Crisp producer Corkers is celebrating a surge in demand for its products in Ireland.

.The firm has become the subject of a Twitter campaign in Ireland calling for “Cork to sell more Corkers’”, started by a consumer who found the products weren’t stocked by enough retailers in the city.

To help the campaign Pymoor based Corkers has been offering a special deal to the first 15 retailers to take up the offer.

While taking potato products to Ireland might sound like taking coals to Newcastle this isn’t the first time the company has had interest from Ireland.

Director Rod Garnham said: “We’ve sold our potatoes to shops and restaurants in Ireland for the last 90 years.

“They come all the way across England because of the unique soil we have that helps us grow potatoes of great quality, flavour and taste.” The company won the Potato Grower of the Year Award last year.”

Mr Garnham describes the 10 mile radius around their 200 hectare farm as being “like the Loire Valley of potatoes”.

This he says is down to the peaty soil created when the land was drained in the 1860s and which also contains the remains of 4,000 year old trees.

“Nowhere else in the country and maybe the world has soil like this, which is why the ‘land of potatoes’ come to get our potatoes,” he said.

Being the land of potatoes also makes the Irish great potato connoisseurs he says. “Unlike here, in Ireland they’ll never put a frozen chip with meat,” he said.

“You’ll even find fresh hand cut chips in Dublin Airport.”

Now that the crisps are also attracting attention Corkers doesn’t’ want to stop with Cork.

He added: “We already have a wholesaler in the south and have been on a trade mission to Ireland with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI). It’s early day but this is a good start.”

Other countries they are going into include South Korea, Germany, France, Denmark, Hong Kong and the US. To help it on its way the company has used the services of UKTI. This includes joining the Passport to Export programme, which provides new and inexperienced exporters with the training, planning and ongoing support with issues as they arise, such as understanding import taxes.

“Working with our International Trade Adviser David Moir has brought real benefit when it comes to understanding the markets,” said Mr Garnham.

“This has also included putting the company in contact with embassies across the globe, including in Berlin where they supplied crisps for an event for the Queen’s birthday. The recently launched Great British Food Unit by the Department of Food & Rural Affairs has put an emphasis on food exports with its aim of ‘turbo-charging’ UK food exports.”

Mr Moir said: “Corkers are an ideal company to work with. Their enthusiasm is infectious as they promote a great quality product through its very British associations. UKTI has helped them to establish themselves across a number of international markets and no doubt we will help with many more.”