Lidl Ireland is set to give a ‘Kickstart’ to Dublin supplier Naked Bakes with a €700,000 permanent listing on the retailers 223 stores across the island of Ireland following a successful stint on its 2024 Kickstart Supplier Development Programme. Applications are now open for agri-food producers to secure a place on the retailer’s coveted development programme, designed to support small and medium sized suppliers into the food industry.
Speaking about the new opportunity, Aisling Tuck of Naked Bakes, who joined Lidl’s programme in 2024, supplying its Naked Bakes Cookie Dough to Lidl stores across Ireland on a promotional basis, commented:
“It really is a dream come true for us. Getting our foot in the door of a major retailer like Lidl has been a massive win for us and now securing a permanent placement in every store across the country is life changing for our business. By joining the Kickstart programme, we’ve benefitted from hands on support and guidance from Lidl experts across supply chain, packaging, product formulation and even marketing, which has been a gamechanger for us to scale up our operations and our future. We couldn’t be happier!”
With applications now open for the 2025 intake, Lidl is keen to hear from up-and-coming suppliers looking to grow their business and supply Ireland’s Most Reputable Retailer*.
The retailer’s six-month development programme offers suppliers dedicated business support from Lidl’s in-house experts, advancing their product, brand and business with practical guidance on how to scale production, drive production efficiency, as well as product development and packaging support, allowing them to optimise on-shelf opportunities in the Autumn and scale for success.
Now in its ninth year, and supported by Bord Bia, the 2024 programme saw a record number of applicants from every province in Ireland.
Kate O’Driscoll, Supplier Development Manager at Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland said:
“Lidl’s Kickstart Supplier Development programme allows us to support Irish producers building their businesses while providing our customers with a great range of new and innovative Irish products. We’re delighted to support suppliers like Naked Bakes and several others on getting fully listed and now being part of Lidl’s everyday product range. Other products have benefited from the expansive international store network, reaching the shores of the UK, Europe and even the USA over the nine years of the programme.
We saw a record number of applicants in 2024 across a range of categories and we’re looking to build on this again this year so are calling on any up-and-coming food entrepreneurs interested in scaling their business to get in touch.”
Commenting on the partnership, Fiona Twomey, Global Retail Specialist at Bord Bia said:
“Bord Bia would like to congratulate Naked Bakes on securing a permanent listing with Lidl, a significant achievement following a successful period on Lidl’s Kickstart programme. We look forward to working with Lidl and Naked Bakes on the next phase of the programme which will see their products listed across Lidl Ireland’s 223 stores.
The Kickstart programme provides companies with a great opportunity to engage with a global retailer like Lidl, picking up important learnings and experience along the way through capability development workshops. In addition to this, Kickstart can also open doors for participating companies to explore export opportunities through Lidl's global network of stores.”
Since its launch in 2017, Lidl has invested €37 million in supporting over 300 Irish businesses through the Kickstart programme. Many Kickstart suppliers have also benefitted from having their products exported across Lidl’s international network of stores.
Interested producers can visit www.lidl.ie/kickstart to apply. Applications are open until January 31st 2025.
