Co-op’s mushroom venture pays off
The deal, which sees co-op subsidiary Tipperary Mushrooms become sole supplier of mushrooms to 80 SuperValu supermarkets and 151 Centra stores in the south, has potential for further growth in the years ahead.
Tipperary Co-op said it underlines the potential of an enterprise currently providing employment for more than 400 people, handling 300,000 lbs of fresh mushrooms every week.
Originally established as a means of diversifying operations against the background of milk quota restrictions, Tipperary Mushrooms has been selling to the MSVC chill and distribution centre in Cork since September 2001.
Tipperary Co-Op managing director Noel Horgan said the organisation’s deepening relationship with MSVC was testament to the society’s vision in providing an alternative enterprise for milk suppliers and their families and for others keen to remain on the land but in need of additional income.
“It also vindicates the efforts of our growers, pickers and pack-house employees whose determination to maintain the highest quality and ensure complete traceability is now reaping rewards,” he said.
Matthew Wale, fresh produce trading manager with Musgrave SuperValu-Centra, said the company’s deal with Tipperary Mushrooms was typical of how the independent retail group operates.
Tipperary Mushrooms was established in 1999 as a joint venture between Tipperary Co-op and Monaghan Mushrooms with a purpose built pack-house in Knockenrawley Industrial Estate in Tipperary town which is staffed now by 28 full-time employees.
The initiative has resulted in the establishment of a dedicated satellite network of 30 growing units on owner-operated farms within a 25-mile radius of Tipperary town.
These provide employment for more than 400 growers and pickers, and production is being increased by the addition of extra growing tunnels and boosting the output from each tunnel by up to 50%.
