Aussie chicken retailer Lenard’s has linked with distribution giant Metcash to supply poultry products to hundreds of independent supermarkets.
Lenard’s has signed agreements with the major wholesaler for distribution across several states including Queensland, Victoria and South Australia.
Metcash distributes products through IGA, Foodland, Romeo’s, Drakes Queensland, and the IGA Ritchies group and Lenard’s exhibited at the recent Metcash Food Expo 2022 on the Gold Coast.
The distribution partnership is the first strategic initiative implemented by Lenard’s newly minted boss Harry Rumpler, formerly the CEO of IGA Fresh (Metcash).
Rumpler joined the Lenard’s team in January 2022, bringing C-suite and advisory board experience to the retailer.
“Our partnership with Metcash means we are now available to all food markets in South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland, with Western Australia and New South Wales to come soon,” said Rumpler. “Supermarkets are particularly excited as we have not been available in most of these regions for a number of years.”
Rumpler told Inside Franchise Business, “Lenard’s franchise stores have always been, and will remain, the core strategy, and focus, of our business. The brand exposure from our retail supermarket strategy, we believe, will only benefit both aspects of the business.
“Our franchisees have access to produce a wide range of products that suits their local demographics that is made fresh in stores. The retail supermarket sector has a core range which has been identified to satisfy a wider range of consumers. Together, as one brand within the two channels, we see them co-existing and enhancing Lenard’s value in the market place,” he said.
Lenard’s products are now delivered frozen, reducing waste and allowing supermarkets to sell the products frozen or thawed.
The chicken brand offers 10 deli lines for traditional shoppers and 15 pre-packaged meat case options targeted at a “grab-and-go” customer.
Lenard Poulter founded Lenard’s in 1987 in Brisbane. Lenard’s handmade chicken products are made with Australian barn-raised chickens, with no added hormones or steroids.
In 2021 Poulter introduced the current convenience mix of frozen and fresh products in a brand new format that refreshed the decades-old brand.
Today there are 23 locally-owned stores and Lenard’s can also be found in several hundred independent supermarkets around Australia.
