SuperValu producers excel at 2023 Blas na hÉireann Awards with 94 wins

Pictured above: Mari Donelan, Dan Monstro (Food Academy)

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 94 awards – winning 26 Gold, 24 Silver, 30 Bronze, 5 Chef Larder and 9 speciality awards. SuperValu Signature Tastes won 5 Gold awards: highlighting the exemplary quality across the top-tier range. This brings 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 1 prestigious ‘Chef’s Larder’ awards, won by Oliver Carty for their Signature Tastes Hampshire Easy Carve Gammon. Food Academy producers took home 4 of the highly coveted 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. This highly regarded 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.

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, 4 Chefs Larder, 1 Best New Product and 8 Best in County; including 1 Gold award from Ballykilcavan Brewing for their 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. With a dedication to preserving the farm's legacy, each beer is named after a specific location on the farm, showcasing full ingredient traceability and emphasising the unique terroir of Ballykilcavan.

Ian Allen, Managing Director, SuperValu said, “2023 has been another stellar year for SuperValu at the prestigious Blas na hÉireann awards. This year SuperValu took home a total of 94 awards, including 48 awards for our talented Food Academy producers. We are incredibly proud of our local producers as they receive the recognition they deserve. SuperValu has been supporting sustainable Irish Food & Drink producers for many years now, helping to deliver a more sustainable range for our customers as well as creating jobs within our communities. 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.”

Now in its 16th year, the Blas Na hÉireann awards is the biggest annual competition for quality Irish produce across the island of Ireland with thousands of products entered hoping to win Gold, Silver or Bronze Awards across 100 food and drink categories. Achieving such levels of quality remains a priority for SuperValu and the retailer is proud to be recognised for delivering the best taste and quality products for its customers. As Ireland’s largest grocery retailer, SuperValu understands the importance of supporting local and is committed to supporting Irish food producers throughout the country. With SuperValu’s continued success at the awards, winning over 303 accolades in the last three years alone, shows the commitment SuperValu has to the very best quality Irish food.