Grahams Bakery in Northern Ireland has won a contract to supply its baked goods to a United Arab Emirates (UAE) supermarket giant.
The deal with one of Dubai’s top four multiples means that Grahams will be stocking the supermarket with sponge cakes and pastries.
This is the second Middle Eastern deal made by the Dromore company – the first was in 2014 with Spinneys, in Dubai, which Grahams supplies with a mini-bite range including shortbread biscuits, brownies, Viennese whirls and Swiss rolls.
Tim Graham runs the business, alongside his father Dennis, and sisters Lois and Esther. He explained that family heritage helped the brand to appeal to more traditional countries. He said: “The business was started by my granny 60 years ago and then my dad and my two sisters joined it, and then me. I think that goes across well in the Middle East, where family is still a very strong part of culture.”
He added that on every packet there was a quote from a different member of the family about the products, as they wanted the brand to represent heritage.
He also said food from Ireland was growing in popularity overseas: “People pay a premium because of the taste and because it’s from Ireland or the UK. Northern Ireland internationally is building a reputation for quality and trustworthy food. That means that people will pay a little bit more for it.”
The latest deal is an initial trial for the products, but Graham said he was confident of the deal being secured. The supermarket concerned cannot be identified for commercial reasons.
Grahams already supplies Tesco Northern Ireland.
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