Irish food federation recognises home grown talent
Industry Awards' were announced Friday, which included Kerry,
Glanbia and Dew Valley for categories as diverse as environmental
best practice, innovation and exportation.
Winners of the inaugural 'Ireland The Food Island Food & Drink Industry Awards' were announced Friday, which included Kerry, Glanbia and Dew Valley for categories as diverse as environmental best practice, innovation and exportation.
The winners were announced Friday evening by Noel Treacy, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food in the Four Seasons Hotel, Dublin. The awards were held by Bord Bia, the Food & Drink federation of IBEC and AIB, with 196 applications received from 120 companies across six categories.
Dew Valley, one of the largest manufacturers of cooked bacon in Europe, won the Trailblazer Award for exporting. The company apparently recognised the development of the "All Day Breakfast" and launched a range of new products to capitalise on this market segment. Their sales have reportedly increased by 77 per cent since 2000.
The Butler's Pantry won the Small Business Award for building, growing and marketing their business. Selling 100 per cent branded products through their three shops in Dublin and through wholesaler/independent retailers, they currently employ 33 staff. The Butler's Pantry was judged as demonstrating sustainability, product and marketing innovation and a planned approach to the development of its business.
Kerry Attack-a-Snack won the Innovation Award. Kerry described how it set out to create a stake in the light meal sector, which it identified as the fastest growing area of cheese snacks in 2001. This resulted in the creation and launch of the product known as Attack-a Snack.
To launch this product the company said that the team had to address everything from the design of packaging to the design of a new plant, sourcing of raw materials and trying to trade before the launch of the product. According to the company, the launch of Attack-a-Snack resulted in 50 additional people being employed and a new added value Irish product.
Meanwhile, the Food Safety/Environmental Best Practice Award was won by Glanbia. Their programme led to a reduction in water consumption of 27 million gallons per annum, the transformation of delactose whey into an animal feed supplement and the innovative use of wastewater with clear benefits to the environment and to the company.
Freshways won the Young Food & Drink Entrepreneur Award in recognition of its successful rise from a start-up company five years ago to a business which now has over 30 per cent share of the entire Irish pre-packed sandwich market.
Finally, the award winner in Brand Marketing was The Irish Chocolate Company for their entry, which described the innovative development of Butlers Chocolate Cafes as brand marketing tools.
Commenting on the calibre of the awards Kieran McGowan, spokesperson for the judging panel and president of IMI said: "A spirit of innovation and development was displayed throughout all six categories. This was clearly evident in the level of marketing, R&D and quality expertise that ran through the applications."
Michael Duffy, chief executive, Bord Bia commented: "Winning one of these awards will set a new standard of excellence in the industry by promoting best practice in the Irish Food and Drink industry. It is an award that will assist companies in their sales and marketing efforts to Irish and overseas buyers."
He continued: "It is important that the industry communicates its achievements and competes to attract the best and the brightest young producers, manufacturing and business graduates."
The Ireland The Food Island Food and Drink Awards will be held every two years with the next Awards being held in 2005.
