Lidl’s Kickstart Supplier Development Programme is highly competitive and this year more than 45 suppliers across 20 different counties won a coveted spot. Having spent six months getting retail-ready with help from Lidl in-house experts, they will now see their artisan products go on sale at the 222 Lidl stores across the island of Ireland from mid-September. The new range has something for everyone and includes everything from fish and meat delicacies to sweet treats, condiments and beers.
The Kickstart programme has supported more than 250 Irish producers to date and Lidl has invested more than €30 million in bringing their products to its 1.5 million weekly shoppers across Ireland. One success story is that of Galway Roast, the hand-roasted blend of coffee carefully made by owner Niall Murphy, who first became involved in the Lidl Kickstart programme in 2018.
“At that stage I was doing everything by hand – I was roasting coffee but I was using an old-fashioned kitchen weighing scales and things like that,” he says. “It certainly wasn’t retail ready at the time.”
Following an all-important taste test, Lidl invited Murphy to join the programme. “All of a sudden it was a large upscale – we had to get new packaging and get it just right to ensure it was suitable for retail,” he recalls. “At the start it wasn’t an environment that I was used to – everything was relatively new to me; things like barcodes were brand new to me – but they put me in touch with all the right people and really got me on the right path.”
Having been selected as one of the “Best of Ireland” Kickstart promotion products in 2020, the following year Galway Roast – which has recently received a Great Taste award – was given a permanent product listing, meaning it would be available in Lidl stores across the country as part of the retailer’s everyday range.
“It is such a massively proud moment to see the coffee you originally blended in your kitchen on sale in a huge store like Lidl,” Murphy says. “We have been going from strength to strength, but they are still my main customer and they have been such a great support to me at every stage.”
The latest offerings as part of the programme is Rívesci Chilli Catsup, a brand new product from the company founded by Shannon Forrest and her husband, Michelin-trained chef Declan Malone. With their roots in the food-truck business, the pandemic made the couple reconsider their options.
“We decided to change our whole business, close the food truck and start putting some of the elements of our menu in jars and see what happened,” explains Forrest. “There was clearly a demand at the truck – people were asking could they buy things and we knew there was something in this.”
At that point they were still making all their sauces at home but the business slowly took off, and soon outgrew their home kitchen, prompting a move to a commercial kitchen in Thurles.
“Now we are permanently in Clonmel, on the same street I grew up on,” says Forrest. “We have a small cafe and a retail area just outside our production facility.”
Rívesci’s sauces and condiments are mainly stocked in independent stores, but earlier this year they decided to pitch a brand-new product, their Chilli Catsup, to Lidl.
“When I pitched to Lidl in March I thought I was just doing it for pitching experience – never did I think they would say yes,” says Forrest.
Having been accepted on to the Kickstart programme, she admits the experience was a steep learning curve.
“At the time, our jars didn’t even have proper labels because it was a brand-new product for us, but Lidl helped us understand what it takes to get on the shelves in a large supermarket like that,” says Forrest. “They have been phenomenal in terms of encouragement and support – you get to see the humans behind the huge retail machine and they were so friendly and supportive.”
Forrest says she is thrilled to be in such good company with the other Kickstart winners.
“Some brands that are part of Kickstart this year are already really well known across the island and it’s been great to be in the mix with them,” she says. “We have two Lidls here in Clonmel and I can’t wait to go and buy a jar of our sauce and see our name on a Lidl receipt.”
Naked Bakes Cookie Dough for the oven will also grace the shelves of your local Lidl from this month. Winner of a 2023 Gold Blas na hÉireann award in a non-vegan category, the treats just happen to be vegan.
Founder Aisling Tuck explains that, like many a small food business, it had its origins at the family kitchen table.
“I went vegan and noticed there was a gap in the market for really delicious treats that just happened to be vegan,” she says. “My goal was to lead with taste and indulgence as opposed to trying to be really healthy or focusing on what we are not containing.”
She has now grown it from a “side hustle” to a team of 12 people. Winning a place on the Lidl Kickstart programme was a surprise, given she had to make her pitch virtually as she was on holiday at the time.
“I think there was definitely a range gap for a cookie dough,” she says. “I always say to moms, this is the baking without all the mess and the clean up – it’s the fun part.”
The six-month development programme was essential for making the jump to such a big retailer, says Tuck.
“It helps you get set up as a supplier with them because they are such a big company and it means you start off on the right foot,” she says.
Camaraderie among the other producers is also a big bonus of the programme, she adds: “One of the days we met all the other producers, which was so nice. It is great to meet other producers of a similar size and you all share similar challenges. The food industry in Ireland is so friendly and warm and people are so giving with their advice and insights.”
A first for the Lidl Kickstart programme is the inclusion of a pet food item, made from insect protein. Pup Pup Chews was founded by Hayden Smith, who had previously explored using insect protein in food products for humans.
“During the pandemic, we got a puppy that was very fussy,” he explains. “We started using insect protein for him and discovered it was not only good for the environment, but for the dog too. The more research we did, we realised how many pets had all these allergies – food allergies – and how much bad stuff is in some of the traditional dog food products on the market, and we found a local organic manufacturer that shared the same principles as us.”
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Market research showed that dogs loved the product and its taste, “but we decided to develop an emotionally calming product using the protein, so that it would look after their emotional wellbeing as well,” says Smith.
The business tries to everything as sustainably as possible, Smith adds. However, he admits that, although some other countries are further down the road of using insect protein, such an innovative product had a tricky journey to Irish supermarket shelves.
“We have had such trouble bringing it to the market – it was such a new thing that no one really knew the rules and regulations,” he recalls.
The Lidl Kickstart programme has been invaluable, Smith adds. “When you are just a small business and you are trying to enter the market you hit a lot of hurdles but [Lidl] have been really helpful,” he says.
“They have helped us understand market research trends and organised sustainability workshops, as well as the back-end stuff such as invoicing. It’s great to work with them as they tick a lot of the same boxes we do in terms of supporting local and sustainability.”
From September 19th, Lidl’s new range of Kickstart products will hit shelves across the retailer’s 222 stores nationwide and will be available for a limited time only, while stocks last