The ABP Food Group has recently announced that it has relaunched its products in Italian retailer Carrefour Italia.

The company had been part of an Irish delegation that was promoting Certified Hereford Irish beef in Italy as part of a European-wide St Patrick’s Day promotion.

The ABP Food Group was joined by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan, and members of Bord Bia as they visited Carrefour Italia recently, a retailer it has supplied premium beef to since 2014.

Certified Irish Hereford Prime plays an integral part of ABP’s export strategy and has delivered the highest quality beef to the company’s European customers for over 20 years, Sales and Marketing Manager for ABP Ireland, Eoin Ryan, said.

This quality, coupled with innovative product development, has seen us grow our range throughout the Carrefour estate in Italy.

“I would also like to acknowledge the support we have received from Bord Bia across Europe in helping us to market our products to retailers and food-service providers,” he said.

The ABP Food Group also recently launched its Good Herdsman Organic beef onto the Italian market.

Italy is the largest importer of beef in Europe and also has the second highest consumption levels in Europe, according to ABP.

Whilst Ireland is the fifth largest supplier of beef to Italy in terms of volume, it is the main supplier of premium beef to the country, it added.

Recent appointment at ABP

Meanwhile, Aidan Cotter, the former CEO of Bord Bia, has been appointed as the Chairman of the Board of the joint venture between ABP Food Group and Fane Valley Group.

The joint venture is a 50:50 partnership between ABP Food Group and Fane Valley Group.

It includes the Slaney Foods international beef business and the sheep meat specialist, Irish Country Meats (ICM).

While CEO of Bord Bia, Cotter led many trade missions to various export markets around the world. He also has extensive contacts internationally, within all the European markets that Bord Bia operates in.