Award-winning gluten-free chicken brand Rosie & Jim breaks ground on multi-million euro expansion at Dublin factory.
Breaded chicken brand Rosie & Jim has revealed plans to increase production at its Inchicore plant to meet growing demand in Ireland, the UK and in Germany.
Rosie & Jim’s expansion will increase the footprint by 70%, tripling production capacity and allowing the company to meet growing demand in both its domestic and export markets.
“Rosie and I started this business 27 years ago, when I was just 27 years old, we’ve learned a huge amount in that time and are delighted to be looking to the future with such optimism and a clear strategy for growth”
The family business, founded by Jimmy and Rosie McLoughlin in 1997, has gone from strength to strength, building a solid network of foodservice and retail clients in Ireland, aided in no small part by the ‘game-changing’ decision to move to gluten free products in 2015, as well as the brand’s unwavering commitment to superior taste and premium quality.
Sustainable opportunities for growth
Rosie and Jimmy McLoughlin
In recent years Rosie & Jim, which employs 70 people here in Ireland, has enjoyed significant growth in the UK, through a relationship with market leaders such as Costco Wholesale, and in Germany with leading retailer Kaufland.
Increased consumer demand for high-quality, clean-label products in the Irish and export markets has created a clear opportunity for growth, leading to the company’s decision to invest in production capacity and to also further develop the sales and marketing function, with additional in-field sales teams in the brand’s export markets.
“Rosie and I started this business 27 years ago, when I was just 27 years old, we’ve learned a huge amount in that time and are delighted to be looking to the future with such optimism and a clear strategy for growth,” said Rosie & Jim managing director Jimmy McLoughlin.
“The Irish market continues to be hugely important to us, not least of which is our relationship with butcher shops nationwide serviced through our network of regional distributors, which has been the backbone of our business since the beginning.
“Foodservice in Ireland is also a significant growth area, as the key players see the benefits our brand has to offer, including reduced Food Miles when compared to breaded chicken imports from South-East Asia, Brazil and China, which are commonplace in foodservice. “
Rosie & Jim also recently added to its impressive awards cabinet at the prestigious FreeFrom Food Awards, scooping the ‘2024 FreeFrom Champion’ and 3 Gold Medals and 1 Silver Medal. The brand was also recognised last month at the Family Business Awards, where Sean McLoughlin, Operations Manager at Rosie & Jim, received silver in the Rising Star Award.
“Having our products recognised for their superior taste and quality is what fuels our ambitions,” added Rosie McLoughlin.
“We love that the Rosie & Jim range has switched any out-dated perception that ‘gluten-free’ would be a taste compromise. The winning combination of taste, quality and clean label credentials is certainly driving our growth and I’m excited to lead our marketing team in bringing even more consumers to the Rosie & Jim brand during this exciting period of expansion.”
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