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Irwin’s Bakery has proven a big success with Lidl Northern Ireland as the region’s fastest growing supermarket today confirmed a new and expanded contract for the full year ahead after a successful 20-year partnership deal worth more than £50 million.

Established in 1912 and employing more than 450 staff, the bakery has been a long-term supplier to Lidl Northern Ireland since it opened its first store in Cookstown in 1999.

Under the new supply deal, worth £2.7 million annually, the family-run bakery will continue to supply customer favourites including Nutty Krust batch bread, Irwin’s Veda malted loaf and Jammy Joeys buns to 202 Lidl stores across the island of Ireland.

With a focus on innovation, Irwin’s has also introduced an expanded new product range to Lidl Northern Ireland this year including traditional buttermilk soda bread and a low-calorie wholemeal sliced bread at only 59 calories per slice.

The supply deal is the latest move by the retailer in its ongoing support and commitment to local food suppliers.

An independent report into the economic impact of Lidl Northern Ireland’s operations revealed that the retailer spends at least £290 million annually with suppliers across the region while also supporting 3,500 jobs.

In 2018, Lidl Northern Ireland struck a deal with Northern Ireland’s Dale Farm, the UK’s largest farmer-owned dairy co-operative, to supply locally made cheddar cheese to 8,000 Lidl stores across 22 countries in the UK, Europe and the United States.

In 2020, Lidl Northern Ireland announced a £24 million contract with Fermanagh-based bakery, Crust & Crumb, to supply an expanded line of pizza products across more than 1,000 UK and Ireland stores whilst top Northern Ireland horticulturalist Greenisland Flowers secured a new supply deal with Lidl Northern Ireland to ship over four million stems of freshly cut tulips, lilies and scented stocks, building on their existing partnership worth more than £7.2 million.

The Irwin’s bakery range at Lidl includes a selection of batch bread, fruit bread, rolls and muffins, pan bread, wheaten bread and Veda malt loaf alongside sweet favourites, Jammy Joeys, Snowy Joeys and Iced Diamonds.