Read and analyse the case study on DELI LITES, a manufacturer of food-to-go products in Northern Ireland, UK. The case study includes three articles, below.
1
DELI LITES to accelerate international growth with £4m investment and 45 new jobs. Warrenpoint based food-to-go manufacturer DELI LITES has announced it is creating 45 new jobs at its Milltown Industrial Estate factory as part of a £4.3million investment to support its growth in global markets.
Established in 1998 by co-founders Jackie and Brian Reid, DELI LITES supplies a range of
hand-crafted food-to-go products to a host of major retailers across Ireland, the UK, Europe,
and the rest of the world. It produces over 40million products annually and employs more
than 200 people.
Once in place, the new jobs will generate over £1.3 million of additional annual salaries for
the Northern Ireland economy; a welcome boost for the Newry, Mourne & Down District
Council area.
Making the announcement, Brian Reid, CEO of DELI LITES said: “Over the last five years,
we have experienced exponential growth, securing new contracts with major multiples, cafe
chains and blue chip customers worldwide. With chef-led innovation, our products are
healthy, tasty and convenient and therefore appeal to a wide- ranging consumer base.
“We’ve been working in partnership with Invest Northern Ireland since 2007. Over the years
the agency has supported us to upskill and grow our team and purchase new equipment
which has enabled us to extend our product range and introduce Industry 4.0 technologies.
Almost 70 per cent of our business is now export-led which has been strengthened by
introducing new innovative award winning ranges which are disrupting the ‘food to go’
industry, whilst delivering on the changing consumer demands and proving very popular in
the Baltics and Scandinavia. The 45 new staff will help us to fulfil growing demand for our
product ranges, expand our export reach in Europe, the UAE and the US.” Brian Reid, CEO
of DELI LITES
Invest NI has offered DELI LITES £499,800 of support towards the 45 new roles and
marketing development activities.
George McKinney, Director of Technology, Services and Scaling at Invest NI said: “DELI
LITES is a company we identified very early on as having the potential to scale at pace and
we weren’t wrong. Over the years, we’ve offered multiple supports to expedite its growth and
the company is now experiencing strong export sales on the back of a commitment to
innovation and service excellence.
“The Department for the Economy’s 10X economic vision recognises the need to ensure
Northern Ireland becomes a more innovative region that supports new business
development. Our support to help DELI LITES create 45 jobs in Warrenpoint is helping to
deliver this vision. Once in place, the new jobs will generate over £1.3 million of additional
annual salaries for the Northern Ireland economy; a welcome boost for the Newry, Mourne &
Down District Council area.”
In recognition of DELI LITES’ commitment to innovation, it has been awarded a Silver Level
Innovator Certificate from Innovate NI.
Invest NI is committed to driving innovation in Northern Ireland and is a proud partner of
Innovate NI, a Department for the Economy programme, helping local businesses innovate
successfully.
Reference: Invest Norther Ireland (2021) ‘DELI LITES to accelerate international growth
with £4m investment and 45 new jobs’, Invest Norther Ireland, 27 October 2021 [Online].
Available at: https://www.investni.com/media-centre/news/deli-lites-accelerate-intern
2
Deli Lites invests with help from Ulster Bank Irish food-to-go manufacturer Deli Lites has
announced plans for a multi-million pound investment as part of its strategy to support
growth internationally.
Ulster Bank is now supporting the Warrenpoint-headquartered company with its business
banking needs and providing additional funding facilities to accelerate growth in its food-togo ranges over the next five years.
Deli Lites Ireland is run by husband and wife entrepreneurs Brian and Jackie Reid and
employs a team of almost 300 people. The company supplies a range of food-to-go products
to a host of major retailers including Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Costa.
The business produces more than 20 million products annually from its extensive range of
fresh gourmet sandwiches, nutritious salad bowls, hot sandwiches, heat-to-eat meals,
award-winning bakery treats and a new chef-led plant-based range.
Currently, Deli Lites exports to customers throughout the UK & Ireland and in European
markets. With support from Ulster Bank, the company has earmarked a significant
investment for the implementation of new technologies to maximise its sales in these
markets and other international countries.
Plans include further investment in research and innovation as well as capital projects at its
Warrenpoint headquarters to support automation and sustainability, a key focus for the foodto-go manufacturer. Brian Reid, CEO at Deli Lites, said: “Despite the challenges the sector
faced in 2020, our retail business and export markets remained strong. As we invest in the
future of the company, we aim to further develop our international business where we see
significant opportunities. We are entering a very exciting period in our growth story and are
ready to showcase what an Irish producer can do on the world stage.”
Brian added: “Deli Lites has significant foothold locally, supported by our local customers
and team who remain the foundation of our business. As we continue to grow, we’re fully
committed to strengthening our market presence in Ireland through future investments which
will greatly improve efficiency and capacity to fulfil growing demand for our product ranges.”
Caroline McKeown, Senior Relationship Manager at Ulster Bank, added: “We are extremely
pleased to support Deli Lites as it enters an exciting period of high growth. Understanding
the company’s current market position and its growth aspirations, we developed a financial
package that caters for its routine business banking needs as well as providing the funding
injection required to capitalise on huge export market potential.
“We look forward to working closely with its passionate management team whose vision for
the business is now within reach through this new partnership.”
Deli Lites customers include major retailers such as Sainsbury’s, Boots and Applegreen, as
well as local food service companies. At the 2020 Sammies, the British Sandwich
Association Awards, the business won in the New Sandwich Category (Hot) for its innovative
Irish Stout Pastrami Tósta. Deli Lites has also won numerous Great Taste awards, including
for its Kitchen Vegilantes range. CEO Brian Reid was announced as IOD NI International
Director of the Year 2020.”
Reference: Cartmill, C. (2021) ‘Deli Lites invests with help from Ulster Bank’, NewsLetter, 13
February 2021 [Online]. Available at: https://www.newsletter.co.uk/business/deli-litesinvests-with-help-from-ulster-bank- 3128713 (Accessed: 21 September 2022).
3
Loss of access to EU single market ‘last thing’ NI food producers need, says Deli
Lites chief
Food producers will face cost implications and will have to review their exporting strategies if
NI’s access to the single market ends, a Newry businessman has said.
Food business Deli Lites chief executive Brian Reid said there has been no doubt that
having access to both the GB and EU markets has been advantageous for many food and
drink producers here, including his own business.
He made the comments after EU vice president Maroš Šefčovič told the Belfast Telegraph
the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) removal from the NI Protocol changes would result in
the loss of NI businesses’ access to the single market.
Mr Šefčovič said the ECJ’s only remit is to rule on the European law and the rules of the
single market, adding: “What I can tell you with 100% certainty is that I cannot imagine that
there will be access for Northern Ireland to the single market without respecting the fact that
the European Court of Justice is the ultimate arbiter on adopting the rulings on how the EU
law and single market rules are applied.”
Mr Reid said that possibility would add complexities and make exporting to the EU a more
costly affair and hinder growth for the many producers here who have had a business boost
from the protocol.“At the minute we have the advantage of access to both markets and that
is a fantastic opportunity. So, for that to be removed, it would put us at a great
disadvantage,” he said.
Mr Reid said Deli Lites has won contracts in recent months “without a doubt” because of
access to both markets. It won a contract last year to supply sandwiches to Boots stores
across Northern Ireland, replacing the pharmacy-led retailer’s previous GB suppliers.
It also created 45 new jobs at its Milltown Industrial Estate factory in Warrenpoint last year
as part of a £4.3m investment to support growth in global markets, including the EU.
“The NI Protocol has helped us win business we wouldn’t have otherwise, because of those
advantages. We’ve also been getting a lot more enquiries and business that we wouldn’t be
getting if we didn’t have that access. Without access, it will certainly make things more
difficult for us and other food and drink producers. It will add complexities that are not there
currently, and companies will be forced to rethink their exporting strategies,” he said.
“There would also be cost implications for food stuffs, because any barriers to trade incur
costs. Delays, red tape and paperwork all add up and in the current environment — we’re
heading into a world recession, coming out of Covid and dealing with inflation from the war in
Ukraine — this is the last thing we need.”
Ulster Bank chief economist Richard Ramsey said recent stats showing NI manufacturing
output in Q1 2022 was 3.9% above pre-pandemic levels compared to 0.2% in the UK overall
made it clear that the NI Protocol was “a factor here”. He said it was “noticeable in food and
drink manufacturing”, especially with NI output 11.7% more than it was since Q4 2019.
The Northern Ireland Business Brexit Working Group, a collaboration of 14 industry bodies,
said: “It is important to acknowledge that despite the challenges since the protocol and the
Trade and Cooperation Agreement entered into force, our exports have grown considerably
and standstill arrangements have helped simplify the movement of consumer goods to
Northern Ireland.”
Commenting on the UK Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, it added: “Unilateral action is not at
our request, and in these times, the parties have a responsibility to reach an agreement with
a sense of urgency. We need to see the UK and EU engage in substantive talks on resolving
issues raised by stakeholders in Northern Ireland.”
Mr Reid added: “I would hope that the negotiations will continue and both parties involved in
the NI Protocol will reach an agreement that can help all sides of the community, including
the business community. Calm heads can reach an agreement, so let us do business in a
stable, forward-thinking environment.”
Reference: Deighan, E. (2022) ‘Loss of access to EU single market ‘last thing’ NI food
producers need, says Deli Lites chief’, Belfast Telegraph, 17 June 2022 [Online]. Available
at: https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/northern- ireland/loss-of-access-to-eu-singlemarket-last-thing-ni-food-producers-need-says- deli-lites-chief-41763996.html (Accessed: 21
September 2022).
Then write a well-formulated essay in response to the following two questions:
Which of the four drivers of globalisation has been the most influential in the
expansion of DELI LITES and to what extent do you think it is a globalised business?
Your essay should contain:
an introduction
a main body, which develops your argument
a conclusion that summarises key points of the essay and answers the two questions.
This part is intended to assess your ability to write an effective business essay by
applying relevant business concepts to develop your argument.
This part of your assignment should be 1000 words in length and you should keep to
within 10 per cent above or below this limit. Any figures, tables or diagrams should be
included in the body of the main text and will form part of the total word count.
However, the reference list does not contribute to the word limit.
Additional information:
What is globalisation?
Globalisation has proven notoriously difficult to define, and this section extracts the key
features of this term. Authors have described globalisation as ‘a set of processes through
which the world is becoming a single space’ (Chirico, 2014, p. 8) and as a trend toward
‘greater economic, cultural, political, and technological interdependence among national
institutions and economies’ (Wild and Wild, 2014, p. 31). Ohmae (1990) encapsulated this
when he talked of a ‘borderless world’. This captures the sense in which, whilst we live in a
world of discrete nation states, these boundaries are becoming more permeable. These
borders no longer have the defining importance that they used to. Business, consumers and
citizens are no longer insulated from the rest of the world in quite the same way as
previously assumed. It is also worth noting that globalisation is more than an economic
phenomenon. As Rassekh states: ‘The term globalisation refers to the process of increasing
interaction and integration of cultures, societies, and economies’ (Rassekh, 2014, p. 390).
Globalisation has a large impact on many aspects of our lives, not simply the opening up of
the world economy and the increasing flow of goods and services across national
boundaries. Although this reading focuses on the economic dimension of globalisation, both
political and cultural dimensions in particular shape the functioning of globalisation and
business practice within the global context. For example, some argue that globalisation
leads to a certain convergence of culture in general and consumer behaviour in particular
(Sklair, 2002). (Perhaps this may explain the rapid expansion and success of Starbucks
around the world.) A second point worth emphasising is that globalisation is a process
leading towards interdependence between economies and polities. It does not describe the
existence of an end stage in which a ‘borderless world’ exists.
Drivers of globalisation
The drivers of globalisation are those pressures or changes that have impelled both
businesses and nations to adopt this approach. The different drivers are: cost drivers,
market drivers, government drivers and competition drivers. We look at each of these in turn
below.
1 Cost drivers
These seek out an advantage to a business from the possible lowering of the cost of the
service or production, and would include: gaining economies of scale from increasing the
size of the business operation; the development and growth of technological innovation
which simplifies the production process and makes for rapid and extensive communications
through the use of information technology (IT) and the internet; lower labour and other
resource costs in the developing countries found in Africa, India, the Far East and Latin
America; fast and efficient transportation systems with the development of improved
infrastructure.
2 Government drivers
Here nations work together to increase the possibility of trading activities in their international
trade to create economic advantage and wealth. This can be brought about by: a reduction
in trade barriers through the removal of tariffs on imports and exports; the creation of trading
blocs to bring about closer co-operation and economic activity between nations; for example,
the World Trade Organisation, the EU; the creation of more open and freer economies as a
result of, for example, the ending of the closed economies of Eastern Europe and the
opening up of the Chinese economy; this is a problematic arena as these developments are
often linked to an underpinning political agenda which may alter quite rapidly with a change
in government or with social instability; privatisation of previously centrally controlled
industries or organisations: examples include the UK policy of the 1980s and 1990s of
selling off to private shareholders previous state monopolies such as gas,
telecommunications and electricity, and more recently in Russia of selling off the oil industry.
The idea behind this is that release from state influence will enable the new organisations to
operate along more businesslike lines and seek out new markets and suppliers, driven by
the profit motive.
3 Competition drivers
The opening up of economies or businesses creates an environment in which more players
can enter the marketplace, whether nationally or internationally. This means that competition
will increase as the businesses strive to attract potential consumers for their products or
services both at home and overseas. This is brought about by: the cross-border ownership
of home firms by foreign organisations; movement of companies to become globally centred
rather than nationally centred through acquisition, strategic alliances and takeover; the
growth of these global networks of organisational structures and businesses which make
countries interdependent within specific industries.
4 Market drivers
The development of a world market brings about changes in the demands and tastes of the
consumer by: the establishment of global brands which have instant recognition and are
created and supported by global advertising and marketing (for example, McDonald’s fastfood outlets, Nike trainers and sportswear, and Levi jeans); low-cost travel also enables
people to purchase consumer goods abroad, thereby reinforcing global brands; increasing
low-cost travel which begins to create the idea of global consumers with a growing
convergence of lifestyles and tastes; growing per capita income, not only in the developed
economies of the West, but in the emerging industrial and services economies; this
increases the purchasing power of consumers both individually and organisationally.
References
Chirico, J.-A. (2014) Globalization: Prospects and Problems, Sage, London. Ohmae, K.
(1990) The Borderless World, London, Collins. Rassekh, F. (2014) ‘Economic globalization:
an empirical presentation and a moral judgment’, in Boylan, M. (ed.) Business Ethics, 2nd
edn, Chichester, Wiley-Blackwell. Sklair, L. (2002) Globalization: Capitalism and its
Alternatives, 3rd edn, Oxford, Oxford University Press. Wild, J. J. and Wild, K. L. (2014)
International Business: The Challenges of Globalization, 7th edn, Harlow, Pearson. (Source:
adapted from Ball, 2012, and Winchester, 2015)

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