Mash Direct, a farming and food production business in Northern Ireland, has created a 6m tall Christmas tree to celebrate the harvest this year.

The independent family owned business, which specialises in potatoes and vegetables, built the unique ‘ChristMash tree’ out of potato boxes.

The tree is designed to celebrate the excellent harvest which Mash Direct had this year and build the teams festive spirit as they move into the busy Christmas period.

christmash-tree-1

Martin and Tracy Hamilton launched Mash Direct in 2004 at their farm in Co. Down, close to the shores of Strangford Lough.

To date the business has been awarded a total of 18 ‘Great Taste Awards’, in 2016 Mash Direct’s ‘Champ and Mashed Turnip/Swede’ took home the latest of the company’s ‘Great Taste Awards’.

The company has also taken home prizes from the ‘Food Manufacture Excellence Awards’ and the ‘Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards’ in 2016.

Mash Direct – ChristMash TreeHave you put your Christmas Tree up yet? ?

This year we decided to do things a little differently… by building a 6 metre tall ChristMash Tree out of Potato Boxes!

Why not put some Mash Direct on your table this Christmas – www.mashdirect.com/products

Posted by Mash Direct on Monday, December 5, 2016

The Mash Direct product range is available supermarkets in Ireland, Scotland and throughout Britain.

The business is one of the market leaders in convenient ‘field to fork’ vegetable and potato dishes ranging from traditional accompaniments of mashed potato and champ to complete ready-meals.

Irish Christmas Tree Harvest

Meanwhile, up to 400,000 Christmas trees are expected to be sold in Ireland this year, an increase of 50,000 on last years figures, according to the Irish Christmas Tree Growers Association (ICTGA).

Close to 200,000 trees are set to be exported to the UK, France and Germany this year.

The ICTGA is also hoping its ‘Love A Real Tree’ labelling system will help guide consumers to buy a home-grown product of the highest quality.

The industry is worth €21m to the Irish economy, according to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.