Supporting Irish producers
Food Academy is a flagship programme, run in conjunction with our market-leading brand SuperValu, with Board Bia and the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), that gives small producers a big chance to break into the food retail space.
At Musgrave we are passionate about local produce and family-run businesses. Food Academy is a programme that champions both, giving independent local producers a chance to bring their product to the mass market. Through our 11 food and drink brands, we support thousands of suppliers from across the island of Ireland, but Food Academy is unique in helping smaller, start-up producers get their big break.
Now in its eighth year, Food Academy is a food business development programme, a partnership between SuperValu, Bord Bia and the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs). Participants receive training in food safety, market research and branding, marketing, finance, sustainability and business development. The programme currently supports 290 Irish food and drink producers, often family-run businesses, making their products available 52 weeks of the year in their local SuperValu stores.
The value for our business is in providing unique, artisan and local produce to shoppers who value produce with provenance. Great quality and taste is synonymous with Irish food and drink and the Food Academy programme shines a spotlight on the great food businesses around the county.
Find out more
Five Food Academy producers to be showcased in SuperValu stores nationwide
Five local Irish food producers have been chosen from 290 Food Academy suppliers and will be showcased in SuperValu stores nationwide over a three-week periodInspired by the wild Beara Peninsula
Beara Gin was inspired by the landscape around where its producers live in West Cork, where the mountain meets the sea at the Peninsula of Beara. Producers Eileen Brennan and her brother John Power wanted to create a unique gin that captured the essence of the area by taking local botanicals and infusing them into their craft gin, including fuchsia and local seaweed. The aim of the business is to build a portfolio of quality spirits that will please the palate of everyone who experiences them, leaving a memorable experience that it is reflective of their home on the much-celebrated Wild Atlantic Way.
Gourmet crisps from Killeagh, East Cork
The delicious vegetable crisps from Joe’s Farm Crisps are a real family affair, grown on the family farm, harvested and cooked on site. The beetroot, parsnips and potatoes are grown on the farm in East Cork, they are picked in the morning, and cooked in the same day for a fresh flavour. Farm-fresh vegetables are cooked in sunflower oil, dehydrated and bagged from hand. Apart from a light dusting of Achill Island Sea Salt, there are no additives or preservatives. For the more traditionally minded, Joe’s Farm Crisps also feature a potato crisp option that features three potato varieties, including a purple coloured potato.
