Musgrave MarketPlace, the wholesale supplier to foodservice, retail and SME businesses, said it is investing €650,000 in a nationwide campaign to encourage consumers to support local hospitality businesses.
Its "#SupportIrishHospitality" campaign will include ads in national newspapers and nationwide radio, digital and social media advertising campaigns calling on consumers to help the industry get back on its feet by dining out responsibly.
It will also use its social channels to spotlight local hospitality businesses around the country as well as giving consumers a chance to win vouchers for their local eateries.
It is estimated that the foodservice industry was worth €6.3 billion pre-Covid and employed between 150,000 and 250,000 people making it vital to the recovery of the economy.
Musgrave MarketPlace has also created a series of new measures to help hospitality businesses get back up and running.
These include an extension of its opening hours and some of its branches will now be open seven days a week.
Based on feedback from the industry earlier this year, it is also introducing new labour-saving products such as pre-prepared vegetables, desserts and sauces to save time in kitchens and help ease the impact of reduced staff numbers.
To help manage the surge in demand over the coming days as the hospitality sector re-opens, it has increased its driver pool by 33% to accommodate more deliveries.
It has also increased the number of customer service representatives available in branches to help meet customers' needs during the recovery period.
The cost of 200 products, including food and equipment, has also been reduced to support customers as they restock their business.
680 Irish suppliers have been re-engaged by Musgrave MarketPlace to rebuild stock while the company has also created a dedicated online Foodservice support hub featuring reopening advice, menu inspiration and great value offers to help customers reboot their business.
An affinity scheme, in partnership with Wrkit, has also been created to help customers cut costs with a range of offers and discounts on everything from insurance to fuel to recruitment and much more.
Michael McCormack, Managing Director of Musgrave Wholesale Partners, said that the reopening of hospitality marks an important milestone for its customers, suppliers and the country's economic recovery.
"Our #SupportIrishHospitality campaign is about giving our customers and indeed the hospitality sector as much support as we possibly can as they reopen, whether that be through our reboot resource designed in collaboration with our customers or an advertising campaign aimed at encouraging the consumer to support hospitality," Mr McCormack said.
"Luck alone will not be enough - the sector needs all our support," he added.
