Cloughbane Farm expands into children's market

Lorna Robinson, Managing Director, Cloughbane Farm pictured with grandchildren Bob, Connie and Grace Robinson as they launch 'Cloughbane Little Farm', a new range of healthy and convenient ready-meals created for children.

‘Cloughbane Little Farm’ is a selection of healthy and convenient ready-meals, created for children aged 1 – 6 years. Made from quality, locally sourced ingredients, the new range is cooked on the Robinson family farm, just outside Dungannon.

The products have already secured listings to the value of £750,000 with retailers including Aldi, Henderson Group and Musgrave Group, with several others to be announced soon.

Having been in development for three years, the launch of Cloughbane Little Farm is another significant development for the family business which now employs 50 people, having experienced 25 per cent revenue growth since 2013.

Lorna Robinson, managing director, Cloughbane Farm, explained how the new products came about.

“We have been producing award-winning cooked dishes and pies for almost 10 years. When our own family grew, and my grandchildren were born, I was reminded of how difficult it can be for busy families to find tasty, nutritious and quick meal options for children,” she said.

“And so, with the same passion for quality and taste that goes into all our products, we started to develop Cloughbane Little Farm.

“The meals have been rigorously tested throughout the development process and we are delighted with the result. Independent sensory analysis carried out at CAFRE compared Cloughbane Little Farm products to other children’s meals and the results show that panellists preferred the taste, appearance and texture of our range in every instance.

“As parents and grand-parents ourselves, we understand how much care goes into selecting what young children eat, so these results are extremely important to us. We are proud to have created a range that helps busy families, without compromising on anything that matters.”

The Robinson family has been farming in the townland of Cloughbane in Pomeroy, for more than 150 years.

The fourth generation of the family founded Cloughbane Farm Shop back in 2004 by converting a larger building (formerly a pig house, then a sheep pen) into what is now the shop which features a 12-foot butchery.

Since then, the company has gone on to secure multiple major listings for its prepared foods with retailers across the UK, including Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys.