As Musgrave reaches its 150th anniversary, the milestone coincides with recognition at the Irish Logistics & Transport Awards 2026 following the successful implementation of the “Good Catch” safety programme.
This year marks 150 years since Musgrave was established by brothers Thomas and Stuart from humble premises off Main Street in Cork. What began as a single grocery store has evolved into Ireland’s largest private employer. Generating a staggering €12.3 billion in annual economic activity across the island, the business, which operates 19 market-leading retail, wholesale and foodservice brands, is responsible for feeding one in three Irish people.
Today, Musgrave supports approximately 1,200 independently owned retail SMEs, including household names SuperValu and Centra, and serves over 75,000 foodservice customers. The business underpins a network that accounts for 63,500 jobs across the wider economy, directly employing 44,000 people across its corporate and retail partner operations.
Its massive supply chain operation spends €3.34 billion annually with over 1,800 local suppliers. With 80% of its procurement sourced directly on the island of Ireland, including €241 million from Northern Ireland, the group’s logistics arm plays a vital role in national freight movement. The business has spent a century and a half growing alongside local enterprise, establishing a model built on independent ownership and long-term infrastructure investment.
Of course, behind a supply chain operation of this size lies a complex logistics network where operational efficiency and workplace safety must go hand in hand. Reflecting this commitment, Musgrave was crowned winner of the Safety Award at the Irish Logistics & Transport Awards 2026. The judges praised the company for its modern, people-centred approach that moves decisively away from reactive risk management toward early intervention.
At the core of this recognition is the “Good Catch” programme, a proactive initiative designed to surface potential hazards before they escalate into serious incidents. By distributing safety responsibility across every role – from drivers on the road to warehouse operatives and office colleagues – Musgrave has embedded a culture where every employee plays an active role in maintaining a safe working environment.
Recognising the Successes of the Good Catch Programme
Developed in 2024 and rolled out in 2025, the Good Catch programme enabled Musgrave “to hone in on behaviours and make everyone take responsibility for health and safety across their own sites,” says Steven Henry, Transport Territory Manager NI.
The initiative works by opening up immediate dialogue around everyday risks across all facilities. “For example, we would see things like people not using designated walkways. That allowed us to ask: ‘Why aren’t people using them? Do they know what the walkway is for?’ The Good Catch programme started those conversations earlier, which then led into targeted health and safety campaigns around the main trends we were seeing. From there, we looked at how colleagues could easily report these issues – whether drivers out on the road or people walking the yard and warehouse.” Indeed, for easier reporting, Musgrave introduced a QR code that enabled colleagues to quickly identify any issues they saw.
This has led to improvements already. The business reassessed its personal protective equipment standards – even upgrading the quality of hi-vis clothing – while introducing targeted safety interventions for high-risk equipment. Tail lifts, for instance, became the focal point of a dedicated annual safety campaign. To ensure safety messaging hits home at the exact point of operation, Musgrave installed clear visual signage directly on the back doors of its vehicles, giving drivers an immediate reminder of correct operating procedures right alongside the control panels.
“Our motto is that we work together,” says Steven, highlighting Musgrave’s move to establish health and safety committees across all sites with a mix of drivers, warehouse colleagues, management, and admin personnel. “We actively seek their input – for example, when we get new trucks built, we take on board what they say about what works and what doesn’t, because they’re living and breathing it every day.
“We allow their feedback to flow through the entire decision-making process and keep everyone in the loop. We value what they say. They have a genuine voice. If someone comes back and says, ‘X, Y, or Z isn’t working for us and could cause an accident,’ that allows us to get ahead of it.”
The Good Catch programme has also had a positive impact on employee retention. “We employ a lot of international drivers and warehouse colleagues, so it’s essential that everyone has a voice. Whether you’ve been with the company for 25 years – and we have a lot of long-serving colleagues – or you’ve been here for five days, health and safety is for everyone.”
Through the new initiative, people have a platform to express their views. “What we’ve found is that it offers a much easier path than forcing a new hire to approach a manager directly to say, ‘In my experience, this isn’t working,’ or ‘Could we try this?’ or even just asking, ‘How does this work?’ The programme allows for easier, more relaxed communication for new starters. As a result, our retention has improved. Drivers and warehouse colleagues aren’t sitting there in silence worrying about an issue; they have an accessible, direct way to flag anything they notice.”
And crucially, it’s evolving all the time. Recognising that drivers spend around 90% of their working hours on the road rather than inside a depot, Musgrave is expanding the programme into its driver mobile app to bridge the communication gap. This dedicated digital space will allow the company to feedback directly on Good Catch submissions, link real-world reports to ongoing safety campaigns, and demonstrate transparency through structured ‘You Said, We Did’ updates.
Raising the Bar
As part of its commitment to setting new benchmarks in health and safety within transport and logistics, this year will also see the rollout of the SHIFT programme (Structured Health Intervention for Truckers), which focuses on driver health and wellbeing, including aspects such as nutrition and diet, sleep, fatigue, and physical activity.
On being recognised at the Irish Logistics & Transport Awards 2026, Steven says it’s indicative of how Musgrave continues to raise the bar. “Ultimately, the achievement gives people a sense of pride and belonging – a feeling that everyone is in this together. The Good Catch programme isn’t just for one site or a specific group; it’s company-wide and focuses on shared responsibility, which makes everyone feel included. That award isn’t just for a select few; it belongs to everyone.”
As Musgrave reflects on 150 years of shaping Irish retail and logistics, this latest accolade proves that its longevity is built on far more than operational scale alone. By coupling a century and a half of commercial heritage with forward-looking, people-centred innovations like the Good Catch and SHIFT initiatives, the group continues to set the benchmark for modern supply chain management.
“With one of the biggest fleets on the island of Ireland of over 1,200 vehicles, the opportunities to grow within the Musgrave Group supply chain are endless,” remarks Steven. “For 150 years we have attracted the best people to facilitate this growth, and for the next 150 years we would like to do the same.
“The training programmes alongside our continued desire to upskill colleagues allow for progression and pride to come through across our supply chain. This is evident in our Musgrave Driver Academy programme rolled out in 2023 that develops colleagues into HGV1 & HGV2 drivers. There is no better time to join Musgrave and be a part of a fast, dynamic supply chain team in order to grow your career.”
Fleet safety and driver wellbeing are rising up the agenda across the sector, from the operators recognised at Brake’s UK Fleet Champions Awards 2026 to Logistics UK’s focus on workplace safety starting from the ground up.
Transport & Logistics Magazine – Driving The Industry Forward
