Fuel and forecourt retailer Applegreen and retail chain M&S have signed a deal to open up to 60 new M&S Food locations at Applegreen outlets over the next decade.
It is expected that 15 of the outlets will open by end of next year.
The move represents a major expansion of the partnership, which currently has just five outlets.
The first of the new stores to be opened will be in counties Louth, Meath, and Limerick, with other locations to be announced throughout the year.
"We have been delighted by the positive customer reaction to partnership with M&S Food, which offers our customers greater choice and a wider product range," Fiona Matthews, Managing Director of Applegreen in Ireland said.
"Based on the success of the partnership to date, and our ambition for further growth, we plan to roll out more than one M&S Food at Applegreen concept each month next year."
All of the new M&S at Applegreen outlets will also feature Click & Collect for M&S Clothing and selected Home product ranges.
The Click and Collect service was launched on a trial basis at four Applegreen outlets in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow earlier this year.
The service facilitates shoppers who buy clothing and home and beauty products from the M&S ranges online to have their packages delivered free of charge to one of the four locations.
"One of the primary objectives of our partnership with Applegreen is to expand the footprint of M&S Food in Ireland," M&S Country Director for Ireland and Northern Ireland, Eddie Murphy said.
"We're excited to announce the rapid expansion of this partnership following a successful pilot."
The addition of 15 new M&S Food outlets by the end of next year will involve significant store redevelopments at each location, Applegreen said.
The move comes amid an ongoing shift in driver habits as more motorists opt to purchase electric vehicles.
Applegreen got planning permission this year to construct a service area and an electrical vehicle (EV) charging hub off the M3 motorway in Meath.
"The shift to the adoption of EV is continuing to grow. We're well-placed to support customers with the infrastructure to help them on that journey," Fiona Matthews told Morning Ireland.
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"By end 2024, over 50 of our locations will offer fast charging whereby we'll be offering up to 180 Kilowatts per hour. It's every evolving. In hospitality and retail, we have to keep up with the moves of our customers," she explained.
Ms Matthews said Applegreen would continue to invest in the infrastructure and that there was a heavy capital investment required.
She said the retailer's network was back at pre-Covid levels of business but that there had been a notable change in customer patterns as workers increasingly move to a hybrid work model.
"We've seen a shift to people working locally and from home so local stores have gained more momentum," she said.
