brought Oliver Carty to where it is today, one of Ireland largest pork and bacon producers.
It was also another successful year for SuperValu’s Food Academy producers who picked up 48 awards – 13 Gold, 8 Silver, 14 Bronze, four Chef’s Larder, one Best New Product and 8 Best in County; including one Gold award for Ballykilcavan Brewing for its Blackwell Irish Stout.
David and Lisa Walsh-Kemmis established Ballykilcavan Brewing Company on their family’s historic farm in 2016, spanning 13 generations since 1639. They founded an on-farm brewery sourcing 100% of barley from the estate and introduced hop gardens while committing to sustainability and maintaining their Origin Green Sustainability status for 2023.
“2023 has been another stellar year for SuperValu at the prestigious Blas na hÉireann awards,” said Ian Allen, managing director, SuperValu.
“We are incredibly proud of our local producers as they receive the recognition they deserve. SuperValu has been supporting sustainable Irish food and drink producers for many years now, helping to deliver a more sustainable range for our customers as well as creating jobs within our communities,” he added.
“Along with supporting sustainable food producers we are committed to helping our customers make sustainable choices. We recently launched our ‘Local Action, Global Impact’ initiative which showcases the small actions we can all take to make a global impact. Local Irish producers are certainly making an impact. This was another fantastic, award-winning year for our producers, and we are incredibly proud of our local producers as they receive the recognition they deserve.”
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