Aramark has signed five year deals with Irish food companies Poulet Bonne Femme and Kanoodle that will give it exclusive rights to the brands in the food services sector. The agreements mirror recent deals made with Chopped and Freshii and come as Aramark opens a new food hall in Dundrum Town Centre following a €1m investment.
"We're delighted to be working with local, Irish entrepreneurs to bring the latest and most contemporary food offerings - particularly in the healthy food area - to places like Dundrum shopping centre," said Frank Gleeson, managing director of Aramark's north Europe business.
The deals Aramark has signed with these Irish companies means they will be able to use the various brands' formats exclusively in the locations where they provide food services - including college campuses, industrial estates and within companies. "There's a real energy in the Irish food market at the moment and we like working with entrepreneurs to bring these offers from the high street into our locations in business, industry, education and factories," Mr Gleeson said. "You're going to see more of us working with high street operators, you're going to see more of us in the retail space and then we're going to take these offers into our traditional space - be it sports and entertainment, or places like business and industry."
The move marks the latest shift by Aramark from a behind-the-scenes business to one with far more consumer exposure. The biggest part of that shift came at the start of this year when the firm bought Avoca for a reported €60m. At the time the company said it had ambitious expansion plans for the Avoca brand - including a possible international expansion - and Mr Gleeson said those plans are well underway.
"Avoca is going extremely well, all of the senior management stayed and Simon Pratt is managing that business for us," he said. "And we're exploring the opportunities to bring that international - Aramark is a huge company globally, so I'd not be surprised for us to bring it to wider parts of Ireland and then into the UK."
International growth is in mind as part of the franchise agreements Amarark has made, too, with all four of those including rights that extend into the UK. Given the company's reach in the US, there is even the possibility of some Irish foods brands appearing Stateside in the future. "I'd love to see that, we do bring some of the Stateside brands here - nothing would make me happier than to export some Irish brands too," Mr Gleeson said.
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MORNING BRIEFS - Food group Aryzta has reported a 3.3% fall in revenue for the three months to the end of October. The company - which specialises in baked goods and owns the Cuisine De France brand - had revenue of €962.3m for its first quarter, with underlying revenue down 1.2%.
*** Bank of Ireland's Economic Pulse has fallen to its lowest level so far this year, dropping more than 9% when compared to October. The index - which combines surveys of consumers and businesses - came in at 85.8 for November - down 8.6 points month-on-month. The pulse found businesses sentiment softening in the month, with expectations around short-term business activity now weaker than before. But it also found that 40% of firms expect to increase spending next year, with a further 50% anticipating that they will spend the same as in 2016. On the consumer side sentiment was also weaker, with households less optimistic about the health of the economy and their own financial prospects. Despite this three quarters of respondents expect to spend the same amount or more this Christmas than they did a year ago.
*** Irish Distillers has opened applications for this year's Jameson International Graduate Programme. Now in its 25th year, this year's programme will see the company recruit 20 people who will go on to work in one of the more than 40 markets that the company sells to. Irish Distillers says that more than 350 graduates have come through the scheme since its inception - a third of whom continue to work for the company. Applications can be made online, with a closing date of January 16.
