Lidl spent over €136m on Cork suppliers last year

Ireland’s fastest growing supermarket retailer procured more than €136 million worth of goods and services from 120 suppliers and business partners across Cork last year, serving its 22 stores within the county.

Over €19 million worth of Cork-made goods were exported to Lidl stores across the globe while Keohane Seafoods, Castlecor Potatoes and Irish Yogurts were among key Cork suppliers to benefit from Lidl’s local investment.

Keohane Seafoods secured a €30 million contract with Lidl in 2025, providing fresh, frozen and a range of ready-to-eat products to Lidl stores across Ireland. This also included an export deal to Lidl stores across Europe, including Germany, France, Switzerland and the Canary Islands.

Beyond direct economic investment, Lidl drives significant social impact in Cork. The retailer supported 46 local charities in the county, donating over 126,000 meals through Food Cloud. This commitment is further underlined by national support, including a more than a €716,000 donation to charity partner Family Carers Ireland, which provides vital assistance to local Cork carers.

Lidl Ireland has broken the €2 billion spend mark in procuring goods and services from Irish businesses in 2025 - an increase of €337 million (or 20%) on last year – according to the retailer’s latest annual Supplier and Business Partner Impact Report.

At a national level, Lidl Ireland procured €1.4 billion worth of goods from the Irish agrifood sector in 2025 - an increase of €167m (or 13%) on 2024 – and procured a further €595m worth of services from business partners in Ireland in 2025. More than €404m of produce from Irish suppliers was exported to Lidl stores across the UK, EU and USA - an increase of 12.5% on 2024 figures.

Lidl Ireland is committed to supporting small and medium sized home-grown businesses through its Kickstart Supplier Development Programme, supported by Bord Bia. In recent years the programme saw Cork supplier The Good Dairy Company join the Kickstart alumni, with their handmade ice creams made on the family farm hitting the shelves in Lidl stores across the island of Ireland.

Launching the new report findings, Robert Ryan, CEO, Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland said: “Over the last 12 months, Lidl Ireland has achieved phenomenal market share growth and welcomed more than 1.5 million weekly shoppers across our doors. For us, a key driver of success is our longstanding relationships with Irish suppliers, and it’s no surprise to see that our record market share growth to 13.7% in Ireland is also matched with our growing investment into Irish agri-food businesses.

“In just four years, we’ve more than doubled our spend with Irish producers and our record €2 billion spend in 2025 affirms our commitment to our valued suppliers and business partners. We’re very much doubling down on our investment and prioritising local sourcing of high quality, nutritious and great tasting food at market-leading value. We’re very proud to fly the flag for Irish producers and utilise our reach and extensive international network to drive these businesses to further success on the global stage.”