Marks & Spencer is set to add a new Twelve ‘Handmade in County Down’ sandwich range produced food-to-go manufacturers Around Noon.

The agreement worth £3.5million in retail sales will see the leading market retailer expanding it’s sandwich range which currently stands at 26 lines for sale in their 38 stores across the island of Ireland.

The selection of six sandwiches boasts a variety of local Irish ingredients and will include flavours such as Chicken & Handmade Irish Stuffing, Baked Irish Ham & Cheddar and BLT with Ballymaloe Relish.

“We proposed supporting M&S’s current offering with products produced on the island of Ireland, made with Irish ingredients,” Around Noon sales director Philip Morgan said.

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 “We developed a small range of products that would exhibit provenance – as an example the bread and the chicken are produced on the island of Ireland.”

 “M&S have stores across the island and the ingredients come from both the north and south of Ireland as well. This is ever-more important for the M&S consumer here.”

Around Noon, which have been in business for over 30 years, produce chilled, hot, frozen and bakery products aside from their Twelve sandwich range to be introduced to M&S stores.

Marks & Spencer trading director for Island of Ireland Eddie Murphy added: “We are extremely impressed by the quality and provenance of the ingredients that Around Noon sources and by the quality of service they provide. Working with Around Noon is helping us strengthen our supply chain and provide really high-quality products for our customers across the island.” 

 The news comes as M&S Food has appointed marketing director Sharry Cramond as its new director of hospitality.

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