Northern Ireland-based Big Ted’s American Cookies has won its first contracts to supply retailers south of the border.

The company, founded by Californian Ted Jansen in 2006, has started supplying foodservice outlets in the Dublin area including O’Brien’s and Bon Espresso cafés, Fallon and Byrne Food Hall and Dundrum-based Fleming’s Fine Foods.

The deals are the first secured by Big Ted’s outside Northern Ireland, where the firm already supplies around 100 outlets.

“Winning business in the Republic is a huge boost for the company,” said Jansen. “It’s a key element in our growth strategy to develop business throughout Ireland and the UK.”

Turnover at the company has doubled in the past year, thanks to the new deals. Jansen initially came to work in Northern Ireland as a senior manager for a US-owned engineering company. He subsequently identified a gap in the market for American-style cookies and started out by selling them at local farmers’ markets.

Big Ted’s cookies are made by hand and include flavours such as M&Ms, Snickerdoodle and Raspberry Razzler.