There were early signs of Irish shoppers stocking up on hand sanitisers and bread just as official warnings about the spread of Covid-19 stepped up, according to the latest super- market spend figures.

Centra boss Martin Kelleher said the chain, supplied by Musgrave, plans to open 20 new stores this year to tap growing sales.

Start-up delivery software firm Coll-8 has clinched an agreement with the owner of Spar, Mace, and Londis for shoppers to pick up parcels at 1,100 shops, a move it says will shake up delivery-and-returns for all online purchases made in the Republic.

Dave Passmore has announced the first Irish women’s indoor international squad since 1990, naming a 14-player panel for a December trip to Durban, South Africa for six test matches.

Grocery price inflation has eased but is still running above the official rate of inflation across the economy, a major survey suggests.

EuroMillions players in Portmarnock in North County Dublin are being urged to check their tickets today after someone scooped the €500,000 Plus top prize in last night’s draw.

A National Lottery spokesperson confirmed that they are still waiting to hear from the winner or winners of the jackpot.

Point-of-sale notices will be displayed in stores supplied with the implicated batches.

So that’s nearly Sunday wrapped up. Here’s some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

We are on the cusp of a revolution in consumer tastes, which will rock the agri-food industry to its core, regardless of the Climate Change Advisory committee recommendations for a substantial reduction in the cattle herd to meet Ireland’s 2030 greenhouse gas emissions targets.

Londis and SPAR have been urged to remove bottles of water over safety fears.

With the release of a new range of protein bars and the signing of its first export contract, Blanchardstown snack food company Everest is scaling up.

A lucky Lotto player in Co Cavan is Ireland's latest millionaire after scooping €1m in last night's draw.

A 22-year-old man who brandished a machete at a garda pursuing him and his uncle from a shop they had just robbed has been sentenced to six years in prison with the final two suspended.

Vegan start-up Fiid aims to make the most of a flexitarian approach to food intake amid climate concerns, writes Trish Dromey.

A 22-year-old man brandished a machete at a garda pursuing him and his uncle from a shop they had just robbed, a court has heard.

The South African Spar retailing group says it is positively cautious about the effects of Brexit for its retailing interests in Ireland and the southwest of England. The Johannesburg-stockmarket-listed group owns 80% of BWG Spar and operates chains in Ireland and England, under its Spar Ireland division.

A dip into South America this week following tastings with two producers. Garzon is a fairly new project (2008) on the east coast of Uraguay with flying winemaker Alberto Antonini in charge of winemaking while La Celia in the Uco Valley in Mendoza was founded 125 years ago.

School is back, holidays are over but don’t despair, wine is here to

Dunnes Stores and Spar are recalling some of their 'own-brand' pestos, due to the possible presence of Salmonella.

Plans by BWG to buy rival 4 Aces Wholesale can go ahead but only if it meets certain conditions, the competition watchdog has ruled. The wholesaler is best known as the supplier to Spar, Eurospar, Londis and other independent stores in Ireland.

Wholesaler BWG which is best known as the supplier to Spar, Eurospar, Londis, and other independent stores in the Republic says it plans to buy rival 4 Aces Wholesale.

A group which helps divert unsold food from retailers to local charities for use by those who need it has said 2017 was its busiest year yet.

Quirky marketing and packaging is helping Broderick Brothers grow worldwide, writes Trish Dromey

Keano’s superpower might have been football, but he discovered another along the way in his magnetism. And how a nation hangs on every word he utters, or is uttered about him, writes Larry Ryan.

Fresh arrests have been made in the Manchester bombing probe after police carried out a controlled explosion during a raid on an address in the Cheetham Hill area of the city.

SuperValu kept its lead in the supermarket wars over the key Easter period when shoppers spent €2.4bn on groceries despite a big sales surge by rival Dunnes, according to the latest snapshot of Irish grocers.

BUY THIS

Trish Dromey hears from Strong Roots’ Samuel Dennigan of plans for exponential growth in 2017

Aiding his elderly mother inspired him to create ProU, a fortified yogurt, Michael Murphy tells Trish Dromey.

With most of Cork’s suburban retail parks now at or close to full occupancy, the arrival of UK homewares chain The Range as the anchor tenant at Eastgate Retail Park sees another c 60,000 sq ft taken up, and a new brand name enter the recovering Munster retail fray, with a product range spanning 65,000 items.

A teenager is awaiting trial accused of going on a €8,000 spending spree in Dublin with a stolen bank card.

A just-redeveloped former three star hotel, converted to student apartments on Dublin’s N11 Stillorgan Road, has been put to the investment market, guiding excess €41.5m.

Changes introduced as part of last year’s budget which raised the limit for what customers can spend with contactless payments has helped the number of transactions double in just six months.

Shane Lowry is determined to defend his WGC-Bridgestone Invitational title and get his Ryder Cup campaign up and running with a badly-needed win over the next four weeks.

The Cotton Ball pub in Mayfield, Cork, was founded in 1874 and in 2013 they joined the Irish craft beer revolution and began successfully brewing their own beers for selling as draught and more recently in bottle — other pubs should take note!

A new fundraising initiative is giving every shopper in the country the chance to donate €1 to help children in or at risk of homelessness.

THE banners are up along Cork city’s St Patrick’s Street for today’s St Patrick’s Day parade — and, selling agents DTZ Sherry FitzGerald have just this week managed to snake in a large ‘Sold’ sign on a high-profile building on this retail thoroughfare which bears the saint’s name.

Gardaí traced a can of Red Bull found at a suspected murder scene from a factory in Switzerland to a shop in south Dublin, the Central Criminal Court has heard.