Irish chocolate company Lily O'Brien's is to be stocked in Tesco stores across the UK after signing a new deal.

The Kildare-based business will appear in more than 500 British shops in the run up to Christmas.

It was announced by Tesco Ireland from the National Ploughing Championships.

The chocolatier anticipates the deal will be worth in excess of €1m a year, for both seasonal and non-seasonal product lines.

Lily O'Brien's began in 1992 as the brainchild of Mary Ann O'Brien and now employs 120 people.

The firm exports to several markets, including the UK, Scandinavia, USA, Australia, and the Middle East.

The commercial director of Lily O'Brien's, Jason Popplewell said, "We are really excited to bring our chocolates to the shelves of Tesco stores in the UK."

While Malachy O'Connor, fresh food commercial category director of Tesco Ireland, said, "Lily O'Brien's is one of the great success stories of the Tesco-Bord Bia Supplier Development Programme."

"This is a platform that has worked very well to help companies like Glenilen and Green Saffron in recent years to reach an international market. It is one of the ways Tesco is committed to supporting Irish suppliers," he added.