New roles created at the business include bakery and sales personnel, bringing the total number of people employed by Bertie’s to 45.
Worth an anticipated £2m in sales annually, the deal will saw 12 Bertie’s Bakery lines initially available across Tesco’s 19 Express format stores in Northern Ireland.
Bertie’s founder Brian McErlain said: “Securing a listing with Tesco marks another significant step forward for Bertie’s Bakery, making our products even more widely available to consumers across Northern Ireland and enabling us to create more jobs locally.
Central location
“Furthermore, our central location makes it possible to bake fresh through the night for delivery direct to stores by morning.”
Bertie’s Bakery operates from a 15,000 sq ft site outside Magherafelt, which is a BRC AA* accredited site. The baker is producing 90 new products, include hot plate goods, baps and rolls, oven bread and scones, cakes and pastries.
The initial Tesco extra listing will soon be followed the roll-out of 30 lines into 24 of Tesco’s main estate Superstores.
Supporting local producers
Gareth Morton, Head of Category Commercial NI at Tesco, added: “We’re proud to support local suppliers and our new partnership with Bertie's Bakery reflects our commitment to continually improving and expanding our offering.
“Bertie’s is a local business with a long history in Northern Ireland and we are excited to be able to provide their products to Tesco customers.”
Meanwhile, UK potato supplier Branston has announced that it is opening a new mash potato facility at its main site in Lincoln and creating new jobs.
Branston managing director Jim Windle said that the project will lead to the creation of 90 job opportunities in the Lincoln area, which the producer is promoting through a recruitment event on 31 October.
