From the rich and fertile soil of North Cork, Castlecor Potatoes have been growing fresh, tasty, high-quality produce since 1974. As this industry-leading, family-run enterprise prepares to mark its 50th anniversary next year, Grocery & Retail Ireland interrupted hands-on director Edward English’s busy schedule to find out more.
From planting and harvesting through to grading and packing at their state-of-the-art packing facility, no stone is left unturned in ensuring that Castlecor Potatoes consistently produce the highest-quality home-grown Irish potatoes, onions and cereals.
This impressive agri company has been literally delivering the goods since 1974, growing from a small family affair to a largescale farming enterprise, and their status as a supplier of choice to Lidl Ireland speaks volumes for the quality of their crops and the efficiency, modernity and professionalism of their production process.
Founder Ned English (who established Castlecor Potatoes alongside his wife Mary), is joined by son Edward and daughter Niamh in the day-to-day running of the exceptional family business, which has evolved and grown impressively down through the years to today generating direct employment for a team of more than 50.
As Castlecor Potatoes edge ever closer to their 50th anniversary, Edward attributes the success they have enjoyed over the decades to a winning combination of quality produce, outstanding service, hard work, and building and maintaining strong relationships with staff, suppliers and customers alike:
“We’ve been in business a long time and we have been through good and bad times,” he notes. “My father is in his 70’s now and is still very much involved. It was his drive and vision that laid the groundwork and we have continued to build on that.
“We have a real passion for growing and I like to think that shows. We’re genuinely passionate about creating good-quality produce and we have built a very good team around us.
“Five years ago, our passion for growing good quality Irish crops led us to re-introducing Irish onions for the first time in many years. A lot of onions eaten here are grown outside of Ireland but we have shown that we can grow quality produce locally in a more sustainable way.
“In any business, building relationships is key and our relationship with Lidl has been very important to us. We’ve been supplying Lidl Ireland since 2010 and they are our main customer, taking 90 per cent of our produce. Since we started working with Lidl, we have grown hand in hand with them. As they have grown, so have we, increasing our staff numbers significantly from three to more than 50.
“Large multinationals set very high standards and they expect every aspect of the business to be managed professionally and properly. They won’t accept anything less than perfect quality and we are acutely aware that we are only as good as our last delivery – so we have to maintain those high standards at all times. We place a huge emphasis on quality and service, and this is backed up by having a great team to deliver these qualities.”
Castlecor’s expertise in growing potatoes is unrivalled and is why customers in retail, wholesale and food service have placed their trust in the renowned North Cork grower, which takes its responsibility for the land and the environment very seriously, recycling and reusing wherever possible and setting high targets for energy conservation.
At present, Castlecor grow 1,200 acres of cereal, 500 acres of potatoes and 150 acres of onions. The high-quality, tasty and nutritious potatoes and onions are pre-packed and delivered nationwide to Lidl Ireland and small wholesalers.
Despite the obvious challenges that 2023 has presented, it has nevertheless been a successful year so far for Castlecor Potatoes. “It is certainly a challenging year weather-wise, while labour was also an issue, with people still more attracted towards careers in IT rather than agriculture,” Edward confirms. “Especially in rural Ireland, sourcing labour is a problem. It has nevertheless been a successful year in that we managed it and came out the other side – but not without its challenges.
“Apart from labour, rising costs is another major issue. There is increased demand for cheap food in a rising-costs economy. The cost of everything – electricity, packaging, diesel, machinery – has risen and you have to battle against these increased overheads whilst trying to operate a sustainable and conscientious business that is profitable and that can stay relevant and successful.”
Despite these difficulties, Edward agrees that, in keeping with tradition, agriculture remains very much the heartbeat of life in Ireland and the Irish economy: “It’s extremely important to rural life and the rural economy. It’s the heartbeat of rural Ireland and I believe it is vitally important that we grow as much home-grown crops as possible in this country so that we are less reliant on outside influences.
“Covid came as a shock to the system and one of the things it showed people, when supply lines were cut off, was that we needed a supply of home-grown, indigenous produce to survive. Whether people realise it or not, I’m not so sure, but agriculture is vitally important not just for the economy but also to ensure that we are sustainable and self-sufficient as a nation.
“The knock-on effects from agriculture to other industries and the country as a whole are immeasurable. To shops and retail, machinery sales, transport and logistics, packaging companies, etc., etc., agri is what keeps the wheel turning. Also, a lot of our exports are agri-related. I don’t think you could overstate the value of agriculture to the people of Ireland.”
The employment generated at Castlecor Potatoes provides a massive fillip to the local economy. “As well as myself and dad and Niamh, we really do have an excellent team of people around us,” Edward reiterates. “Every single member of the team is hugely important, from the person who drives the tractor to the person who signs the dockets. We’d be lost without our staff.”
Regular investment in machinery, people and technology ensures that Castlecor Potatoes are always top of the crops: “Investment in the business is constant because you have to keep up with the newest technology and the most efficient way of doing things,” says Edward. “For some of the crops, innovative equipment can make you less dependent on labour.
“Strategic investment in technological improvements – for example, optical sorting of potatoes and onions – has dramatically helped the business to expand and improve. You are constantly trying to improve yourself. If you want to remain relevant and successful, which we do, you have to invest money back into the business.”
Castlecor Potatoes has become synonymous with growing high-quality, flavoursome produce for coming up on half a century and, even though the next generation of the English family are still a little bit on the young side, Edward is optimistic that there is still much more to come from this top-class, long-established, family-run business:
“Our plan going forward is to expand in response to growing demand and to be more sustainable. We want to expand in a greener, more sustainable way and, as part of this, to generate more of our own energy at source. Generating renewable energy will make the business more efficient, more sustainable and will help to reduce costs.
“We’ve invested a lot of money in high-tech equipment for growing onions, which will reduce our reliance on labour. This is a part of the business where we have identified scope for expansion as there are very few onion growers in the country. The more efficient and sustainable we can be, the better we can be. And quality has always been of paramount importance at Castlecor Potatoes.”
By insisting on quality as a non-negotiable prerequisite, Castlecor Potatoes sets the standard for crop growing and Grocery & Retail Ireland congratulates Ned, Edward, Niamh and the entire team on the imminent milestone of arriving at their 50th anniversary in such fine fettle!
Castlecor Potatoes,
Castlecor,
Mallow,
County Cork.
Tel: 022 48228
Mobile: 086 6077010
Email: [email protected]
Web: castlecorpotatoes.ie
Facebook: www.facebook.com/castlecorpotatoes
First published in Grocery & Retail Ireland magazine Vol 2 No 2, Winter 2023/24
