Welcome to the July edition of Bord Bia's Ireland Market Foodservice Newsletter.
For those of you that may have missed our mid-year White Paper webinar, you can access an online recording of the event here. We presented topline findings from the White Paper and discussed some of the key considerations for suppliers to the foodservice industry for the remainder of 2022 and into 2023.
David Henkes, Senior Principal with Technomic also shared a ‘Foodservice Now and Next’ overview, reviewing some of the main industry and consumer trends shaping foodservice globally.
And we also heard from Stephen Deasy and Derek Hughes of Bear Markt Coffee – they discussed their journey from a stand alone pop up coffee shop in 2009, to a chain of eight outlets in 2022. They also introducedd their in-house coffee roastery that opened in 2021 and share their quest to become carbon neutral by 2026.
The 14 page White Paper itself is available as an online .pdf at this link.
Trend of the Month
Diners increasingly looking for an Experiental return for their money
At our recent White Paper hybrid event on June 15th, David Henkes of Technomic spoke about the growing polarisation between automated, frictionless foodservice outlets at one end of the spectrum and at the other end, restaurants that can provide consumers with the experience they crave when they go out to eat.
This growing demand for experience-dining is further supported by a recent study undertaken by Yelp. What the study found was that despite record inflation, people are still willing to spend on experience and that “rather than looking at a receipt, diners are increasingly looking at an experience”.
Further information relating to Yelp’s US State of the Restaurant Report is available online here.
A recording of Dave Henke’s recent ‘Foodservice: Now & Next’ presentation is available here.
General Industry News
Irish inflation estimated at 9.6% in June - Eurostat
www.rte.ie - 01.07.2022
Inflation across the euro area rose to 8.6% in June, according to an initial estimate by the EU's statistical agency Eurostat. It’s estimate for inflation in Ireland was 9.6%, which is higher than many forecasters had predicted. Inflation has risen steadily for more than a year now, initially fuelled by post-pandemic supply shocks and now by energy prices on the fallout of Russia's war on Ukraine. At more than four times the ECB's 2% target, inflation is so high it is at risk of getting stuck at uncomfortable levels as businesses and workers adjust their pricing and wage behaviours to the new reality.
Fáilte Ireland Launches €1.4m Investment Scheme to Support Development of up to Seven Gala Dinner Venues Across Ireland
Hospitality Ireland – 29.06.2022
Fáilte Ireland has launched a new €1.4 million investment scheme to stimulate the development of new or enhanced gala dinner venues of scale that will boost Ireland's attractiveness for international conferences and events. The Gala Dinner Venues Investment Scheme, under Fáilte Ireland's Platforms for Growth investment programme, will fund up to seven unique gala dinner venues in the environs of Ireland's premier business tourism hubs namely Dublin, Cork, Galway, Kerry, and the Shannon Region. Up to €200,000 will be allocated per venue
Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) & Pub Sector
Healthy Fast-Food Chain Leon Leaves Ireland
Hospitality Ireland – 13.06.2022
Healthy fast-food chain Leon has announced that it is ceasing its operations in Ireland. A statement published on Leon.co read, ‘We have loved our time in Ireland and will be forever grateful for the welcome you gave us. ‘The continuing challenges post-pandemic have taken their toll, as it has on everybody. We’re saying goodbye, for now, to focus on our other restaurants in Europe and the UK, where our journey to create better fast food began 18 years ago.’
Some pubs and bars struggle to remain open – Fáilte Ireland
Drinks Industry Ireland – 24.06.2022
A combination of soaring costs, lack of staff and the changing habits of the locals is making trading conditions so difficult that some pubs and bars struggle to remain open, states Fáilte Ireland in its most recent Tourism Barometer. Fáilte Ireland found that 90% of pubs & bars currently recruiting are experiencing difficulties and among those, 84% struggle to find bar staff. The most commonly cited causes for concern this year are rising energy costs (82%) and operating costs besides energy (78%). This gives operators the dilemma of putting up prices to levels that visitors can’t afford or would see as poor value for money, or maintaining prices, which is not sustainable, points out the survey.
Hotel & Restaurant Sector
Plans Approved For New 65-Bedroom Dublin Hotel
Hospitality Ireland – 23.06.2022
Plans for a new €15 million boutique hotel and leisure facility in the heart of Dublin will go ahead after the project got the green light following an appeal. The project, which has been designed and led by London-based architects Studio Anyo, will see a 65-bedroom hotel with rooftop bar, mezzanine and basement, together with ancillary facilities, created on Meeting House Lane in the north west corner of the city. Approval to transform the site on behalf of developer Padraig Kehoe of Development 8 was secured on appeal and comes as demand from international tourism for luxury hotel and leisure accommodation in Ireland continues to recover post pandemic.
Doyle Hotel chain appoints Drake as new group Chief Executive
The Irish Times – 03.06.2022
The Irish-owned Doyle Collection hotel group has appointed Gordon Drake as its new Chief Executive. He succeeds Pat King (52), who had been in the role for 11 years having joined the board of the company in 2006. Mr Drake will take on this position having been senior vice-president at Westmont Hospitality Group in the UK. The Doyle Collection is owned by members of the Doyle and Beatty families and traces its roots back to a company founded by well-known Irish hotelier PV Doyle. It operates a portfolio of eight hotels in Dublin, Cork, London, Bristol and Washington DC, including the five-star Westbury Hotel off Grafton Street in Dublin.
Contract Catering & Trade Sector
Republic’s rail passengers face further year without catering
The Irish Times – 16.05.2022
Rail passengers face another year without on-board catering on intercity trains within the Republic, Iarnród Éireann said. The State-owned company told passengers that it had been unable to agree a new deal with contractor Railgourmet, which provided bars, snacks, coffees and a trolley service on intercity journeys in the Republic. “We will quickly commence the process to tender for a new catering contract,” Iarnród Éireann said. “However this will mean that catering services are unlikely to be available on board until at least early 2023.” Corporate Catering Services continues to “operate on a limited basis” on the Dublin-Belfast route, the company confirmed.
Gather & Gather Picks up RDS Contract
Fft.ie – 18.06.2022
Gather & Gather Ireland has been awarded the catering and hospitality services contract for the RDS, which includes servicing all public cafés and restaurants as well as the RDS Members’ Club and corporate catering. The win is the result of a competitive tendering process to award the catering contract in line with the RDS’s procurement policy. Pauline Cox, MD of Gather & Gather Ireland, said: “We offer our clients forward thinking, creative solutions, underpinned by extensive resources including a team who are responsive, nimble and flexible in their solutions, along with the wider experience of a large, long-established organisation”.