Dawn Farms agrees £724M contract with Subway

03-Feb-2017 - Last updated on 03-Feb-2017 at 11:42 GMT

Dawn Farms and Subway agreed on a £724M contract (Dawn Farms & Flickr/Random Retail)

Cooked meat ingredients maker Dawn Farms has agreed a £724M (€850M) deal with the high-street sandwich franchise Subway, to supply 4,000 of its restaurants across 30 European countries.

The new contract would run for seven years to 2024, following a “successful relationship” with Subway since 1993, Dawn Farms said. The deal will significantly boost the Irish firm’s export sales, it claimed.

Dawn Farms ceo Larry Murrin said: “In our negotiations with the Subway organisation, they recognised Dawn Farms’s continued investment in product innovation, our strengths in supply chain consistency and food security, and our vigilance in relation to competitiveness.

‘Significant additional export sales’

“Subway has ambitious growth plans for new restaurant openings in Ireland, the UK, and across Europe. With this strategic supply agreement, these can translate into significant additional export sales.”

Subway is the world’s largest submarine sandwich franchise, with over 44,000 stores in 11 countries.

Dawn Farms produces ready-to-eat cooked and fermented meat ingredients for a number of ready meal, pizza and sandwich manufacturers. Its range includes: chicken, meatballs, ham, ground meats, sausages and roasted vegetables.

80% of products to over 30 countries

The manufacturer exports about 80% of its products to more than 30 countries.

“This contract demonstrates that Ireland and the Irish agri-food sector is held in high regard internationally, and has the potential to expand its global reach, if we can achieve the right mix of competitiveness and market led innovation,” said Murrin.

The deal came after Greencore boss Patrick Coveney claimed Irish businesses were better prepared for Brexit than their UK counterparts, and that prospects for Irish agri-exporters were better than first thought.