Irish Aldi suppliers take home the medals from national food awards

Irish suppliers to supermarket chain Aldi Ireland have been awarded 15 titles at this year’s prestigious Blas na hÉireann Irish Food Awards.

This brings the total number of Blas na hÉireann Awards won by Irish Aldi suppliers to 112 since 2009.

The ceremony, which took place in Dingle, Co. Kerry, saw Aldi’s Irish suppliers win three gold medals, four silver medals and eight bronze medal awards.

Gold medal winners included:

Aldi’s Potato Gratin produced by Wonderfoods based in Blanchardstown, Dublin.
Aldi’s Grainne’s Irish Conserve Blackcurrant produced by Folláin of Ballyvourney, Co. Cork.
Aldi’s Kavanagh’s Instant Oats Golden Syrup produced by White’s Oats of Tandragee, Co. Armagh.

Ireland’s premier food awards, the Blas na hÉireann Irish Food Awards celebrate and reward the very best of Irish produce and the passionate, driven individuals behind it.

With gold, silver, and bronze medals awarded across 120 categories, the Awards focus solely on taste, with the winners chosen as a result of blind tastings by a team of Ireland’s top food experts.

The supermarket were delighted to see the success of so many of its suppliers, according to Aldi Ireland’s Group Buying Director, Finbar McCarthy.

“The Blas na hÉireann Irish Food Awards recognise and pay tribute to the very finest foods produced in Ireland, so we are delighted to see so many of our Irish suppliers achieving national recognition.

At Aldi we are continuously working to improve our Irish product offering, introducing new and exciting Irish sourced products and engaging more and more Irish suppliers.

The Blas na hÉireann National Irish Food Awards wins follow Aldi’s recent success at both the Great Taste Awards in London, where Aldi won 32 awards, and the Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards, where Aldi won seven awards.

Aldi remains strongly committed to growing its Irish supply base and increasing the number of Irish products available, with more than 50% of Aldi’s supplier spend being with Irish suppliers, producers and manufacturers.

In the last five years Aldi has recruited over 70 new Irish suppliers, meaning Aldi now partners with more than 175 Irish producers from across the country.