Cork coffee company secures €350k contract with Lidl 

A CORK coffee producer has secured a €350k contract that will see its products stocked in Lidl stores nationwide, providing new opportunities and a "boost" for the company.

Lidl has announced a deal worth €350,000 with local Cork-based business, Soma Coffee Company.

The 12-month contract will see Soma Coffee Company’s freshly roasted single-origin Brazilian Eldorado ground and whole bean coffee stocked in 209 Lidl stores across the island of Ireland.

The Cork coffee producer is to supply more than 50,000 bags of speciality roasted coffee exclusively to Lidl stores, bringing barista-quality coffee to homes from Bantry to Belfast.

A young company, Soma Coffee Company is in its fourth year in business and currently employs 10 people across its two Cork-based coffee shops where they are renowned for their supremely specialist coffee.

With a focus on quality, Soma Coffee Company expertly roasts their flavoursome coffee on-site at their local Tuckney Street shop using only the finest coffee beans.

The contract with Lidl has allowed the Cork company to upgrade their 1-kilo coffee roaster to a larger state-of-the-art model, as well as investing in a new automated bagging machine, enabling them to fulfil larger-scale production and grow their distribution potential.

Commenting on the deal, Cork native and Soma Coffee Company co-founder, Damien Twohig said they are “over the moon to be working with Lidl”.

“Having closed our coffee shops due to the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, the contract with Lidl has been the boost we needed.

“It gives us an island-wide platform to expand our customer base and the financial injection to develop our business, opening us to further opportunities.

“We’ve always produced coffee with the ethos of quality over quantity, but with this support from Lidl, we can now do both."

Soma Coffee Company’s products will be available in Lidl stores island wide in the coming weeks.

The announcement coincides with Lidl’s latest offering of coffee makers and barista accessories which are available from 10 June.