
SuperValu, Ireland’s leading independent supermarket, has today announced that it has signed a new agreement worth over €335,000 with Dublin based company Uniplumo to supply Poinsettias for the Christmas season. As a result, SuperValu will only stock 100% Irish Poinsettias which will retail at just €3.
The deal is the latest in an established partnership between both companies, worth over €1,250,000 in retail sales and which has seen the volume of Uniplumo’s business with SuperValu increase by 40% over the past three years.
Uniplumo are specialists in the horticulture market, operating from six acres of heated glass houses near Swords, County Dublin. The company now employs 43 fulltime staff and 28 seasonal staff.
Commenting on the announcement, Martin Kelleher, Managing Director, SuperValu said, “We are delighted to show our continued support for Irish suppliers. Our commercial relationship with Uniplumo is another example of our partnership approach with Irish companies where we have been able to work together to grow the business. Poinsettias are extremely popular for Christmas, so we are proud to be in a position to offer exclusively home grown plants to our shoppers. Supervalu’s commitment to investing in local produce guarantees top quality and longevity in our fresh offering.”
Tom Summerville, General Manager, Uniplumo, added, “We are delighted by this announcement which demonstrates an enormous commitment by SuperValu to home grown Poinsettia, and to Irish jobs. Home grown Poinsettia is superior in quality and longevity and is therefore far better value for money by comparison to imported alternatives on offer this Christmas in other supermarkets. This announcement is a very significant development for Uniplumo and we look forward to developing our partnership with SuperValu into the future.”
SuperValu is Ireland’s leading independent food retailer and the only retailer with a store in each county. Supervalu’s commitment to Irish based producers includes sales of over €1 billion worth of fresh Irish food every year. In 2010 the total purchases of Irish goods and services made by SuperValu, was worth over €1.6bn to the Irish economy, serving to both create and protect almost 30,000 Irish jobs in the farm, food and retail sector.