*Doug Howlett, Head of Commercial and Marketing, Munster Rugby, players Alby Mathewson, John Ryan, Chris Farrell, and Dave Kilcoyne, along with executive chef Danny Miller and Zest! managing director Ean Malone.
Photo by Diarmuid Greene. 

Fresh from qualifying for the Champions Cup semi-final for the fourteenth time in seventeen years, Munster Rugby have signed a three year deal with a Shannon food company.

Zest! will provide all meals for Munster’s senior and academy squads during training and travel which will work out at 15,000 meals per annum. Officially signed at Shannon Airport which is houses one of the retailer’s cafés, the deal see them provide at no cost breakfast, lunch and snack meals tailored to the specific requirements of each individual player for the squad sessions three times weekly and for their travel

It is an extension of the partnership between the two brands that started 18 months ago when Zest! began providing food once a week for Munster squad sessions at the High Performance Centre. The food catering headquartered in Shannon but has multiple cafés in Limerick and one in Ennis.

Commercial and Marketing at Munster Rugby Doug Howlett stated, “The modern athlete has very specific dietary requirements which vary from player to player and meeting that involves, apart from anything else, a complex logistics operation. Zest! has not alone been looking after those for some time now but the quality and taste has been exceptional.  We also like their concentration on sourcing as much produce as they can locally, and that’s very much to our approval given the strong sense of community that Munster Rugby is built on.”

Co-owner of Zest! Ean Malone stated, “Munster have been fantastic to work with from the off. They apply the same level of professionalism off the field as they do on it and aside from this being one of the greatest brands in Irish sport, this is the type of standard that we want to work with. Becoming Munster Rugby’s food partner is validation of the hard work and quality of our entire team.  We have a big Munster fan base among our 230 staff, and they are really proud of the fact that they are now a cog in the Munster machine.”

“This is a big commitment on our side but one we are delighted to make because of all that Munster stands for.  The players have to watch everything they eat, and our job is to ensure they get on their plate and in their snack packs food that’s high on taste and quality but food that also meets their individual dietary requirements,” Fiona Barry, co-owner of Zest! noted.