Amy Bond, Assistant Librarian, Bord Bia – The Irish Food Board

In an age of fast, convenient, and highly processed foods, it may seem strange that foraging should be in resurgence, but as outlined in a recent Canadean report, this ancient activity is seeing a revival. This may not be so surprising when considering the many other trends that it compliments. It encapsulates four of Bord Bia’s Consumer Lifestyle Trends. The naturalness of the types of foods that are foraged ties in with consumers’ desire for Health and Wellbeing; the hyper locality of the produce helps with the search for local, authentic produce seen in the Keeping it Real trend; the sustainability of the practice means it fits in well with Responsible Living; and it can also create an opportunity for Shared Experiences, as gatherings of family and friends can help forage for the some of the ingredients of their meal before sitting down to enjoy it together.

The trend has mostly been seen in foodservice so far, with many high end restaurants highlighting the locality and seasonality of the produce they are using by virtue of having elements of their menu that have been foraged. The Wedgewood restaurant in Scotland even runs a course where diners can learn the art of foraging before returning to the restaurant to sample the fruits of their labour.

In terms of packaged food, it is mostly within the beverages category that foraging is being seen. The Botanist Islay Dry Gin boasts of ingredients “picked by our expert foraging team from the windswept hills, peat bogs and Atlantic Shore of this Hebridian island of Islay”. Mintel also reports on the growth of foraged weeds within the tea category, with nettle and dandelion product launches in the past year being double that of two years ago. An example of this is Traditional Medicinals Herbal Teas’ Roasted Dandelion Root Tea.

This may be a time for Irish companies to consider if there are any interesting ingredients just outside their doorstep, waiting to be used. Or if you are already using foraged ingredients, could more be done to highlight this to your consumers, either on your menu or through your packaging?

For more information contact amy.bond@bordbia.ie.