Oakpark Foods, owned by the Callan-based Brett Group, won a gold medal at the annual own label food and drink awards last week in London.
The value-added pork and bacon processor, which is based in Cahir, won the top award in the chilled bacon category for its dry cure rashers, which are sold by Lidl. It beat entries from all major UK retailers.
Over 750 own label products were entered in the competition, which is organised by The Grocer magazine. Oakpark rashers was the only Irish-manufactured product to receive a gold medal. All products were subject to 16 weeks of consumer research and finalists were assessed by a judging panel of food scientists, chefs and food journalists.
Speaking in London after receiving the award, Oakpark managing director Jimmy Brett said this major international honour was testament to the innovativeness and professionalism of the company’s 50 staff and their dedication to the highest standards of excellence.
“It will be of huge benefit to our export drive into Britain, where Oakpark has already established itself as a key supplier to Lidl stores,” he said.
Oakpark Foods is an integral part of the family-run Brett Group, which was established in 1940. With facilities in Callan and Windgap and in Ardfinnan in Tipperary, the agribusiness and food company is involved in supplying seed grain and agronomy services to tillage farmers as well as grain purchase and manufacture and supply of animal feed to dairy, beef and pig farms, including its own pig units.
This integrated production system ensures unique control over the Oakpark pork and bacon product range from farm to fork.
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Print this pageSource: www.kilkennypeople.ie
Tesco troubles mount as overseas restrictions hinder hypermarkets - scotsman.com
TESCO’S troubles appear to be spreading to its overseas operations, adding pressure on chief executive Phil Clarke’s turnaround plan.
The supermarket giant unveils first quarter trading figures tomorrow, and Eurozone financial turmoil and recession will see the City spotlight swing to difficult overseas markets following problems in its core UK patch.
Caroline Gulliver at broker Espirito said: “A fundamental issue for Tesco is that it has reached maturity in eastern Europe for hypermarkets. Now it is just adding smaller stores. This is disappointing [for the market] because Tesco has been seen as an emerging market growth story over the past decade.
“But the group obviously now feels there is less potential in the region for more big box hypermarkets.”
Darren Shirley, food retailing specialist at Shore Capital, said Tesco is also likely to have been hit by recent changes in key markets such as the Czech Republic and South Korea.
“There have been regulatory changes in South Korea, with hypermarkets having to close two days a month to protect small shops. Those restrictions on Tesco’s opening hours are likely to have had a negative effect,” Shirley said.
He added that an increase in VAT in the Czech Republic earlier this year was also likely “to have had an impact” on Britain’s biggest supermarket group, while trading at its Irish operations was almost certain to have been weak.
The depressed picture at Tesco’s lossmaking US subsidiary Fresh & Easy is also unlikely to have improved.
Unveiling a further £153m loss at the chain during the group’s annual results in April, Clarke pushed back Fresh & Easy’s break-even target of 2012-13 to an unspecified date.
Back in the UK, which accounts for 70 per cent of Tesco’s profits, same-floorspace sales are expected to have fallen again.
Tesco stunned the market in January with its first profit warning in decades after like-for-like UK sales fell 2.3 per cent over the Christmas period, followed by a 1.6 per cent fall in the final quarter of its financial year to the end of February.
Shirley said he expected a “modest worsening” in UK like-for-like sales of “minus 1 to minus 2 per cent, probably towards the higher end of that range.
“March, April and May has not been an easy quarter, with the weather being shocking in April and up against tough comparatives in the previous April when the weather was very hot,” Shirley said.
Gulliver at Espirito Santo said she expected a fall of 1.5 per cent in same-floorspace sales at Tesco.
Clarke, posting annual profits up 1.6 per cent to £3.9 billion in April, revealed that the group’s turnaround plan was likely to involve opening 40 per cent less space this year, recruiting 8,000 extra staff in its UK stores and spending £500,000 on improving the appearance of 400 of the group’s outlets.
Source: www.scotsman.com
Capital FM Summertime Ball live celebrity updates! - Daily Mirror
We're at the Capital FM Summertime Ball at Wembley Stadium getting all the news from the performers, presenters and celebrity sightseers as it happens.
Coldplay have already stormed through their set, but we've still got Katy Perry, Example, Flo Rida, Cheryl Cole, Jessie J, Justin Bieber, Usher and more to look forward to.
Follow our live updates below in both our gallery of pictures and blog...
Live updates!
21:53 Sorry Katy Perry but it's hometime for me. Too hungover to function any longer. Sleep seriously needed. Bye bye Capital Summertime Ball for another year!
21:42 Carly Rae Jepsen currently on stage at the Capital Summertime Ball as Justin Bieber's surprise guest
20:56 Cheryl has just revealed her next single will either be Under The Sun or Screw You. Says she will now be bollocked for revealing that!
20:50 Check out Cheryl Cole in the backstage press area at the Summertime Ball. Looking pretty in peach! Cheryl says she has a massive girl crush on Katy Perry. Says the buzz from the Summertime Ball makes her want to go on tour! Cheryl reveals she was wearing Pam Hogg couture on stage at
20:40 So Dizzee Rascal took a posed pic of Cheryl Cole on his mobile. Says he's going to keep it for a "late night session". I bet! That was a posed pic of Cheryl on her own as well as the one Dizzee tweeted earlier of the pair together! She looked tiny in it
20:35 Usher in the Summertime Ball press room backstage, talking about Beiber being a smart businessman
20.28 Apparently Cheryl Cole is going to chat to us backstage at 9pm! Whoop. Usher is coming in about 5mins
20:20 Just heard that Justin Bieber got stuck in a lift for 15 MINUTES. Oopsy!
20:10 Cheryl Cole may have only performed one song but you so know it's the Summertime Ball performance everyone will be talking about. With 12 dancers. She sounded impeccable while showing off her fierce dance moves!
20:08 Cheryl's bum looks amazing in her Joseph and her technicolour catsuit! Pink confetti raining down. Check out the pink confetti raining down on Cheryl Cole!
20:04 Cheryl Cole takes to the stage in multi-coloured bodysuit, as the surprise act.
17:20 The Wanted's Jay McGuiness sounds like he's formed an unlikely bromance with Stevie Wonder.
When the boyband were on their most recent trip to the States they had an encounter with the R&B ledge at the Billboard Music Awards.
Speaking at the Capital FM Summertime Ball he said:
"Stevie said he'd heard of us and that was good enough for me. The highlight of the trip for me was that I got to hold his hand. It wasn't in a romantic way - just when we were having the pictures taken. We'd love to sort out a collaboration."
17:28 LAWSON short....
It seems that hot new boyband Lawson have already been acquired some crazier than average fans.
The When She Was Mine singers found that a female fan of theirs was sending out death threats on Twitter to other fans.
Frontman Andy Brown said: "Our fans are so forward. We were on tour and came back out to our bus to find it was covered in lipstick and filthy messages about what they would do to us. It was really dark and unrepeatable.
"One of the fans was sending death threats to our other fans which was quite bad. It had turned in to a competition to see us first. She was saying that she would smash the face in of anyone that saw us before her.
"We wouldn't ever date a fan because it's a bit like Blind Date and you don't know what you'd end up with." A restraining order by the sounds of it!
17:35 Ladies, start queuing for Capital FM Breakfast presenter Dave Berry now.
Lisa Snowdon has done him no end of favours after bigging up her co-host in more ways than one.
She giggled backstage: "I can't concentrate...I've just seen Dave get changed backstage and his package is enormous! It is the biggest package....ever!
"It has got me really flustered. We have worked together for a while now but it was the first time I've ever seen him with his pants down in the changing room.
"We are talking Micheal Fassbender proportions. It's not very ladylike of me to say but I know it will excite everyone."
Start forming an orderly queue now! love to sort out a collaboration."
Source: www.mirror.co.uk
Justin Bieber demands Union flag cushions at Wembley - Sunday People
Source: www.people.co.uk
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