Over 100 promotional activities and events will be aimed at consumers, retailers, trade and foodservice operators to promote Irish food this week for St Patrick’s Day.
Irish food and drink exports reach over 175 countries around the world and were worth €10.8 billion in 2015.
Aidan Cotter, Bord Bia’s Chief Executive said that St. Patrick’s Day provides Bord Bia, and the Irish food and drink industry, with an invaluable opportunity to highlight the quality and sustainability credentials of our produce.
“Events and promotional campaigns allow us engage with new and existing customers to tell the story of Origin Green, our industry and its producers, on a scale unmatched by the national day of any other country.”
Bord Bia is coordinating major in-store Irish food promotions across 100 retail stores in Ireland’s largest export market, the UK.
The in-store activities will be boosted by an online promotion and social media campaign featuring chef Paul Foster from GreatBritishChefs.com, the fastest growing food website in the UK.
Last Sunday marked the start of Bord Bia’s UK events with over 80,000 Londoners sampling dishes ranging from slow cooked Irish beef stew and to Irish farmhouse cheeses at Bord Bia London’s ‘Irish Food Market’.
The market was a central part of the Mayor’s St. Patrick’s Day Festival which took place on Trafalgar Square.
In addition, almost 1m UK consumers tuned into Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch programme to hear more about Irish food and drink, most notably Poitín.
Meanwhile in Paris, the Chefs Irish Beef Club, Bord Bia’s international initiative that unites Michelin star and award-winning chefs who use and endorse Irish beef, will host an event to welcome its newest member, Claude Colliot.
Irish Hereford beef features on the menu of Claude’s high-end restaurant in Paris.
Bord Bia has also secured an Irish beef promotion with Monoprix, the leading premium multiple retailer in France. The promotion will take place in over 100 stores and will be supported by in-store tastings.
Bord Bia also hosted a German media and trade event at the esteemed Scholss Elmau restaurant in Munich. Mario Corti, a Michelin Star chef and a Chefs Irish Beef Club member, served Irish Hereford and Black Angus beef and briefed local media on the premium quality of Irish beef.
Irish food and drink will also take centre stage in Sweden’s top three restaurants based in Stockholm.
Bord Bia has joined forces with the Irish Embassy in Sweden to organise an event allowing several Irish food and drink companies, including Tullamore, Jameson, Burren Smokehouse, Kelly’s Oysters and Dawn Meats to showcase their products to key trade buyers.
An Tánaiste Joan Burton will join Bord Bia in Italy for a meeting at Metro’s headquarters in San Donato Milanese.
Metro currently supplies over 53,000 restaurants, 68,000 bars and 23,000 private and public canteens and is a key buyer for Irish beef and related products.
Meanwhile, Bord Bia Spain is running an Irish beef promotion with premium retail chains AlCampo and El Cortes Ingles across a number of their flagship stores.
In the Middle East, Bord Bia Dubai has engaged with Spinneys, the premium retail chain, to run in-store promotions and their popular weekly magazine will feature Irish products in the lead up to St. Patrick’s Day.
In Moscow, Bord Bia will host a trade reception for 90 targeted drink buyers and distributors, highlighting Irish whiskey and craft beers in particular.
This week An Taoiseach Enda Kenny presents a hamper of Irish food and drink products to the Obamas and Dr. Jill Biden during his visit to the White House.
The Bord Bia hampers represent Ireland’s food and drink exports to the US including Irish beef, confectionary, oatmeal, tea, coffee, seafood, butter, whiskey, relishes and preserves, craft beer, crackers, bread and farmhouse cheese.