Ocado Irish shop

Ocado’s Irish shop features 42 Irish food and drinks brands

After France, Spain, Sweden and South Africa, the latest country to have its national cuisine and food products highlighted in a dedicated section on the Ocado website is Ireland.

The Ocado Irish Shop will list 42 Irish food and drinks brands across fresh, frozen and ambient categories, including Kerrygold, Cashel Blue cheese, Clonakilty black pudding, Carr shellfish, Barry’s Tea, Flahavan’s oatmeal and Golden Irish eggs. It will also carry seasonal products for Christmas.

The shop is set to go live later this month, but a precise launch date has not yet been set. The range, which is being launched by Ocado with the support of Irish food marketing body Bord Bia, is targeted primarily at expats.

“Irish food brands offer exceptional quality and value, and Ocado will allow Irish expats to get a comforting taste of Ireland delivered to their front doors,” said Bord Bia trade marketing specialist Gillian Swaine. More than 400,000 residents in England and Wales were born in the Republic of Ireland, she added.

Although expats were the key target demographic, it was also hoped the Ocado shop would boost interest in Irish products among Brits. “We are confident Ocado will raise the profile of Irish produce and deliver wider recognition of the superb quality that is available,” said Swaine.

Ocado said the launch of its Irish Shop was part of its strategy to bring speciality international brands to the UK market.