Speciality Food Jan/Feb 2026

14 @specialityfood A TASTE OF NORTHERN IRELAND Speciality Food met dozens of producers at the 2025 Invest NI supplier showcase. Here is just a small window into some of the brands you can connect with. POCO PICANTE Jerome Lunney founded this fledging sauce company in 2024. After travelling extensively across South and Central America, he says he was inspired by the wealth of plant-based, healthy, natural foods the locals were eating. “I thought I could bring that inspiration home and replicate it here.” All of Poco Picante’s sauces have a 12-month shelf life and are plant-based, and free from gluten and added sugar. “We fire roast all the ingredients, and that gives us a burst of natural sweetness,” Jerome explains. They can be used as dips, marinades, sauces or dressings, and Jerome’s favourite is the Mango Habanero. “It works with everything!” WILD ATLANTIC DISTILLERY Founded in 2020, this distillery has racked up multiple international awards for its spirits in the last five years, including its Wild Atlantic Irish Gin, Strawberry & Elderflower Gin, and Irish Vodka infused with Amalfi Lemon. Most recently, co-founder James Nash says he is delighted to have released the brand’s first single malt whiskey – at what is the first whiskey distillery in the North- West of Northern Ireland for 100 years. Made using barley grain (fermented for five days and triple distilled), the spirit is stored in bourbon casks for two years, and finished in rare Pedro Ximénez Solera casks. “That was expensive, but worth every penny! The whiskey has a lovely sherry finish to it. Our three-year is available now, and this year our four-year aged will be out. We’re really delighted with how it’s tasting.” MELTING POT FUDGE Nostalgia and comfort food remain at the forefront of consumers’ minds when they treat themselves, and gourmet fudge is one of the products that’s catching their attention in speciality retail. Melting Pot Fudge, founded by three sisters in Belfast in 2004, is one of the most natural, traditional varieties on the market says Jack McAdorey. “It’s made to a third-generation recipe in the traditional pots, the same way as it’s always been, using local Irish milk and butter. It’s boiled up, cooled, beaten by hand and cut by hand. That’s it!” Butter and Salted Caramel are the leading flavours, followed by favourites like Chocolate & Orange. The range includes 50g and 80g bars, and special packs ideal for the gifting market. WHOOSH Interest in healthy convenience food is on the rise as consumers look to move away from UPFs. A brand helping its customers eat well on the go is Whoosh, which began as a Thai and Vietnamese restaurant on the Northern Irish coast 15 years ago. Founder, Thana Thammavongsa, says, “Our customers kept saying they wanted something to have at home when they didn’t have time to cook – something they could just take out of the cupboard, and this was our solution.” With a 12-month shelf life, Whoosh’s instant meals contain noodles and a spice pot, and are ready to eat (after adding hot water) in five minutes. “We want to encourage customers to reduce food waste, so they can add leftover protein, or vegetables or nuts or seeds to our pots to make a great meal in an instant,” Thana adds. Last year Whoosh added four new flavours to its range, including Vietnamese Pho, and Thai Satay. “They’re all natural ingredients, with no MSG, no colourings and no preservatives, and they’re gluten free.” CULT! When she went vegan, Antonela Schiano craved cheese - plant-based cheese with that slightly crumbly texture and sharp, flavoursome tang. But she wasn’t impressed by what was on the market. “I just wanted to be able to have a nice cheeseboard with a glass of wine, but everything I found in supermarkets was very rubbery and plasticky,” she says. After experimenting with her own recipes at home, she landed on a fermented cashew base cheese that even her non-vegan husband raved about, and got to work bringing the product to market. Four years later, the cheese has undergone a rebrand, and Antonela’s greatest pride is that dairy cheese eaters say they’re happy to put it on their cheeseboards. “That makes me so happy!” Cult! cheeses are 100% natural. The biggest seller is Blackheart – infused with liquid smoke and layered with activated charcoal. Others in the range include Cashew e Pepe, Chimichurri, and a sweet and savoury Fudge & Pecan. Passion, tradition and forward-thinking go hand-in-hand in the country, Speciality Food discovers WHERE FOODANDDRINK INNOVATIONARE FLOURISHING NORTHERN IRELAND