The Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine, Simon Coveney, today met with top managers from Wegmans Supermarket Chain, in the US as part of his ministerial trade mission to the US.

He said Wegmans already has a very positive relationship with Irish food business operators and he sees this developing further in the future. The supermarket chain already stocks Kerrygold butter and cheese, a range of farmhouse cheeses and Irish salmon, as well as Irish oatmeal and whiskeys, liqueurs and other Irish products.

“It is clear from our meeting today that the characteristics of the Irish food and drink production model, from clean environment to high animal welfare standards to passionate family farm producers, is a strong fit with Wegmans’ own sustainability mission and its sourcing criteria.”

Headquartered in Rochester, New York, Wegmans is a leading US grocery retailer, operating 83 stores on the East Coast with 45,000 employees and annual sales of US $7billion.

Wegmans is known for its premium product offering and its focus on customer service. Achieving a listing in Wegmans underscores a supplier’s ability to produce a product that meets the company’s high standards and the tastes of its discerning customers. It is a target account for all quality food and drink suppliers, both from US and overseas.