Local Enterprise Office Mayo Clients to support sales of 50M as Ministers Creed and Breen Celebrate 5th year of Food Academy Programme
31st May, 2018 – Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed TD and Minister for Trade, Business & Employment, EU Digital Single Market & Data Protection Pat Breen TD marked the fifth year of the Food Academy programme this week, which is expected to generate €50 million in sales annually for emerging Irish food producers within the next five years.
Food Academy is a joint initiative between the network of Local Enterprise Offices within the local authorities, Bord Bia and SuperValu and was established to support early-stage Irish food businesses. Participating companies gain access to expertise in branding, market research, business development, and distribution, to allow them to scale up and secure listings with SuperValu.
Local Enterprise Office Mayo has been involved with Food Academy since it’s inception and has seen a multitude of their clients participate on the Food Academy programme and who now supply SuperValu stores across the county.
Mayo food producers that have participated in the Food Academy Programme to date include: Achill Island Sea Salt, Cabots of Westport, Clew Bay Cookies, Connacht Pale Ale, Cuinneog Ltd, Dozier’s of Mayo, Gourmet Popcorn, Hanley Catering, Hillcrest Home Bakery, Jack & Eddie’s, MMM Family Bakery, Pure Glan Food and Shanvalley Innovative.
John Magee, Head of Enterprise, Local Enterprise Office Mayo, said; “The Food Academy Programme has been extremely popular for us in the last 5 years. The programme created an opportunity for local food entrepreneurs in Mayo to avail of specialized mentoring and guidance that previously hadn’t existed in the food business. It meant those who had a great food or beverage idea now could see a clear path from idea to shelf. Some of our clients including Red Cabot of Cabots of Westport and Breda Butler of Cuinneog Ltd have all taken part in Food Academy and we are still working with them now on different areas of their business as they continue to grow.”
Since the programme’s inception in 2013, Food Academy graduates, supported by their Local Enterprise Offices, have sold €78 million worth of produce in SuperValu stores and the 329 suppliers involved have grown to provide approximately 1,500 jobs.
A range of suppliers has substantially grown their business with SuperValu since graduating from the programme and have benefitted from the ongoing financial and mentoring support from their Local Enterprise Office.
This is all possible due to the collaborative nature of the Food Academy Programme, in which a cross-government departmental programme engaging with the private retail sector has allowed Food Academy participants to get specialized local support. This comes through the assistance of the Local Enterprise Offices, SuperValu’s community retail model whereby their independent retailers can provide participants with a unique opportunity to sell in one or a small group of stores, and Bord Bia’s on the ground knowledge of the food sector nationwide.
Commenting at today’s launch in Bord Bia in Dublin, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed TD said: “There is increasing consumer interest in high-quality locally-produced food products. This interest has helped to boost the growth of the sector in recent years ensuring that small food and drink producers are now more closely than ever associated with Ireland’s food and drink identity.”
Minister for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection Pat Breen TD added: “The Food Academy initiative has been hugely successful in facilitating and showcasing the very high-quality food products that local entrepreneurs are producing throughout the country. The success that so many of these companies have achieved reflects the very real interest and willingness amongst Irish consumers to support high-quality food and drink producers and this has been central to the support of some 1,500 jobs that contribute so strongly to Irish communities. I am confident that the new Food Starter programme recently announced will attract and encourage even more food entrepreneurs to join the Food Academy initiative in the coming years. This will further strengthen Ireland’s reputation as a producer of world-class food suppliers.”
“I would also like to commend the work of the Local Enterprise Office network and Bord Bia for the work they put into the initiative. This is a wonderful example of the capacity of state agencies to work together with the private sector to the benefit of enterprise and of Irish consumers.”
Martin Kelleher, Managing Director, SuperValu said: “Working with over 1,800 Irish suppliers, SuperValu is uniquely placed to support more Irish food producers than any other grocery retailer. As our stores are independently-owned and operated, SuperValu retailers are able to provide emerging indigenous food producers with their all-important first supermarket listing and a route to market. This approach has helped suppliers like Jo Davey of Absolute Nutrition move from making nutritional snacks in her kitchen for her friends and relatives to establishing a successful food business with a unique offering that employs local people. This is exactly the type of result that the Food Academy is achieving through its partnership with SuperValu, Bord Bia, and Local Enterprise Offices.”
Tara McCarthy, CEO of Bord Bia, added: “Bord Bia is proud to partner with the Local Enterprise Offices and SuperValu to grow and support innovative food businesses through the Food Academy Programme. Over five years the programme has attracted a diverse range of producers from all across Ireland. Operating both locally and nationally, Food Academy producers have become an integral part of Ireland’s successful food and drink industry. As the programme evolves into the future, Bord Bia will continue to provide comprehensive market knowledge, consumer insight, and branding expertise to Food Academy participants nationwide.”
Also speaking at the event, Oisin Geoghegan, Chair of the Local Enterprise Office Food Committee, said: “The Local Enterprise Offices are at the heart of every community in Ireland when it comes to fostering start-ups and new business ideas so to have worked alongside Bord Bia and SuperValu on the Food Academy Programme to create so many jobs is a fantastic achievement for all involved. The local aspect of the programme ensures that anyone in the country with a great idea in the food and beverage sector has the assistance and the tools available locally to make their dream a reality and we will continue to support them as their business grows.”
ENDS
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Please contact Nicola Kennedy at the Local Enterprise Office Mayo in relation to the Food Academy Programme on 094 9047555 or email info@leo.mayococo.ie
Notes to Editors
About the Local Enterprise Offices
The Local Enterprise Offices, who are funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland, have 31 offices located in each county nationwide. The Local Enterprise Offices play a key role in fostering start-ups and business growth locally, offering a range of financial and mentoring support to new businesses and existing small businesses that want to grow. In 2017 Local Enterprise Office client companies created over 3,700 new jobs across the country.
About SuperValu
SuperValu serves over 2.7 million customers every week and has 217 stores nationwide. Together with its retail partners, SuperValu employs approximately 14,500 colleagues, making it one of the State’s largest private sector employers. 75% of everything on SuperValu’s shelves is sourced in Ireland, with products sourced from over 1,800 suppliers which helps to sustain 30,000 jobs in the Irish economy.
About Bord Bia
Bord Bia – Irish Food Board is responsible for the development of new markets and the promotion of Irish food, drink and horticulture products internationally. The role of Bord Bia is to act as a link between Irish food, drink and horticulture companies and existing and potential customers. Bord Bia’s main activities include international trade development, promotional campaigns, implementation of quality assurance programmes and the provision of information to suppliers and buyers. We work with trade buyers from all over the world to help identify and satisfy sourcing requirements.
