Hot news for local ice cream makers

Mar 7 2008 by Jane Hall, The Journal

TWO North East food producers are enjoying the sweet taste of success after clinching a deal to supply their quality ice creams to Tesco stores across the region.

From Monday, County Durham-based Lanchester Dairies and Tyneside firm Mark Toney will sell alongside national frozen dessert brands in outlets from Middlesbrough to Hexham as the UK’s leading supermarket chain looks to beef up its local appeal.

The two ranges are the first to come through Tesco’s new Local Sourcing initiative as it seeks to hit its target of £1bn a year in sales of regional food and drink by 2011.

Wylam Brewery’s award-winning Rocket Beer will take its place on store shelves in late April with North East consumers promised more local offerings to come.

The lucrative contract means Lanchester Dairies, started by brothers Bill and Geoff Austin 15 years ago, has already taken on four new staff. And with a further deal just confirmed to supply DFDS with milk, cream and ice cream on their ferries sailing out of North Shields, a further 10 jobs could be created at the family business ahead of the summer season.

While Lanchester Dairies and Mark Toney already sell through Asda’s North East stores, both firms are understandably delighted to have joined the Tesco stable.

Barry Peacock, general manager for Lanchester Dairies, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled. Our experience is that people want 100% to buy local products and to support the local economy and to cut down on the road miles and carbon footprint, so it is good for us and good for Tesco.

“Shoppers appreciate that they are supporting local farmers. Supplying Tesco will be a great help to us and will open a lot of doors.”

“We have only just found out about the DFDS deal, but it is the icing on the cake. We’ve been told 1.8m people a year sail out of North Shields that need to be fed and watered.”

Mark Toney, which runs a string of cafes and ice cream parlours in Newcastle city centre and has a factory in North Tyneside, was invited by regional food group Northumbria Larder to meet Tesco buyers last autumn.

The firm’s managing director, Anthony Marcantonio, said: “Tesco look as if they are going about it seriously, which is great news for all us local suppliers, because even if you go back five or 10 years, we had no chance of dealing with the large multiples. Supplying Tesco will make a big difference to us in terms of brand awareness.”

Tesco expects to sell £400m worth of local food this year as the impact of setting up regional buying offices, including one in York covering North Yorkshire and the North East, begins to be felt.

The supermarket claims more than 1,000 new product lines have already been brought in, taking the total to more then 3,000, from 90 new suppliers.

Local produce is at the heart of The Journal Taste North East England Campaign to encourage more consumers, shops and restaurants and hotels to buy, use and eat the wealth of quality food and drink we have on our doorstep.

Our aim is to boost the local economy and dispel the myth that the North East is a culinary wasteland. Both Mr Peacock and Mr Marcantonio have praised Northumbria Larder for the part it has played in their recent successes.

Sandy Duncan, general manager of Northumbria Larder and lead partner in the new North East England Food & Drink Group, commented: “Tesco’s decision to use Mark Toney and Lanchester Dairies is not only a reflection of the quality of produce in North East England, it will also have other positive effects – it gets that message out to a wider consumer audience, it gives all out producers greater credibility and it will tend to drive up standards generally.”

Campaign aims

Aims of The Journal Taste North East England Campaign:

• To encourage more shops – including supermarkets – to stock more North East food and drink

• To encourage more hotels, restaurants, pubs and cafes to serve more locally- produced food

• To encourage more people to appreciate the value of buying more locally-produced food and drink

• To support farm shops and farmers’ markets

THE Journal has launched a charter calling on consumers, producers and businesses to show support for the production, retail and enjoyment of the wealth of regional food and drink on offer.

The charter is a simple statement that signals to others you intend to support local food and drink.

You can sign the pledge by logging on to www.journaltastene.co.uk or www.journallive.co.uk/taste