Case Studies
Bite Group
Co. Fermanagh
Co Fermanagh company, The Bite Group was initially set up to
manufacture and sell prepacked sandwiches to a number of local retail outlets,
however has gone on from strength to strength since then supplying fresh
sandwich fillers, cooked meats, eggs, tuna and a range of associated packing
that enabled shops to produce fresh sandwiches in-house.
Michael
Keogh, MD was keen to bring some new education into the business and applied to
join InterTradeIreland’s FUSION
programme in 2002. Fusion enabled the company to employ a graduate of Food Technology
from Loughery College. They were paired with the Food
Centre at St Angela’s College in Sligo and
engaged in an 18-month project with the aim of implementing quality and food
safety systems into the company.
Michael
Keogh explained ‘InterTradeIreland was instrumental in
enabling us to gain the BRC accreditation we needed to put us on the league
where we can compete and win contracts with larger retailers throughout Ireland.’
“There is no red tape with InterTradeIreland. The application process is simple, delivery is easy, management of the
project is professional and the results are outstanding. I
would recommend FUSION to anyone.”
To see how FUSION can help
your company contact us on 028 3026 0700 (048 from Ireland) or email us at fusion@intertradeireland.com
Co Fermanagh company The Bite Group is bucking the credit crunch trend, with sales rocketing throughout Ireland and both turnover and staff numbers doubling over the past four years.
“The food industry is all about quality, and very few businesses in the industry will deal with suppliers unless they have the BRC accreditation,” he said. “We worked hard for two years through InterTradeIreland’s FUSION programme and, in 2007, were awarded Grade A BRC accreditation. Since then, our client base has rapidly expanded and we have seen sales rocket.”
Galway man Michael Keogh formed The Bite Group in 1998, initially for the manufacture and sale of prepacked sandwiches to a number of local retail outlets.
Sales rapidly expanded though and extensive investment in 2007 saw the company move to a new £3m BRC (British Retail Consortium) designed factory. The 18,000 sq ft state-of-the-art production plant is located in Enniskillen, where it manufactures and distributes a large range of products, including fresh sandwiches, baguettes, wraps, toasties, paninis and sandwich fillers.
Since then, the Bite Group’s annual turnover and staff have doubled, and they have opened new distribution depots in Belfast and Dublin. They also have plans to open another depot in Kilmarnock to give access to the Scottish market.
The company has won lucrative contracts with national retailers such as Dunnes Stores, the Musgrave Group and Starbucks Ireland, and have a number of large deals in the pipeline.
Commenting on FUSION, Michael said: “InterTradeIreland was instrumental in enabling us to gain the BRC accreditation we needed to put us on the league where we can compete and win contracts with larger retailers throughout Ireland.
“There is no red tape with InterTradeIreland. The application process is simple, delivery is easy, management of the project is professional and the results are outstanding. I would recommend FUSION to anyone.”
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