Irish food and drinks companies have been advised to target the fastest-growing area of the retail sector in Britain - convenience stores - with their products.
A seminar organised by An Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, was told that the convenience sector in the UK had been far outstripping the grocery sector in terms of growth in recent years and had grown to be a market worth in excess of £20 billion annually.
Mr Michael Duffy, chief executive of Bord Bia, said that the convenience retail market was the one sector in the UK grocery market which was growing and generating excitement, having outperformed the general grocery market over the past five years.
"It is estimated that by 2006 the convenience retail sector will be worth in the region of £23 billion to £25 billion, a significant increase from the valuation of £20 billion this year.
Clearly, this growth can only be viewed as positive for Irish food and drinks suppliers, as it affords them many opportunities to develop and expand their products in this dynamic market," he said.
The exporters were told that there were many definitions of a convenience store. However, the Institute of Grocery Distribution in the UK had defined them as stores of less than 3,000 sq ft, which enabled consumers to buy their goods locally at most hours of the day.
Offering an appropriate range of products was central to creating an effective convenience solution for the consumer and a group of 15 product categories had been identified as being essential to this.
These were confectionery, salty snacks, soft drinks, alcohol, household essentials, bread, fresh/chilled dairy products, packaged groceries, sandwiches, fast foods, health and beauty, newspapers and magazines, pet care, batteries and tobacco.
The exporters were told that unless a store sold at least seven out of these core 15 products it would not qualify as a true "convenience" store.
The sector offered Irish suppliers a range of different opportunities. For example, Irish suppliers would find it easier to access and service the market since it was now using central distribution methods; the move of the major multiples into convenience formats offered Irish suppliers opportunities to target these multiple retailers specifically by store formats; and Irish own-label suppliers should be able to capitalise on the introduction of established supermarket own-label products.