Henderson Foodservice will have its biggest presence yet as CATEX returns in full force to Dublin’s RDS next week.
From 21 – 23 February, the team from Henderson Foodservice, a leading supplier to the industry in Ireland, will showcase the company’s innovative food suppliers that are keeping hospitality businesses in Ireland ahead of the curve and feeding into rapidly developing consumer trends.
Alongside a huge array of sampling opportunities, and first looks at new product launches, visitors can also learn more about the company’s streamlined ordering system bringing efficiency and ease, while getting an opportunity to sample at the demo kitchen with the company’s Food Development Chef, Geoff Baird.
Cathal Geoghegan, Managing Director at Henderson Foodservice says that while the hospitality industry across the island of Ireland is still facing myriad challenges while in recovery mode from pandemic lockdowns, consumer trends are developing at an increasing rate.
Cathal commented; “Post-lockdowns, our industries were facing a shortage of staff from front of house to chefs coupled with restrictions, varying consumer demands and behaviour, not to mention the cost of ingredients shooting up in recent months. As leading suppliers to the industry, we have a responsibility to be innovative and find solutions that will not only work for our customers’ business models, but for their ever-demanding consumers.
“At Henderson Foodservice, we work with suppliers who strive to better their product offering through innovation, adapting to new trends or creating inventive recipes and packaging. It is a competitive industry, it is fast paced, but we are constantly keeping our finger on the pulse.”
Henderson Foodservice’s stand will have a range of exclusive products for CATEX, which can only be found on their stand including Coup de Pates, a range of premium desserts from Aryzta, some of which are exclusive to Hendersons in Ireland.
The company’s innovative suppliers at CATEX also include Mademoiselle’s diverse product range of desserts, with their approach to deliver a healthier ingredients list with a focus on sugar reduction and vegan and gluten free cakes and desserts.
With hospitality outlets expected to have ever increasing vegan options as the norm on their menus, Henderson works with Rich Sauces to stand out from the competition when it comes to vegan sauces that are outstanding in flavour, versatility and performance.
When it comes to innovation, some of Ireland’s most humble meal staples are not safe from a little variation. DeliFrance has recently reported that 41% of consumers they surveyed eat bread almost every day*, so they know they have to stand out in a busy marketplace, which they deliver with their hero sandwich breads.
Meanwhile, Agristo, the leading supplier to Henderson’s exclusive Country Range brand, use the latest bespoke technology to deliver on coatings and flavours. At CATEX, visitors can sample the unique Double Crunch Country Range Chips to understand how they can gain an advantage over their competitors.
Cathal continued; “CATEX has two main focus points for 2023: Innovation and Sustainability. As a company working across Ireland, sustainable business practices are important to us in how we operate, but also in what we can offer our customers to be more sustainable businesses too. We make it our aim to work with suppliers who have credible sustainable approaches in place to help reduce energy and food waste.”
Within the drinks category, Love Struck, a premium frozen drinks company, are a certified B-Corp which means they are among an elite group of businesses that have achieved the highest environmental and social standards to reduce impacts on people and the planet in their supply chain. They also supply their smoothies in recycled cardboard cases, use fully recyclable paper cups, lids and straws, compostable sample cups for events and FSC standard paper with vegetable dyes for their POS and print. Similarly, Britvic have made all their packaging 100% recyclable and their Ballygowan Hint of Fruit range is made from 100% recycled plastic, ticking the environmentally friendly box. While Coca-Cola Hellenic’s RiverRock range is already 100% recycled plastic with the company planning to move to 100% recycled PET across their whole portfolio towards the end of 2023.
At Santa Maria a family –owned company, sustainability, quality and safety are at the heart of their operation. Combining the taste experience with their purpose, sustainability is embedded in their culture with an approach that is reflected in their product portfolio and everything they plan to do today and in the future. Their mission is to enable the future of food, and this mission is the core of Paulig’s sustainability approach 2030.
Cathal concluded; “While we strive for innovation and sustainability across the board, Henderson Foodservice also prides itself on the provenance of our food sourcing and supplier partnerships. We are a family run, locally operated business, working with other locally and family run businesses. Partnering with suppliers like Yellow Door, Universal Meat Company, McKeown Fine Foods, Glastry Farm and Tipperary Cheese not only lower carbon emissions and support the local food industry, but those relationships also give us the flexibility to adapt and respond to the changing food landscape across Ireland.”
At CATEX, Henderson Foodservice will launch three new sorbet products from Glastry Farm, the award-winning company based in County Down, alongside new products from their Yellow Door range.
Find Henderson Foodservice at location A28. For more information visit Henderson-foodservice.com.
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