Co Down-based quality on the go food company, DELI LITES IRELAND has won a prestigious global award for its gourmet take on the humble ham and cheese toastie; wowing the judges at this year’s World Travel Catering and Onboard Services Expo (WTCE) in Hamburg.
WTCE is the world’s leading event for inflight catering, onboard services and passenger comfort.
DELI LITES IRELAND was named as a winner in the ‘Ones To Watch 2024’ category at the event for its hot-to-go sandwich ‘Gourmet Irish Ham Hock and Mature Cheddar with Guinness infused Rarebit on Bretzel Sourdough’. DELI LITES IRELAND saw off competition from companies around the world to win the top prize.
Team DELI LITES IRELAND created the sandwich to fulfil demand for restaurant-quality items for inflight catering.
Whilst developing the sandwich, the team thought about how today’s busy travel industry could seamlessly incorporate it into their menus, while also minimising food waste and ensuring ease of preparation.
The sandwich saw DELI LITES IRELAND win ‘Ones to Watch 2024’ for its use of locally sourced ingredients and consideration of the product’s expansion beyond Ireland.
DELI LITES IRELAND co-founder Jackie Reid attended WTCE in Hamburg and received the award. She said: “As award-winning food to go experts, we understand the ever-evolving expectations of consumers and the challenges these can present to the aviation and travel industry. The focus of DELI LITES IRELAND is to produce high quality, sustainable products, and to be awarded ‘Ones to Watch 2024’ for our gourmet ham and cheese toastie, that took both these things into consideration, is a huge win for our talented team. It was brilliant to be at the prizegiving ceremony in Germany and jet home with our award in hand. We’re all looking forward to celebrating this milestone moment together.”
“‘Ones to Watch 2024’ is the first global award win for DELI LITES IRELAND and I couldn’t be prouder of our team for this achievement,” added Brian Reid, DELI LITES IRELAND co-founder and CEO. “This recognition has provided us with a huge boost as we continue on our mission to reimagine how the world experiences food on the move.”
DELI LITES IRELAND’S win at WTCE comes after two of the company’s New Product Development Technologists were named among the UK’s top sandwich and food-to-go creators at the sandwich Oscars, the Sammies.
DELI LITES IRELAND, based in Warrenpoint, produces over 30 million food to go and artisanal bakery items annually that are sold globally.
In 2022, DELI LITES IRELAND became the first sandwich manufacturer in the world to achieve certification as a BCorp company—a global initiative that evaluates businesses based on their involvement with people, communities, and the environment with the goal of transforming business into a force for good.
