It's not that we don’t want to hear about the multiples supporting Irish, we want to see it… on their shelves. And that’s exactly what's happening in the coming week as 24 new Irish suppliers will have products on the shelf in Aldi’s 150 stores nationwide.

It's part of the Grow with Aldi initiative, which initially saw 200 suppliers enter.

Now, the 24 winning suppliers will have their Irish artisan produce on sale on 19 May for a limited time period.

This year’s Grow with Aldi finalists span 16 counties, from Cork to Down, Dublin to Galway.

The lineup includes the addictive smoked onion mayo made by Heather Flanagan and the team in Builín Blasta Café & Bakery.

On sandwiches, dipped in chips, dipped in anything, this is an Irish product that is seriously good.

Brown bread mixes have exploded in popularity in recent years, allowing you to have freshly baked bread with minimum effort in minutes.

Meat lovers will have to try the rib-eye burgers

Sian McCann from Wild Fuschia Bakery in Donegal has created a delicious mix, one of the best we tasted and she is also launching it alongside a wholemeal spelt bread mix developed by Cathy’s Spelt for Health in Kilkenny.

Meat lovers will have to try the rib-eye burgers developed by Alan & Padraig Gilligan on their farm in Roscommon, as well as sustainable apple pork sausages developed by Colin Marry of Perma Pork Limited in Meath.

We are also excited about having easy access to ghee butter made by Gursharan Singh of True East in Meath, as well as Ellie Kisyombe’s range of hot sauces.

Some of the more unusual products to try include whiskey and chilli seaweed salt launched by Crawford’s Rock Seaweed Company in Co Down,

Sweet Potato Pizzas made by Craig Grattan in Dublin, Snackable Nut Mixes, which include chickpeas, something akin to a packet of healthy peanuts, launched by Noisy Snacks in Northern Ireland and an iced cherry log made by Jennifer Cully of Cully’s in Cavan.

Winners will get mentoring and development through a number of workshops

Following this initial promotion, from 19 May for two weeks, up to six winners will be chosen and offered further opportunities with Aldi.

This will include mentoring and development through a number of workshops such as buying process, supply chain management and social media marketing, followed by a number of individual mentoring sessions with the Aldi buying team, the Aldi marketing team and Bord Bia technical experts.

For more information on the Grow with Aldi programme, click here.

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