Avondale Foods

Reducing Food Waste, Recognised for Innovation

Avondale Foods is a long‑established chilled‑food manufacturer based at Chestnut Farm in Lurgan, founded in 1965 by brothers Harry and Derek Geddis.

Today they produce side salads, vegetable accompaniments, fresh soups, sauces, porridge, dough balls and noodles for distribution across the UK and Ireland, supplying both supermarket own‑label and their own Country Kitchen brand.

Country Kitchen, launched in 1992, is Avondale’s consumer‑facing range of soups and salads, including what Food NI describes as “Northern Ireland’s best loved Vegetable Broth and coleslaws”.

The brand’s coleslaws, potato salads and chilled soups are widely available in major supermarkets, and Avondale emphasises that developing new products is rooted in using quality produce from local suppliers and reflecting familiar flavour combinations for NI shoppers.

Sustainability is now a defining feature of how Avondale operates.
As a case‑study participant in WRAP’s Food Waste Reduction Roadmap, they have cut food waste by around 40%, mapped waste flows through the factory and diverted remaining food waste away from landfill into anaerobic digestion and animal feed, with further work planned on redistribution via food charities.

Alongside this, Avondale has overhauled its wider waste handling by segregating and baling cardboard and plastics to create value streams, and has invested in more efficient wastewater treatment systems as part of long‑term environmental responsibility goals.

Their performance, innovation and sustainability focus have been recognised through multiple industry honours, including Great Taste Awards, Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards and an Irish Quality Food Award.

Taken together, their local ownership, flagship Northern Irish brand and measurable progress on waste and resource efficiency position Avondale Foods as a long‑standing producer that is actively reshaping chilled‑food manufacturing around sustainability and responsibility.