Welcome to the April Edition of Bord Bia's Ireland Market Foodservice Newsletter.
Already into Q2 2025 and with the growing uncertainty and changing geopolitical situation on a weekly basis, the old adage of “control the controllables” seems more pertinent than ever. Irish hospitality associations are disputing recent CSO statistics reporting large drops in inbound tourism in January and February this year. Alice Mansergh, CEO of Tourism Ireland cited industry data confirming an increase in hotel occupancy of 2-3% and one of our news stories this month also reports a rebound in socialising in February. We will be keeping a close eye on further industry updates following the Easter holidays and in advance of the crucial summer season.
Monthly Spotlight: Table to Tech – The Future of Foodservice
On April 2nd, the Irish Foodservice Suppliers Alliance (IFSA) held their inaugural ‘Table to Tech’ conference at the Mullingar Park Hotel. Three separate panel sessions discussed a range of topics, from food, farming and nature trends to the evolution of the smart kitchen and decarbonising the catering sector. There was also a discussion on current challenges and future perspectives for the hospitality sector. Keynote speaker Charles Banks, co-Founder of The Food People, presented on Disruptive Forces in Foodservice – predominantly driven by environmental and human health crises. He called out technology, sustainability and direct-to-consumer models as the dominant disruptive forces reshaping the retail and foodservice sectors.
General Industry News
Trump trade war, pharma ‘frontloading’, fewer new homes – How the Central Bank sees the Irish economy
Business Post – 19.03.2025
Uncertainty around the imposition of tariffs by Donald Trump has already hit the Irish economy by damaging consumer spending and business investment, the financial regulator has warned. Robert Kelly, Director of Economics and Statistics at the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI), said consumer spending and business investment fell between January and March due to the looming trade war between the US and Europe. As a result, CBI, led by Governor Gabriel Makhlouf, has revised down its modified domestic demand (MDD) figure, which measures Ireland’s domestic economic activity.
Annual inflation rises to 2% in March – CSO
RTE Business – 10.04.2025
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the country's inflation rate rose to 2% on an annual basis in March compared to 1.8% a month earlier. This marked the first time that inflation has been at, or above, 2% since July 2024 when the rate of inflation was 2.2%. The CSO said that on an annual basis, prices in restaurants and hotels rose mainly due to higher prices for alcoholic drinks and food consumed there. The price of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose by 4.2% due to higher prices across a range of products such as milk, cheese and eggs, chocolate and confectionery, mineral waters, soft drinks and meat.
Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) & Pub Sector
USA fast food chain Chick-fil-A opens their second Northern Ireland store
News Letter – 20.03.2025
Chick-fil-A, the third-largest quick service restaurant chain in the United States, is continuing its UK expansion with the opening of a second location in Northern Ireland. The new restaurant opened on Thursday, March 27, at the Applegreen Templepatrick Services in Belfast, following the success of its first ever Northern Ireland store opening earlier this year. This new store marks another step in the company's broader strategy to grow its presence in the UK, with plans to open five new locations across the country, both licensed and locally owned and operated models, over the next two years.
Pub spend surges by 32% as socialising rebounds in February
Drinks Industry Ireland – 19.03.2025
The AIB Spend Trend has revealed that customers were eager to return to socialising after a quiet January with spend in pubs up by almost a third (+32%) and spend in restaurants up 16% in February when compared with the previous month. This was likely driven by the St Brigid’s Day long weekend, the Six Nations rugby matches and the end of Dry January. Saturday 1 February was the busiest day for spending so far this year in pubs, which was also the day of the highly anticipated Ireland versus England rugby match in the Aviva Stadium, Dublin. The biggest increase in spending in pubs was in Cavan (+42%), Monaghan (+38%) and Wexford (+37%).
Hotel & Restaurant Sector
Luxury Mayo hotel to create 170 jobs as part of 430-acre estate transformation
Business Post – 15.04.2025
The Grace, a new hotel located within Westport Estate in County Mayo, is set to open in Spring 2026 and is expected to create up to 170 jobs. Located on The Wild Atlantic Way, the hotel is close to Croagh Patrick, Clew Bay, and on the doorstep of Mayo’s Westport town. The estate is owned by the Browne family, who are direct descendants of the pirate queen Grace O’Malley, who built one of her many castles on the site now occupied by Westport House.
Dublin 2 Welcomes New Rooftop Restaurant
Hospitality Ireland – 13.02.2025
Dublin’s newest multi-storey social destination, Old Fashioned Sam’s, has officially unveiled Laura’s, its new top-floor restaurant. The new restaurant is the latest addition to Old Fashioned Sam’s on Montague Street, which quietly just opened in the lead-up to Christmas. In addition to Laura’s rooftop restaurant, guests can enjoy a ground-floor cocktail bar that opens into Dublin city centre’s largest heated courtyard (complete with a fully retractable roof for summer), a café-style front bar catering to the local lunchtime crowd, and Sam’s Parlour—an intimate basement cocktail bar with a glamorous 1920s speakeasy aesthetic.
Casual Dining / Route To Market Sector
Nutritional value of hot school meals to be reviewed by Government
Breakingnews.ie – 11.04.2025
The nutritional value of hot school meals being provided to hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren is to be reviewed by officials from the Department of Health. The meals scheme is being expanded to a further 713 primary schools and brings the total number of schools with access to hot school meals to 2,850 schools from April 11. The expansion brings the total number of primary school children now eligible to receive a hot meal every day to 475,000. Social Protection Minister Dara Calleary announced a review of the nutritional standards and the removal of the optional food that is high in saturated fat, sugar and salt from school meal menus from September 2025. The nutritional standards review will be completed by a dietitian, who will be supervised by the Department of Health.
Musgrave MarketPlace Embarks on Sponsorship with Irish Hotels Federation
HotelandRestaurantTimes – 12.03.2025
Musgrave MarketPlace has been announced as official foodservice sponsor of the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF). The three-year sponsorship with the IHF, the national body representing hotels and guesthouses, sees Ireland’s leading foodservice wholesaler further enhance its commitment to the Irish food and hospitality industry. A key part of the Musgrave Group, Musgrave MarketPlace services over 45,000 customers across restaurants, cafes, pubs & clubs; as well as being the partner of choice to more than three-quarters of Ireland’s hotels.