​​Limavady leader in rapeseed culinary oils wins with Ireland’s top food stores Dunnes

The Co Derry company, which is run by husband and wife team Richard and Leona Kane from their family farm, Broglasco, at Myroe, has secured a deal with Dunnes Stores, the Republic’s biggest food retailer. Leona is managing director of the rapeseed oil operation.

The artisan producer’s award-winning single estate, cold pressed culinary oils will feature under the top retailers Simply Better, a premium range of food and drink, in 142 stores across the island.

Leona, commenting on the deal, the company’s biggest in the Republic, says: “We are really thrilled to be working with Dunnes. They have a wonderful reputation of working closely with small producers. As a result, we are very excited for our future and the sustainability of what we can do going forward.

“The team at Dunnes has been amazing to work with from the very start,” Leona, a rapeseed oil pioneer, adds. “Dunnes has always been on hand to help with the paperwork, their systems and any queries we have had. As with all of our supermarkets, being a small producer is very different than for a larger company with greater resources, especially in terms of administration.

“They were quick to realise that we would need more time to get the first order out due to our smaller bottling line. For Broighter Gold, this is another great partnership. Having our family farm and name in their prestigious Simply Better range of premium foods makes us very proud as a family and a business.”

The orders, Leone continues, are “significant” and have led to the company to expand its current warehouse and invest in another semi-automatic bottling line that will increase production.

“The new machinery will be commissioned shortly and will take a lot of pressure of our team. It will be a huge jump in respect of turning around and delivering our orders faster going forward,” adds Leona.

The significant increase in orders will also see the farm’s oilseed expand, meaning it will be growing nearly 200 acres. It has also meant new employment opportunities in the near future. Recruitment is already underway for the additional employees required to step up production of multi-award-winning rapeseed oils.

“This week we will start the interview process for more staff in our bottling lines and also on the farm. We currently have a great team that has been with us for many years. We really hope that this business will be good for them too, and that they will enjoy seeing the new lines being commissioned, hopefully to make life easier for them too,” she adds.

The listing is the outcome of discussions with Dunnes during the year. A team from the market-leading retailer visited the farm in February and were impressed by the operation, especially the pressing, processing and bottling on-site.

“We believe they really liked what they saw in terms of our farming ethos, especially the way we look after the environment, how we only grow one single variety from seed on the farm and have total control over the whole rapeseed oil process.

“Zero air miles and sustainable farming techniques are really important to them…and to us. We were thoroughly impressed by the strength of their focus on the producer,” adds Leona.

Broighter Gold, a Food NI member, is among Northern Ireland’s most successful processors of artisan products and is a winner of a host of UK Great Taste Awards for its extensive range of innovative oils. Leona is also a driving force within the Taste Causeway food and drink promotional body for producers in the Causeway Coast and Glens.

Broighter Gold Rapeseed Oil was launched in 2011 using around 120 acres then on the farm and has this has proved to be among the most successful culinary oils in the UK and Ireland, attracting the attention of top Irish chefs such as Neven Maguire and Brian McDermott.

The company’s 10-strong range of cold pressed oils have now become the preferred choice of top chefs in the UK, Ireland and international markets.

Rapeseed oils are sold to retailers in France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Invest NI has assisted its marketing in the UAE, where it has recently strengthened its positions with Spinney’s and Waitrose supermarkets. High-end customers also include the iconic Liberty department store in London, La Grande Epicerie in Paris and Brown Thomas in Dublin.