Henderson Group, the family run business which owns the SPAR, EUROSPAR and VIVO brands in Northern Ireland, has published its first consumer Christmas magazine.

The magazine, titled ‘Festive InSPARation’ is a 100-page glossy magazine and the result of a £285,000 investment by the company to further communicate and connect with their shoppers and position their retailers against the multiples for the festive season.

The theme of the magazine is Christmas Made Simple, with 40 pages dedicated to original recipes using the fresh, local produce available in store to create delicious meals, with more than a few shortcuts.

Throughout the features, readers will find recipe hacks and timing tips from SPAR NI’s Executive Chef, Carl Johannesson, as well as an entire festive spread suitable for vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free and gluten-free eaters.

And the most wasteful time of the year is tackled with cost-effective ways to make money and meals go further and how to have the most recyclable Christmas ever.

Working with local editor Claire Craig, the magazine’s content also brings festive fashion and beauty, gift guides for all the family, Christmas party food, crafting, baking and dining table décor for the big day.

Furthermore, shoppers can enter a competition to fly a loved one home for Christmas. The retailer has worked with Golden Cow to give one lucky person the opportunity to win flights up to the value of £2,000 to bring a friend or family member home for the most wonderful time of the year.

Some of NI’s finest homegrown celebrities also appear including a special Christmas at Home interview with Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford, while household names like Brian Kennedy, Pamela Ballantine, Snow Patrol and Derry Girls share their favourite Christmas memories.

Sara Murphy from Henderson Group said; “With our new Festive InSPARation Christmas magazine, we’re positioning our stores as a one-stop-shop for local festive food. The magazine will be available in every SPAR and EUROSPAR store and supermarket in Northern Ireland with a print run of over 150,000 copies.

“This is a significant opportunity to boost our retailers’ footfall and sales by driving shoppers to their local community supermarkets and stores for just as much choice and value as the multiples.”

The magazine will be the founding pillar of a fully integrated in-store POS, out of home marketing and digital campaign, focusing on the main dinner spread from the magazine, which covers recipes and hacks from party food to cheeseboards, showstopper desserts and of course, the all-important turkey prep.

Sara continued; “We created everything from scratch for the magazine and put in the hard graft, so our readers and shoppers won’t have to. It’s Christmas made simple, so our shoppers can wow around the dinner table with minimal effort.

“Retailers will also have POS and shelf cards for products which feature in the magazine, while consumers can see videos for recipes across our social media platforms and 48-sheets across the country. It is a fully immersive campaign.”

Henderson’s Festive InSPARation magazine is available free of charge in all SPAR and EUROSPAR stores now.

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