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Alan McGrath, Health Stores Ireland

Alan is a national organiser for Health Stores Ireland, the representative group for over 200 independent health food stores in Ireland. A former retailer, he has been active in many national and local enterprise and community groups including Action Tuam Ltd., Chamber of Commerce, Energise Tuam and “Love your Town”, a shop local promotional group. He is currently an advisory board member of the all-island Food Safety Promotion Board, Safefood. He was Chairman of Irish Association of Health Stores from 2009-2011.

In his role with Health Stores Ireland, Alan has assisted retailers, ranging from owners of large chains to small owner-run businesses, to meet the challenges of an ever-changing marketplace, Brexit, Covid and increasing regulation and market fragmentation. He facilitates information sharing, group procurement and specialist training and coordinates annual awards, consumer and B2B shows for the wellness sector. He has designed and delivered sectoral national media campaigns on both radio and TV and writes regular features for trade magazines in Ireland and the UK

Alan is passionate about preserving and promoting independent community focused businesses to offer an approachable, empathetic, and dedicated specialist service to their customer base and beyond. He is committed to working with all interested parties and stakeholders to promote town centres as diverse and vibrant spaces where businesses can thrive to create a sustainable community anchor for trade, service and socialising.