Bronagh goes nutty for a new healthy break

Bronagh is the marketing director of innovative snacking brand Forest Feast in Craigavon, an ambitious family business which is responding successfully to the growing demand from consumers for healthy snack foods from a trusted producer to be enjoyed at home.

“We have seen strong growth in sharing snacks as the nation continues to spend more time at home,” Bronagh explains. “Consumers are now looking for snacks that elevate their nights in with each other, and they are leaning more towards indulgent and artisan products with honest ingredients.”

Bronagh has a wealth of experience and expertise in food marketing including successful stints with major international brands.

Forest Feast is now a successful international snack brand within Kestrel Foods, among the best-known and most respected local food producers with a track record in the creation, manufacture and marketing of snacks for health and weight conscious consumers.

The company, which operates from a state-of-the-art production complex at Craigavon, is targeting further growth especially in Britain and Ireland, where it already supplies major supermarkets and many thousands of other outlets, with novel, natural and outstandingly tasty snacks.

Forest Feast, founded by experienced businessman Michael Hall and his late wife Lorraine, a marketing and packaging pioneer, in 1996, is now among the most innovative is the local food industry and has collected a string of national awards for enterprise and original products. It has been named as one of Ireland’s best managed companies in the prestigious Deloitte Awards. Impressive marketing techniques have been used to reimagine and widen the appeal of natural ingredients such as nuts and dried fruits.

The latest in a pipeline of new products includes a Signature Chocolate Nut and Slow Roasted ranges aimed at the growth in premium and indulgent snacks, all handcrafted by the team at Craigavon.

Bronagh explains: “Take-home chocolate is currently growing 15 percent year-on- year, with 98 percent penetration, and we are seeing between 150-250 percent growth in our own chocolate ranges. We wanted to bring something different to the confectionery category for consumers by reconciling the goodness of nuts with the indulgence of Belgian chocolate.”

The Craigavon company, which sets itself apart as the “Original Snack Explorers” to emphasise its focus on creating new and different snack options, has embraced slow roasting techniques and added a new range “to meet the growing demand for premium in-home and sharing savoury snacks”.

“We’ve primed the products to hit the current trend of in-home snacking. Each one has its own unique ingredient twist and they are all oven-roasted with their skin-on to give real depth of flavour,” she adds.

They include sea salted dark chocolate almonds, Belgian milk chocolate brazils and cookies and cream almonds. In response to consumers with intolerances, the nuts are free from gluten and suitable for vegans and vegetarians. They are all oven roasted, generally regarded as a healthier way of processing food.

“The innovative range of nuts are all seasoned in-house with local and artisan ingredients, and then slowly roasted in small batches to absolute perfection,”’ Bronagh continues. “We are delighted to launch this range because it showcases our in-house seasoning and roasting capabilities and answers a real need in the category for premium snacks.”

As well as selling to Great Britain and Ireland, the company exports to almost 40 countries including the US, Middle East, the Far East and Russia. Healthier snacks have been big business in Britain and many parts of Europe for some time. It’s a trend that’s now also growing strongly in other global markets because of concerns about weight and obesity.

As the new ranges also demonstrate, what also helps the company stay ahead in intensely competitive global markets is the strength of its commitment to new product development and its speed of reaction to market trends and opportunities in the burgeoning healthy snacking category. It has pioneered ‘Baked not Fried’ products.

Another pioneering product range, Acti-Snack captured the imagination of fitness fans by offering ‘energy on the go’ through healthy mixed fruit, nut and seed snacks in convenient and re-sealable packs. The entire range is gluten free, free from artificial additives and preservatives and designed to meet a variety of sports nutrition requirements.

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