Award Winning Passion for Food
The Butler’s Pantry goes from Strength to Strength
You might be forgiven for assuming that Irish people have only recently embraced Real Food, Slow Food, organic food….
In fact, food lovers have been enjoying really good food for nearly 20 years now, as prepared by The Butler’s Pantry, Ireland’s first producer of prepared gourmet foods, and still the market leader.
This week’s announcement that the Butler’s Pantry won the Small Business award at the inaugural Bord Bia Food & Drink Industry Awards comes on top of a string of other awards and accolades showered on the company founded in 1987. Eileen Bergin, founder of The Butler’s Pantry continues to promote the winning formula of delicious food naturally.
This most recent recognition of The Butler’s Pantry’s success from Bord Bia came as the company “demonstrated sustainability, product and marketing innovation and a planned approach to the development of the business”, according to the citation at the Awards announcement.
The Butler’s Pantry continues to go from strength to strength. It sells its range of hand prepared gourmet products these days in its own three shops, as well as through selected Superquinn and Super Valu outlets and 14 other specialist foodstores.
Sales have grown by over 20% in each of the past three years. Trends for the current year to date are very positive and management expects similar sales growth to be achieved.
The product range of both fresh and frozen food, based on seasonal ingredients is expanding. It has recently been extended to cater for commuters and other early risers with the introduction of delicious artisan breads, fine desserts and pastries.
The Butler’s Pantry has just launched its summer product range with completely new packaging.
Eileen Bergin said: “We carried out extensive customer and market research last year which has led to a new focus on developing the brand. There is enormous potential for us to grow the business and build on the reputation built up for top quality product. The research found that we needed to refresh the image through our packaging, in order to reinforce and develop the brand. On top of that, new trends mean that even more information about ingredients and cooking methods were needed. The new packaging responds to the needs of customers and is also part of our new brand strategy to help us take the business on to the next stage of growth”
The business has grown year on year in terms of both turnover and customer base. Almost 120,000 people buy something directly from The Butler’s Pantry shops every year, in addition to the purchases from independent retailers.
When Eileen Bergin opened the business in 1987, she was producing 10 meals a day. Today, The Butler’s Pantry chefs produce over 1,000 meals a day – and every one by hand!
The growth of the business reflects the changes in Irish society over the past 16 years. “The market for fresh, ready-to-eat meals has grown phenomenally, reflecting both increased affluence, more discerning tastes in food and, importantly, our ever more busy lives.”, says Director Jacquie Marsh.
Recent research estimates that the Irish market for all ready meals is now worth nearly 230 million euro per annum. With 65% of people not knowing at 4pm what they will eat for dinner that same evening, the future looks bright for The Butler’s Pantry. The market leader remains far ahead of its competitors, benefiting from a loyal customer base and an enviable reputation for the quality of its food.
In addition to the convenience and time-saving factors, The Butler’s Pantry offers the opportunity to treat oneself to really good food at home.
Future development for the business includes the opening of a fourth shop in Dublin, plans for regional expansion outside Dublin, exploiting online opportunities and new wholesale and retail distribution channels. Its two joint owners plan that The Butler’s Pantry will grow to become the leading gourmet food producer and retailer in Ireland over the next couple of years.
Eileen Bergin’s unswerving commitment to the business promise of “delicious food naturally” – is backed up a very strong team of 32 dedicated professionals working in The Butler’s Pantry. Most have been with the company for several years – there are even 3 generations of the same family employed in the Dublin shops!!
Future success will still draw on that core value of commitment to excellence in quality and to delivering customer satisfaction.
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