Northern Ireland granola producer signs French supermarket deal
The Northern Ireland company, which is based at a farmhouse on Strangford Lough, Portaferry in Co Down, is supplying its Whole Almond and Cranberry & Cashew granolas to 100 Auchan supermarkets in France.
International markets
Just Live a Little was established by husband and wife team David and Jill Crawford in 2011 and produces breakfast granolas and snack bars.
It supplies UK supermarket chains including Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Ocado, and exports to international markets including Germany, Ireland, Scandinavia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates.
“This is a tremendous breakthrough for us with one of the world’s biggest retailers. The listing is the outcome of our strategic focus on building business abroad – and especially in France and other major European markets over the past five years,” said commercial director Jill Crawford.
“France is a pivotal European market in which consumers appreciate premium-quality products that offer outstanding taste, especially from artisan enterprises.
Exports dominate
“As a result of our commitment to sales outside Northern Ireland, we now export more than 60% of our products. When we launched the business, we recognised that success in international export markets would be essential if we were to grow the company.”
Auchan is one of the world’s principal retail groups, headquartered in Croix, with a significant presence in 15 countries. The group employs more than 300,000 people.
Auchan has more than 630 hypermarkets and 2,874 supermarkets around the world. There are branches in France; China; Hungary; India; Iraq; Italy; Luxembourg; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Russia; San Marino; Spain; Ukraine and Vietnam.
