Colman Keohane, Managing Director of Keohane Seafoods, and Emma Nolan, Senior Buyer at Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland, show off some of the products the West Cork-based seafood processor supplies to the discount retailer.
Photo: Lidl Ireland.
Just ahead of the Easter season, a peak time for its sales of premium salmon products, Lidl Ireland has announced the extension of a supply deal worth more than EUR 30 million with its long-time supplier Keohane Seafoods, the processing company behind Lidl's Deluxe Whole Fresh Salmon and Deluxe Whole Salmon with Lemon and Dill.
Through this agreement, the West Cork-based seafood processor will increase its supply of fresh, frozen, and the new ready-to-eat range to the discount retailer's 184 stores across Ireland and will also export its premium fresh Irish seafood to Lidl stores across Europe, including Germany, France, Switzerland, and the Canary Islands.
"At Lidl, our priority is to offer high-quality, premium products at affordable prices, and this new partnership with Keohane Seafoods underscores the exceptional quality and success of their offerings, both here and abroad," Emma Nolan, Senior Buyer at Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland, said commenting on the deal.
"Over the course of our partnership, Keohane Seafoods has significantly scaled their business, creating valuable employment opportunities within the local community. Their unwavering commitment to product development, innovation, and sustainability perfectly aligns with our own business ethos. We are thrilled to be part of their journey, bringing a premium product to Lidl stores not just in Ireland, but across the UK and Europe," she added.
"We are committed to delivering products of the highest quality, with sustainability at the heart of everything we do," Colman Keohane, Managing Director of Keohane Seafoods, said for his part. "With Lidl's ongoing support, we have been able to innovate, introduce new products and adapt our operations all while minimising our environmental impact. Our new Ready to Eat range is a perfect example of this innovation that we are excited to share with Lidl customers at home and abroad."
Commenting on the new agreement reached with Lidl Ireland, the Managing Director of Keohane Seafoods also reflected on the long-standing partnership between the two and the importance it has had for the seafood processing company's growth.
"Our partnership with Lidl has been one of the main ingredients to our success," Colman Keohane acknowledged. "Lidl has been an essential partner for our growth and their continued belief and investment has given us the unique opportunity to showcase our products to Lidl customers both locally and internationally. Our longstanding contract with Lidl has not only fuelled the company's growth but also created valuable employment opportunities within the Cork community."
Founded in 2010 by Michael Keohane and his two sons, Colman and Brian, originally from the West Cork coast, the company secured its first contract with Lidl Ireland in 2011 - then supplying only two portions of salmon, plus cod and mackerel products - and it was not until 2022 that Lidl awarded Keohane Seafoods its first major contract worth EUR 20 million.
Strongly focused on sustainability, in the same year, Keohane Seafoods collaborated with Lidl Ireland to use Prevented Ocean Plastic (POP) packaging in several product lines, preventing nearly 19 tons of plastic from reaching the ocean per year, equivalent to nearly 750,000 plastic water bottles.
Nevertheless, the synergy between the two companies is not a recent development; their collaboration has been constant and successful for the past fourteen years. As a result, the seafood business has grown to become Ireland's largest quality seafood processor, now employing 285 people across its sites, with 200 staff in Bantry and 85 in Cork.
In recent years, Keohane has invested heavily in innovation, including the opening of its new ready-to-eat plant last year in Bantry, which has opened up opportunities for new product lines that better meet the needs of Lidl's shoppers in Ireland and, following the extension of the supply agreement, will also reach those in other parts of Europe.
