FOOD Stories, the Belfast-based producer of popcorn and fruit crisps, has launched with upmarket department store chain Galeria Kaufhof, dubbed as 'Germany’s Marks & Spencer' because of its focus on quality products.
Cologne-headquartered Galeria Kaufhof, founded in 1879 and which has 93 department stores in prime locations throughout Germany, has started selling Cloud Corn popcorn and Pinkfinch fruit and veggie crisps.
The deal, the first in the region for Food Stories, follows contacts it made at a major recent European trade exhibition.
Michael Heaslip, who founded Food Stories in 2004, said: “Winning business with such a respected and quality conscious department store as Galeria Kaufhof is a marvellous opportunity for our products in one of Europe’s most dynamic markets.
“We were thrilled to have the opportunity to pitch for the business from contacts made in our European marketing drive.
“We are investing extensive resources in developing sales there and have already been successful in several key markets including the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as in Scandinavia.”
He added: “We’ve been keen on penetrating the food market in Germany because of the strength of consumer demand there for healthier food, especially snacks, which provides a great opportunity for our Cloud Corn popcorn and particularly Pinkfinch fruit crisps which can form part of five-a-day for health conscious individuals and families.”
He founded the company initially to provide marketing and distribution services to smaller food companies in the north, and subsequently developed the recipes for and launched a number of his own-brand products.
