Wicklow nougat maker signs Harrods deal
Small luxury confectioner gets a sweet break with prestigious London store contract
Miena Rust from the Glen of Imaal in Co Wicklow, whose nougat bars are now on shelves at Harrods all year round after a successful seasonal run last Christmas
A Wicklow nougat maker has signed a deal to supply the luxury department store Harrods with its almond and pistachio flavoured bars all year round.
Miena’s Handmade Nougat was set up in 2013 by Miena Rust, who produces a range of nougat confectionery bars under her own brand and also for the Dunnes Stores Simply Better range.
The company won gold and silver awards for its Simply Better range of almond and pistachio nougat, and almond and fig nougat bars, at the Blas na hÉireann Irish Food Awards in 2018.
The wins brought it to the attention of Harrods, and last year it developed a Christmas-themed nougat bar for the store. It has now secured a deal to supply the store with products all year round, and its nougat bars have been on the shelves since last weekend.
Rust said she hopes the deal to will help her expand into other markets.
“It’s very tough to produce for Harrods. The standard they set and the audit I had to go through was very tough. I’m only a small company with three people working in it,” Rust said.
The nougat bars are now on shelves at Harrods all year round
“Financially it’s not that big a deal, but the advertising I’m getting and the number of people looking at my product in a different light because it’s on the shelves of Harrods is priceless. It’s a real stamp of approval for my product that it’s good enough for Harrods.”
Since starting to supply Harrods, Rust has has signed a deal with Xocolatl, the store’s chocolate supplier, to move into the Danish market. The Danish company has been selling Miena’s Handmade Nougat in its own stores since January and also supplies other retailers in the country. Rust said both deals came about as a direct result of the Blas na hÉireann awards.
A former architect, Rust started selling her nougat in the Marlay Park farmers’ market in Dublin in 2012 after she was made redundant. She formed her company the following year and set up a small production line in her garage.
The company started supplying Avoca in March 2014. Two years later, Rust struck a deal with Dunnes Stores to produce nougat for the supermarket chain’s Simply Better brand.
https://www.businesspost.ie/author/killianwoods
