Welcome to the October Edition of Bord Bia's Ireland Market Foodservice Newsletter.
The agenda and speaker line up for our 2023 Foodservice Seminar has now been finalised! The theme for this year’s event is Building Strength in Sustainability and we’re delighted to be joined (among others) by Pierre Paslier of Notpla packaging; Amanda Roche Kelly of Just Eat Ireland; Jon Davies of Levy Restaurants UK&Ireland and keynote speaker Gordon Hardie.
Please click on this link for full agenda details and this link to register your place.
Opinion Piece
New thinking in Sustainability
The scale of the climate challenge requires innovation, bold leadership and new ways of doing business.
Shake Shack, an American fast casual chain that was founded in 2004 and today has over 260 restaurants in more than 15 countries globally, recently announced that they were trialling a new environmentally-friendly frying oil made from sugarcane. The new initiative revolves around Zero Acre Farms' cooking oil, an oil produced from sugarcane plants and claiming a 90% smaller environmental footprint than traditional vegetable oil.
It is also part of Shake Shack’s Stand for Something Good manifesto that outlines the company's responsibilities, values and commitment to environmentally conscious goals.
GENERAL INDUSTRY NEWS
ESRI slashes growth forecasts as Irish economy heads for first contraction in more than a decade
Business Post – 04.10.2023
The Irish economy will contract for the first time in more than a decade this year, according to the Economic and Social Research Institute which has slashed its growth forecast for 2023. In its latest update on the health of the Irish economy, the Think Tank said it expects GDP, which is heavily influenced by multinationals, to contract by 1.6 per cent this year. The ESRI had previously projected GDP growth of 0.1 per cent in its June update. Stripping out the impact of multinationals, the domestic economy is likely to see growth, the report said, but at a lower level than was previously expected.
Key tourism month of July not as strong as hoped – ITIC
RTE Business – 05.10.2023
The rising cost of doing business and reduced tourism accommodation supply meant the key tourism month of July wasn't as strong as hoped, new data from the sector suggests. The latest monthly dashboard from the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) points out that 650,200 international visitors came to this country from abroad during the month. That was down 44% on the same month in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic began, although ITIC points out that the data collection methodology used by the Central Statistics Office has changed in the interim. But ITIC says there is still enough evidence to suggest that the tourism sector’s recovery to pre-pandemic levels is much slower than hoped.
QUICK SERVICE RESTAURANT (QSR) & PUB SECTOR
Keith Barry opens new Abrakebabra store on Grafton Street
ShelfLife – 03.10.2023
Abrakebabra officially opened its newest store on Dublin’s Grafton Street on Thursday, 28th September. The store marks Abrakebabra’s 40th year in business and pays homage to the brand’s original retro branding from the 80s. To celebrate the official opening, Abrakebabra (part of the AIL Group) hosted a special in-store celebration with mentalist and brain-hacker Keith Barry. Barry officially cut the ribbon and kept guests engaged and entertained with his mind-bending hacks and interactive performances.
Guinness Launches New Sustainable Pub Toolkit
Checkout – 28.09.2023
Guinness has recently launched a new sustainable pub toolkit, specifically designed for the hospitality sector in Ireland, to help Irish publicans turn information into action. The drinks giant explained that the sustainable pub toolkit in partnership with SustainabilityWorks, focuses on the Irish hospitality sector’s social and environmental challenges. It features a guide for how pubs can integrate sustainability into their business operations across ten key pathways from energy, waste and water, to community, employee wellbeing and inclusion.
HOTEL & RESTAURANT SECTOR
Dalata Grows Portfolio with Acquisitions of Development Site in Edinburgh, Hard Rock Hotel Amsterdam American
Hotels Mag – 04.10.2023
Dalata Hotel Group has expanded its presence across Europe with two acquisitions in Edinburgh and Amsterdam. The Ireland-based hotel operator has acquired a development site in Edinburgh and completed a deal to enter the Netherlands’ hotel market. Dalata announced the acquisition of a leasehold interest in Hard Rock Hotel Amsterdam American on September 21. In the year to date, Dalata has announced four new opportunities in three European city hotel markets — London, Amsterdam and Edinburgh. Operators of the Clayton and the Maldron Hotel brands in Ireland, Dalata has 53 properties totalling 11,412 rooms across Europe, with more than 1,300 rooms in the pipeline. Dalata has 32 owned hotels, 18 leased hotels and three management contracts.
Dalata given green light for €22m hotel expansion in Dublin’s Docklands
Business Post – 26.09.2023
Hotel group Dalata’s €22 million expansion of its Dublin Docklands location has been greenlit to allow for 117 more bedrooms at its site near Sir John Rogerson’s Quay. Dublin City Council approved plans for a 10-storey extension of the existing Clayton Hotel beside the Ferryman pub on the corner of Cardiff Lane to increase the number of hotel rooms to 421. The development involves the demolition of buildings at 3-5 Cardiff Lane, which are currently occupied by Starbucks and Arena Kitchens.
ROUTE TO MARKET & CASUAL DINING SECTOR
Sysco Announces 50 New Jobs with Limerick Distribution Centre Investment
Business Plus – 27.09.2023
Foodservice provider Sysco has announced 50 new jobs at its main support and regional distribution facility in Newcastle West, Limerick as part of a multi-million-euro investment. The new roles will bring the facility's headcount up to 400, and Sysco employs 1,550 across nine sites nationwide. The announcement coincides with the ongoing renovation and refurbishment of the Newcastle West site, which will see the addition of contemporary office spaces, a new front entrance and an expanded car park with EV charging points.
Gourmet Food Parlour partners with Keelings & Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin
Drinks Industry Ireland – 04.10.2023
Gourmet Food Parlour has been working with Keelings for 13 years, the latter supplying fresh fruit and produce, via their foodservice business, Keelings Select, to Gourmet Food Parlour restaurants across the country, as well as its thriving catering division. More recently, Gourmet Food Parlour partnered with Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin as part of its beverage programme revamp, seeing the restaurant group put an emphasis on creating world class cocktails, spritzes and aperitifs using Irish ingredients.