Farm Week – Michele Shirlow
How Food NI helps companies build on successes in awards
One of my greatest pleasures associated with the annual Blas na hEireann awards in Dingle, Co Kerry was talking with a large number of local companies over the period of three days and exploring how we can help them to build on their achievements at the awards in the months ahead.
Our role is to support and encourage companies, especially our members, to develop and become more successful and profitable. We seek to do this by creating a promotional platform for them and by developing initiatives that will facilitate growth locally in preparation for global markets.
We are developing a flexible eco-system of support by collaborating with relevant bodies such as the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, InvestNI, TourismNI and local councils, all of which have been immensely supportive since the formation of Food NI ahead of the hugely successful Year of Food and Drink in 2016.
Once again, our companies, mostly small and medium businesses, excelled at Blas and returned with an impressive 74 awards including 23 Golds, 26 Silver and 25 Bronze at the celebration of the best of Irish food and drink. This is an excellent haul for a relatively small region like Northern Ireland. It followed outstanding successes earlier in the UK Great Taste Awards. Unlike Blas, Great Taste doesn’t involve a long event at which winners and others can meet and share experiences.
We would be keen to host such a platform event for the companies to show their products to potential buyers and, perhaps, the wider public, because it is vitally important that shoppers here should be aware of the breadth and quality local produce. All the very many national and international awards won over the months by companies across so many categories demonstrate that Northern Ireland food and drink really is world class and deserves to be enjoyed in homes, hotels, restaurants, cafes and canteens everywhere.
I shared the jubilation of companies winning significant awards at Dingle, including the Supreme Champion title that was deservedly scooped by Morelli Ice Cream in Coleraine for a stunning mango sorbet, and there is nothing better than seeing the winners collecting their awards on the day at this hugely important event for the food industry on the island of Ireland.
What was apparent was the tremendous camaraderie between our companies and a great willingness to support each other during the event. There were discussions between local companies on how they might be able to collaborate on future products and on sales. I know that many smaller companies readily exchange contacts in delis and farm shops ready to stock their products. Food NI also plays its part in supporting the development of delis and farm shops as an effective route to commercial success for these companies.
Food and drink is one of the great success stories of the local economy and has the potential to make an even greater contribution in the years ahead through innovation and export achievements. It’s an industry which, we believe, deserves further support. While we greatly appreciate the enthusiastic backing of bodies like DAERA, Invest NI, TourismNI and the UK Department for Business and Trade, Food NI supports more steps to promote more consumption of local food at home as well as exports by both large and smaller companies to markets such as Great Britain and Ireland.
It’s also an industry which can step up productivity quickly, given the right support. Food NI is a nimble, versatile and experienced organisation that can assist local companies to become more productive and successful faster and by working with DAERA, InvestNI, TourismNI and local councils, create a productive eco system to propel our award-winning industry forward.
