Winner Quality Food and Drink Awards 2012

Our Sainsbury’s Counter British Banger with Fuller’s London Pride Ale was the category winner for Best Sausage, Burger or Meatball at the recent Quality Food and Drink Awards 2012.  It was described by the judges as being succulent, flavoursome and really meaty.

The Quality Food and Drink Awards are widely regarded as the leading food and drink awards and judged by experts across all areas of the food and drink trade and along with our Sainsbury’s colleagues we are proud to have had this delicious sausage recognised.

2012 Supermeats Award

The Supermeats awards are the Food Industry equivalent of the Oscars and this year the Finnebrogue team were honoured to accept the Best Game Product award for our Sainsbury’s British Venison Loin Steaks.

Which? Best Buy Award

Fantastic News : Our Good Little Company “Great Big Sausage” has Won the Which? Magazine Best Buy award for their Sausage Category.

Which experts praised us for our “inviting appearance, succulent texture and great flavour. A Judicious sprinkling of herbs and spices balanced well with its slightly sweet taste.”

We were thrilled to come out as the which Number 1 Best Buy ,  beating all other premium sausage brands surveyed.

Joanna Discombe head of Technical and New Product Development at Finnebrogue said she was “thrilled” that the Good Little Companies Great Big Sausages had been recognised with this award and was hopeful that other Good Little Company products would be recognised with awards in the future.

Excellence in Innovation Award 2011

The Finnebrogue team took home the coveted Excellence in Innovation Award at last night’s Belfast Telegraph Northern Ireland Business Awards.

We were particularly pleased that the judges recognised “a culture of innovation that spanned the whole company, from people packing the sausages right up to the owner”.

NIFDA Award 2011

Finnebrogue were awarded a Highly Commended Award for Best New Product for a Small Business for the M&S Outdoor Bred Pork Sausage at this year’s glitzy NIFDA awards ceremony. With stiff competition from many of the finest craft producers in Northern Ireland, this award was testament to the calibre of our product.

BITC Recognition for Migrant Worker Management

In March 2011 Finnebrogue were proud to be recognised by Business in the Community for their industry-leading approach to migrant workers.

M&S Supplier of the Year 2010

At their annual Fresh Food Supplier conference this year, M&S awarded Finnebrogue the Overall Supplier of the Year for their Best Practice Approach to Innovation, Cost Reduction and Outstanding Quality for their new top tier sausage lines.

This was a very special win as the company was benchmarked against many of the big industry leading manufacturers such as Bakkavor, RHM and Northern Foods. It was the first time M&S had recognised the achievements of a small artisan supplier who had delivered significant new business and growth.

Finnebrogue wins a Which? award

We’re celebrating after getting a big thumbs up from Which? after our M&S Outdoor Bred Pork Sausages scored the highest in Which? Best Sausage test. 

Which? is respected by both industry & consumers alike for independent product testing. Which? tested 10 different premium plain pork sausages, with an 80% or higher meat content from various big-name retailers and brands and the Finnebrogue sausage came first. The M&S Outdoor Bred Pork Sausage scored 76%, which is 8% ahead of the nearest competitior. The sausages contain 97% pork and were described by Which? as “Spicy, peppery, moist and meaty, but not too fatty”

Food For Thought

In November 2010, InvestNI and the DARD held a joint conference at Loughry College to promote innovation in small businesses and showcase the best of Innovation in NI food industry.

Finnebrogue were honoured to be asked to present their approach and case study which went down extremely well with the group. They small producers were encouraged to see how a similarly small business has done so well due to a strong innovation agenda.

Intertrade Ireland Ambassadors

Finnebrogue have been asked by Intertrade Ireland to be a Business Ambassador and showcase our approach to innovation and harnessing strong growth from new opportunities.

We attended the launch at Stormont where we networked with other small businesses and leading policy makers and politicians.

Great Taste Award Winners

Double success! This month, Rankin Outdoor Bred Pork Sausages and the Good Little Company Great Big Sausage were both awarded Gold Star status at the Guild Of Fine Foods awards held in London. The awards are Best Sausage and Best Gluten Free product respectively. It is great to see these products independently recognised as best in class!

Finnebrogue Featured in Heston Blumenthal’s Book

We’re delighted to be featured in Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck Cook Book. Heston has been a customer of ours for a long time now and we’re honoured to get a big mention in this great book. Here is a sneak peek about what he says about our venison:

“Occasionally I come across a product so good that it becomes, in effect, the starting point for a recipe. In the hills of the Finnebrogue Estate near Downpatrick in Northern Ireland, Denis Lynn rears some superb tasting venison. After visiting the place and trying the meat, I knew I wanted to put it in a dish.”

Northern Ireland Food and Drinks Industry Awards (NIFDA)

The Good Little Company won Best New Product for a Small Company for our Good Little Sausages. The NIFDA judges said our sausages have “good texture and flavour”, are “good for kids” and “taste delicious.”

We’re absolutely delighted to have won such a prestigious award. It’s great to get recognition for all the hard work that has taken place to develop the Good Little Company brand and the innovation behind Good Little Sausages.

Finnebrogue featured in Jimmy Doherty’s Farming Heroes

Jimmy Doherty’s Farming Heroes is a six-part BBC series meets the innovators and forward-thinkers of today’s farming industry. Jimmy takes a tour of the farm with Denis and highlights Finnebrogue’s special care for their deer, from birth to death.

Jimmy said: “It’s sometimes hard to confront the realities of food production but I really admire the steps that Denis has taken to make this whole process as humane as possible”

Denis said: “It was a great privilege to be asked to take part in the series and be recognised for the innovation we bring to farming. Jimmy and I share a common belief that it is our responsibility as farmers to ensure that we give our animals a good life and a good death. I particularly like that the programme highlights this and encourages people to think about where their food has come from.”