New business and jobs at Bertie’s Bakery in Magherafelt
Award-winning family-run Bertie’s Bakery in Magherafelt, a Food NI member, is creating 12 jobs after securing a £2 million-a-year deal to have 12 of its lines initially available across 19 Tesco Express stores across Northern Ireland.
This will involve the roll-out of 30 lines into 24 of Tesco’s main superstores later this year.
Bakery industry leader Brian McErlain opened Bertie’s Bakery in 2020, and it operates from a 15,000 sq ft site outside Magherafelt.
The new jobs will be across the business including bakery and sales personnel, bringing its total staff to 45.
Brian said: “Bertie’s Bakery is named after my mother who, with my father Joe, were founders of the original McErlain’s bakery in 1968. Her mantra was ‘don’t sell anything you wouldn’t love to eat yourself’, and it is that core value which is driving us today.
“We have sourced the best flours, oils, seeds and grains to produce both traditional breads, cakes and snacks and new interpretations of old favourites. All our products are hand-crafted and hand-finished which stays true to our artisanal ethos.
“Securing this listing with Tesco marks another significant step forward for Bertie’s Bakery, making our products even more widely available to consumers across Northern Ireland and enabling us to create more jobs locally.”
Gareth Morton, head of category commercial NI at Tesco, added: “We’re proud to support local suppliers, and our new partnership with Bertie’s Bakery reflects our commitment to continually improving and expanding our offering.
“Bertie’s is a local business with a long history in Northern Ireland and we are excited to be able to provide their products to Tesco customers.”
Bertie’s Bakery’s new 90 products include hot plate goods, baps and rolls, oven bread and scones, cakes and pastries.
The bakery’s wee sodas and sliced wheaten picked up Great Taste awards in August, adding to 2022 awards for big pancake and toaster wheaten.
