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Deli Lites to create new jobs following £4.3m investment
Food-to-go manufacturer Deli Lites is creating 45 new jobs at its Warrenpoint factory in Northern Ireland, as part of a £4.3m investment to fulfil growing demand for its product ranges and expand its export reach in Europe, the UAE and the US.
Established in 1998 by co-founders Jackie and Brian Reid, Deli Lites supplies a range of hand-crafted food-to-go products to a host of major retailers across Ireland, the UK, Europe, and the rest of the world. It produces over 40 million products annually and employs more than 200 people.
Invest NI has offered Deli Lites £499,800 of support towards the 45 new roles and marketing development activities.
Deli Lites is creating 45 new jobs at its Warrenpoint factory in Northern Ireland, part of a £4.3m investment to support growth / Picture: Deli Lites
Brian Reid, CEO of Deli Lites, said: “Over the last five years, we have experienced exponential growth, securing new contracts with major multiples, cafe chains and blue chip customers worldwide. With chef-led innovation, our products are healthy, tasty and convenient and therefore appeal to a wide-ranging consumer base.
“We’ve been working in partnership with Invest Northern Ireland since 2007. Over the years, the agency has supported us to upskill and grow our team and purchase new equipment which has enabled us to extend our product range and introduce Industry 4.0 technologies.”
Almost 70 per cent of its business is now export-led, which has been strengthened by the introduction of new innovative ranges and responding to changing consumer demands, proving very popular in the Baltics and Scandinavia.
George McKinney, director of technology, services and scaling at Invest NI, added: “Deli Lites is a company we identified very early on as having the potential to scale at pace and we weren’t wrong. Over the years, we’ve offered multiple supports to expedite its growth and the company is now experiencing strong export sales on the back of a commitment to innovation and service excellence.
“Once in place, the new jobs will generate over £1.3 million of additional annual salaries for the Northern Ireland economy; a welcome boost for the Newry, Mourne & Down District Council area.”