Over 250 trade buyers from across Britain and Ireland paid a visit to the The Food Village at Bord Bia’s Bloom festival in the Phoenix Park this morning, to meet with more than 100 Irish food and drink companies exhibiting at this year’s event.
The floral, food and family festival will run until Monday, 3 June.
Bord Bia Trade Breakfast at Bloom is now in its sixth year and today’s gathering featured the largest number of buyers yet boasting a combined buying power of €15 million, the Irish food board said in a statement.
“This morning’s event allows our trade visitors to get the pulse of the industry with minimum air or road miles,"Tara McCarthy, CEO, Bord Bia said.
Prominent Buyers
The buyers included representatives from leading retailers, food service organisations, hotel groups, specialist retailers, distributors and airlines interested in sourcing the best of Irish products such as, Harrods and British Airways Lounges from the UK.
Among the Irish buyers were some of Ireland’s largest retailers such as Dunnes Stores, Tesco, Lidl, Aldi alongside specialist retailers such as Donnybrook Fair, Fallon and Byrne and Butler’s Pantry, the group said.
Prominent buyers in the Irish foodservice sector included Dalata Hotel Group, the biggest hotel chain in Ireland; Press Up Entertainment Group; representing over 30 hospitality venues, Retail in Motion, responsible for on-board retail with airlines across five continents; new fast-casual restaurant chain Leon; Freshly Chopped food chain, Circle K/Topaz, Applegreen, BWG Foodservice and Musgrave Wholesale Partners.
New Product Launches
Bloom also provides an ideal platform for food and drinks companies to launch new products to the market. As with other years there are several new product launches planned for 2019 including:
· Velvet Cloud, Mayo - launching this seasons Rockfield sheep’s cheese
· AlgAran Seaweed – launching 'Bia Farraige Arann' range of seaweed and fruit concentrated juices called "Su' Arann';
· Rudds, Offaly - launching a new Chorizo White Pudding using traditional flavours with Spanish Chorizo chunks;
· Gran Grans Food, Galway - launching a new range of Summer Sauces
· Kinsale Mead Company - launching a limited release, 2019 summer mead, Hazy Summer, an Irish alternative to Pimms;
· Ballykilcavan Brewery, Laois - launching a new lager and a juicy pale ale brewed with their own barley and oats from their neighbours;
· Noki & Co, Dublin - launching Ireland’s first alcohol-free pre- mixed Gin & Tonic flavoured drink
· Wicklow Brewery - launching ‘GingerKnut’ Ginger Beer which will be gluten free and low in alcohol 3.4%
"We put a special emphasis each year on highlighting emerging companies and those launching new products which allows trade buyers a great opportunity to network with companies they already have relationships with and to scout out those who have something fresh to offer," McCarthy added.
This years event will feature 22 show gardens, 14 postcard gardens, over 100 Irish food and drink producers, 25 plant nurseries, 25 live cookery demonstrations with some of Ireland’s best-known chefs and some 100 retailers, all within a 70-acre site.
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
