NI food-to-go-manufacturer Around Noon secures own label M&S supply deal

Northern Ireland food-to-go-manufacturer Around Noon has secured an own label supply deal with Marks & Spencer.

The deal will see Around Noon supply M&S stores across the island of Ireland with own-label products including sandwiches.

It’s an extension of an existing relationship that began last year when Around Noon secured a contract to supply sandwiches to M&S as part of a deal worth £3.5m in retail sales. Around Noon currently supplies 19 M&S own-label sandwich lines to stores across Ireland, and plans to launch a further 13 products throughout 2023 in the new deal.

M&S’s rigorous approval process benchmarks companies across the food supply chain and evaluates their food safety, quality and culture against the retailer’s high own-label manufacturing standards, according to Around Noon.

“The retailer has one of the finest reputations for quality with stringent qualification criteria for its suppliers,” said Around Noon sales director Philip Morgan.

“As such, we’re proud that M&S recognises our shared emphasis on quality and is trusting our expertise and market knowledge to inform and shape the future of its food-to-go offering on the island of Ireland.”

Eddie Murphy, M&S trading director for Ireland & Northern Ireland, said: “Quality is at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to maintaining the high standards our customers expect and this represents another step in the transformation of our food business in Ireland. In order to deliver on this promise we look to build new partnerships with trusted suppliers that share our values.

“We have been hugely impressed by the high standards that underscore Around Noon’s dedication to ingredient sourcing, product development and manufacturing, and we’re very pleased to welcome them into the M&S family.”

Around Noon – which supplies chilled, hot, frozen and bakery products to customers including forecourt, convenience and multiple retailers and cafés throughout the UK and Ireland – also recently acquired The Soho Sandwich Company in London.