BANTRY-based seafood company, Keohane Seafoods, has secured a €30m deal to supply fresh, frozen and ready-to-eat fish to Lidl stores across Ireland and Europe.
The company, which was named West Cork Business of the Year in the 2019 Southern Star awards, signed its first major contract, a €20m deal, with Lidl in 2022.
Commenting on the significance of the company’s long-standing partnership with Lidl, Colman Keohane, the company’s managing director, said the latest contract will increase its supply of fresh, frozen and new range of ready-to-eat products across the retailer’s 184 stores throughout Ireland, and export its premium fresh Irish seafood to Lidl stores across Europe, including Germany, France, Switzerland and the Canary Islands.
Colman told The Southern Star that they were ‘absolutely delighted’ with the news, which represents their largest single contract to date. ‘It is a significant achievement for the business and a strong endorsement of the quality, consistency, and innovation that our team delivers each day.’
‘This partnership will directly support our continued growth and will have a knock-on benefit here in Bantry and the wider local community. It means we will be creating new jobs across different skill sets and supporting the increased volumes and demand for Irish seafood,’ he added.
‘We are proud of the business successes, our roots in Bantry, and proud of the team that has helped build the company into what it is today.
‘While the business has grown and changed over the years, our focus has remained on quality, sustainability and innovation driving new markets and opportunities,’ said Colman.
Keohane Seafood was founded in 2010 by Michael Keohane and his sons, Colman and Brian, and it has worked alongside Lidl to become Ireland’s largest quality seafood processor.
The company has grown exponentially and today provides employment to 285 people across all of its sites, a figure that includes 200 staff in its hometown of Bantry, and another 85 in Cork.
Keohane’s has invested heavily in terms of innovating its processes, including the opening of its new Ready to Eat facility in Bantry last
year.
The company also has a strong focus on sustainability and it collaborated with Lidl Ireland to prevent almost 19 tonnes of plastic from entering the ocean per year, which is the equivalent of almost 750,000 plastic water bottles.
‘Our partnership with Lidl has been one of the main ingredients to our success,’ confirmed Colman.
‘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.’
