Aldi spent €51.4m with Kilkenny food and drink producers last year

Aldi Ireland has announced details of its continued contribution to Kilkenny’s economy and the impact of its charity partnerships across the county. 

According to the data, in 2020 Aldi sourced €51.4 million of locally-produced food and drink from Kilkenny-based suppliers. Aldi partners with six Kilkenny producers including long-term relationships with Callan Bacon, Iverk Produce and Mileeven.

With five stores in Kilkenny, Aldi employs 96 full time staff, spending €6.5 million wages annually. It is seeking to recruit 16 new employees for its Kilkenny stores this year - while plans are afoot for a new store in Castlecomer.

Aldi will boost its annual national spend on Irish food and drink by 17.5% in 2021 to €1 billion, with further opportunities available to Kilkenny suppliers. 

Aldi’s stores support multiple charities across Kilkenny at a local level. Each store is part of Aldi’s food waste reduction programme, with Aldi’s Kilkenny stores having donated over 35,000 meals through FoodCloud to local charities.

Each store is also part of Aldi’s Community Grants network, with Amber Women’s Refuge, Larc Childcare and South Eastern Mountain Rescue some of the many local charities that have availed of the €500 bursary grant in recent years.

“Our goal is to make a positive impact in every local community that our stores serve," says Niall O’Connor, Group Managing Director, Aldi Ireland said.

"Our operations and stores contribute to businesses, communities and families right across Kilkenny.” 

“We have invested €29.9M in our Kilkenny stores over the last number of years, while we sourced €51.4M of locally produced food and drink from Kilkenny based suppliers last year. Multiple local charities have also availed of our support through our FoodCloud partnership and Community Grants initiative.”