Ballymena bakery scores Â£220K Tesco deal

Sean Largey, Tesco NIs Commercial Manager and Christine Shaw, founder of Moditions Gluten-Free Bakery, tuck into some delicious baked delights as they announce the deal with Tesco NI worth an estimated Â£220,000. The Ballymena based company was started by Christine to cater to coeliacs who desire traditional family recipes, that dont compromise on taste. The award winning products are available in Tesco free from aisles, in 15 stores across Northern Ireland.

Moditions, a gluten-free bakery started in a home kitchen and now based in Galgorm, Ballymena, will supply its traditional range of baked delights to an initial 15 stores across Northern Ireland, just two years after launching.

A self-described labour of love, the range was created by Moditions’ founder, Christine Shaw, as she endeavoured to create great tasting gluten-free treats for her coeliac husband, based on old family favourite recipes from his childhood.

The range of products include the Great Taste Award-winning Gluten Free Coffee Cake, Gluten Free Jam & Coconut Cake, Gluten Free Sticky Tealoaf and Gluten Free Irish Soda Bread Mix. These can be found in Tesco Northern Ireland’s free-from aisles and is available from the 9th of May – just in time for National Coeliac Awareness Week.

Founder, Christine Shaw, said: “All of the recipes are simply old, traditional favourites, tweaked and altered ever so slightly to make them coeliac friendly. We source all ingredients locally where possible, and make our own jams on-site. We use only fresh free-range eggs and to keep saturated fat low, use Rapeseed oil instead of butter or margarine.

“What started out as a small home-based business has been absolutely transformed by the support of Tesco Northern Ireland – we were fortunate to meet the buyer not long after launching and then had the added benefit of working with the technical manger. The buying team’s support in all aspects of product development, and sales and marketing support, and even our kitchen fit-out, has really provided us with a platform we wouldn’t have ever been able to achieve ourselves.

“The listing in Tesco has moved the dial for us in terms of reach and recognition among consumers – Moditions will be a known commercial entity now and that is thanks to Tesco Northern Ireland – it really is the real deal when it comes to being a champion of local.”

Sean Largey, commercial manager, Tesco Northern Ireland, said: “Free-from food ranges have increased in popularity over the last few years so from answering a consumer demand point of view, signing Moditions was a no-brainer.

“The fact it was a small, family-run, artisan bakery flying the flag for local produce meant we couldn’t resist entering into a partnership and giving Christine and team all the help we could to take the business to the next level. The change this will make to their business is the real cherry on the cake!”