Bord Bia is implementing “detailed plans” to showcase Irish food and drink to a global audience, as the world celebrates St. Patrick’s Day and everything Irish.
Bord Bia says that it is maximising the opportunity, through its network of 13 overseas offices, to promote Irish food with a series of business development and consumer initiatives.
From Stuttgart to Shanghai, Bord Bia has scheduled over 65 marketing activities aimed at consumers, retailers, trade and foodservice operators.
Irish food and drink is currently enjoyed in 180 markets around the world and exports reached over €11 billion for the first time in 2016.
Tara McCarthy, Bord Bia’s Chief Executive, emphasised the importance of the celebration to the Irish food industry stating: “St. Patrick’s Day provides the Irish food and drink industry and Bord Bia with a real business opportunity to highlight our export credentials on a scale unmatched by the national day of any other country.
“Now more than ever, in the context of Brexit, we are capitalising on this opportunity to deliver key business development meetings, events and campaigns that allow us to engage with new and existing customers.
We are also undertaking targeted retail promotions in some 400 stores from Japan to France over the period, aimed at introducing overseas consumers to the taste of Irish food.
Trade meetings, retail promotions and tastings, media events, advertising and social media are just some of the other export-building activities Bord Bia says it is undertaking across cities in over 20 countries.
From Michelin star chefs to some of the biggest retailers in Europe, the business of Irish food will “be to the forefront during this period”.
Irish Beef ‘to the Fore in Europe’
Irish beef forms a focus for Bord Bia’s retail and consumer engagements across some key export markets.
The German, French, UK and Dutch markets will all intensify their Irish beef marketing activities for the duration of the festive period – targeting major retailers, shoppers and media.
L-R: Michelin-star chef, Claudio Urru, Tara McCarthy, Bord Bia’s CEO, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed and Donal Denvir, Bord Bia’s German Market Manager.
This week saw Bord Bia launch a new consumer campaign worth nearly €1m for Irish beef in Germany that will see Bord Bia partner with retail chains and restaurants.
Irish beef continues to perform strongly in Germany with exports expected to reach 30,000t by 2018.
In Ireland’s largest export market, the UK, Bord Bia has launched a “comprehensive digital campaign for Irish beef – Beef Encounters – encompassing recipes, competitions and online advertising across platforms such as BBC Good Food, Jamie Oliver and The Guardian.
In France, Bord Bia has engaged a number of “leading retailers” to support its St. Patrick’s Day promotions. It is coordinating an Irish beef promotion across some 140 Monoprix stores, a chain that purchases €4 million worth of Irish beef.
Bord Bia’s team in China is hosting a media event to educate nearly 40 journalists about its work in the region, as well as to launch Musgrave’s new online store. Bord Bia also took part in Féile Shanghai Family Day Festival – apparently Shanghai’s biggest celebration of Irish culture – promoting Irish food and seafood alongside Keogh’s, Kerrygold, Avonmore and Kerry Group.
In Poland, over 500 “important guests” are enjoying Irish food and drink at the annual St. Patrick’s Day Charity Ball in Warsaw. Bord Bia also hosted 10 award-winning Polish chefs at a luncheon, some of whom have worked in some of Ireland’s top restaurants and are now looking to bring a taste of Ireland to their restaurants.
Finally, Bord Bia says that it has distributed samples of Irish salmon, farmhouse cheeses and beef to embassies across all continents, from the Middle East to South America, to ensure that influential guests attending official St. Patrick’s Day events experience the best of Irish food and develop a taste for more.