Food Promotion
Bord Bia
Bord Bia’s mission is to drive through market insight and, in partnership with industry, the commercial success of a world class Irish food, drink and horticulture industry.
Bord Bia employs 95 staff, has eleven offices in export markets – in Amsterdam, Dubai, Dusseldorf, London, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, New York, Paris, Shanghai and Stockholm – as well as a head office in Dublin.
Quality Assurance Schemes (QAS)
Bord Bia has developed Quality Assurance Schemes for beef, dairy, lamb, pork, poultry, eggs and horticulture. These provide independent certification of quality back to farm level. The horticulture programme includes field vegetables, mushrooms, soft fruit and top fruit, protected crops and potatoes, hardy nursery stock, potted plants and bedding plants.
QAS has played an important role in underpinning the Origin Green programme since May 2011, when carbon output was first measured as part of Bord Bia’s Beef and Lamb QAS. Beginning in 2014 the Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme (SDAS) effectively extends carbon emission monitoring to the dairy industry. Over 30,000 (94%) of Bord Bia’s Beef QAS members have taken part in a sustainability survey as part of their 18 month farm audit. Ireland is the first country to assess the environmental performance of farms on a national scale.
Origin Green – The National Sustainability Programme
In 2011 Bord Bia, in conjunction with the Irish food and drink industry, launched Origin Green, a promise to the world: that Ireland would be a leading source of sustainably produced food and drink. This unique national sustainability programme for Ireland’s food and drink industry is independently verified, and enables Ireland’s food producers to set and achieve measurable sustainability targets – reducing environment impact, serving local communities more effectively and protecting Ireland’s rich natural resources.
Food manufacturers develop a plan with clear targets in key areas such as emissions, energy, waste, water, biodiversity and corporate social responsibility. As at September, 2015 over 471 companies had signed up for the Origin Green programme, 117 were fully verified members, 159 sustainability plans had been submitted for verification.
Commercial success depends on reliable information and strategic contacts. Bord Bia has a thorough understanding of the capabilities of Irish food, drink and horticultural companies and supplies them with information and insight on global market trends. Services for small business are provided through the Bord Bia Vantage Programme (www.bordbiavantage.ie), the Marketing Assistance Programme (MAP) for companies with a turnover between
€100,000 and €3.5m and the Step Change Fund (SCF) for companies with a turnover of between €100,000 and €5m to support them in improving their marketing capability.
Collaborative Ventures
Food Academy, a collaborative initiative between Bord Bia, the 35 Local Enterprise Offices and Musgraves/Supervalu provides integrated supports and training to food companies as they progress from start-up to national distribution and export. The programme consists of modules including Finance Distribution, the Market and the Consumer, Production and Marketing. To apply e-mail: maria.stokes@bordbia.ie.
Website: www.bordbiavantage.ie/business-development/food-academy/.
Bord Bia is working with Tesco on their Taste Bud programme to assist companies to reach the next level and with Teagasc and Enterprise Ireland on the innovative FoodWorks programme for food start-ups.
In 2015 Bord Bia launched their Ascent Programme, with support from PwC, to help Irish food and drink companies address strategic issues impacting future growth plans.
Bord Bia also provides guidance on routes to market.
Food Dudes Programme/EU School Fruit & Vegetables Scheme
The Food Dudes Programme is an evidence based incentivised behaviour changing programme which was developed by the University of Wales, Bangor. It is managed by Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board and was rolled out in Ireland in 2005.
It is funded by the Department and an EU contribution has been received under EU School Fruit & Vegetables Scheme since 2009. It aims to increase primary schoolchildren’s fruit and vegetable consumption by repeated tasting of fruit and vegetables over a 16 day intervention period, supported by role models (Food Dudes Heroes) and small rewards. The original programme was completed in 2014 having reached 477,423 school children and 3,127 schools (95% of all primary schools in Ireland).
Building on the success of the orginal programme, a roll-out of the Food Dudes Boost Programme commenced in 2014 with the aim of reaching more young children. The Junior Cycle (Junior Infants to Second Class) taste fruit and vegetables daily during the 16 day intervention period and the Senior Cycle (Third Class to Sixth Class) enjoy 4 tasting days as a boost. Additional Department and EU funding will enable the programme run at approx. 800 schools and reach 160,000 children in the 2015/2016 school year, compared to 390 schools and 70,000 children in previous school years.