Irish food group Batchelors has won a contract to supply its Sqeez smoothies to Tesco in the UK, in a deal estimated to be worth up to €1 million in the first year.
The Cabra, Dublin-based group, which already supplies the smoothies to Tesco stores in Ireland, will distribute the drink in 200 Tesco outlets in the UK.
Joe Keane, sales director at Batchelors, welcomed the agreement, saying it showed how having a strong relationship with the local arm of a major retail chain can create an opening to bigger markets. "It is a fantastic development for our business," he said, adding that it was not only a positive endorsement of Batchelors' own business, but also for Irish manufacturing.
Sandra Turner, commercial director at Tesco Ireland, said the Sqeez brand had proved very popular with the company's Irish customers and as a result the group had decided to expand the distribution agreement into the UK.
Tesco currently exports about €420 million worth of food out of Ireland each year, with a large part of it coming from the agricultural sector.
The market for smoothies, which are made up of a combination of fruit juices and puree, has increased over the past decade as consumers have become more conscious of the need to eat healthily. The Sqeez smoothies contain at least 225g of fruit - an amount it claims is equal to 100 per cent of the recommended daily fruit intake. They will be sold in litre packs for refrigeration at home.
Batchelors has been in existence since 1938 and is best known for its baked beans, processed peas and fruit juice, which is also available under the Sqeez brand.
