Veda (an Irish version of malt loaf) is big business on the Emerald Isle, and now Sunblest, owned by Allied Bakeries, has been voted Northern Ireland’s tastiest. 

Allied Bakeries’ Sunblest was voted “Northern Ireland’s tastiest veda brand” in a blind taste test. The survey of the most popular veda breads on the market was conducted in Belfast city centre from 20-22 January 2016, and there were 150 respondents.

Other veda-based questions in the survey revealed that 55% prefer their veda toasted, and 55% prefer to slice their own, as opposed to buying a pre-sliced loaf.

The preference for Sunblest over other brands was most marked in the 45- to 64-year-old age bracket – almost three quarters (74%) of those surveyed in that category preferred Sunblest.

Elva O’Connor, senior brand manager at Allied Bakeries, said: “We started baking veda in the 1950s and, back then, we could never have imagined that it would become the cult NI product it is today, and that we would be producing one million loaves per year and be voted the tastiest.”

The victory coincides with newly designed packaging for Sunblest veda bread, which says ‘It’s magic’ on the pack.