Bord Bia today announced its plans to showcase Irish food and drink to a global audience during this year’s St Patrick`s Day celebrations. According to Aidan Cotter, Chief Executive “St Patrick`s Day provides Bord Bia and producers with a unique opportunity to showcase Irish food and drink. The goodwill towards all things Irish on our national day provides us with an invaluable opportunity to connect with potential new customers invited to embassy events, Irish community gatherings as well as maximising media interest surrounding the festival. These events and promotional campaigns allow us renew our links with friends of Ireland, tell the story of sustainable quality food production through our Origin Green initiative and secure loyal support for Irish food and drink.”
This year, building on from Ireland`s success in gaining access to the US, Bord Bia will use St. Patrick’s Day to drive awareness among influencers and consumers of the quality, safety and Origin Green sustainability of Irish beef. These initiatives will include famous Irish chefs Catherine Fulvio and Kevin Dundon expertly cooking and presenting Irish beef on US Breakfast TV.
The annual American Ireland Fund Dinner will have a distinctly Gaelic flavour this year with Irish beef making a return to the menu for the high profile event. Over 1,000 people are expected to attend.
In Paris, where chefs are stars in every sense of the word, Bord Bia will host a media lunch to welcome the newest member to its Chefs Irish Beef Club. Christophe Schmitt is “sous-chef” in the Michelin Star Le Diane restaurant, located in the prestigious Fouquets Hotel on the Champs Elysées. The hotel – where James Joyce dined regularly when he lived in Paris - is now run by Irish General Manager Geraldine Dobey.
St. Patrick’s Day heralds the start of many of Bord Bia’s new promotional campaigns aimed at introducing overseas consumers to the taste of Irish food and drink. This year these will be held as far afield as Dubai and Chengdu in Southwest China.
Promotions
In Dubai Bord Bia is supporting the Irish food festival and working in conjunction with Spinneys Supermarket on a customer facing promotion for Irish food hampers
Bord Bia’s Shanghai office is coordinating a Boarfish promotion with a chain of Chinese Style Hot pot restaurants based in Chengdu, China.
Our largest market Britain will see a recipe-led Irish beef promotion featuring five ‘perfect for St. Patrick’s Day’ recipes on Bord Bia’s Irish beef website, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest accounts. In addition, Irish beef recipes will feature in national titles such as The Times, The Guardian and the influential Great British Chefs website over the festival period. Leading UK bloggers are also working with Bord Bia to create recipes featuring Irish beef.
To coincide with the launch of Clodagh McKenna’s book, ‘Clodagh’s Irish Kitchen’, Bord Bia UK is running online competitions to drive awareness of Clodagh’s pop-up restaurant in Selfridges. Meanwhile, the ‘Irish Food Market’ at Trafalgar Square, part of the annual Mayor’s St. Patrick’s Day Festival, will feature well-known Irish companies Brodericks, Burren Smokehouse, Keogh’s Farm, Kerrygold, Nomadic, The Foods of Athenry and The Jelly Bean Factory.
In Munich, St Patrick’s Day parade visitors can enjoy a taste of Irish beef at some of the popular food stands. German consumers will also be encouraged to enter Bord Bia’s Irish beef promotional competitions to win Irish beef related prizes, such as luxury cooking accessories and vouchers. Throughout the weekend, Munich residents and visitors will be able to enjoy Irish beef steak in two of the largest Irish Pubs in the city.
Next week, Bord Bia is coordinating the filming of Masterchef Netherlands where Chefs Irish Beef Club and Michelin-starred chef Erik van Loo will be guest chef. Bord Bia is also sponsoring a restaurant launch in Den Haag of BIT (Best in Town) which will have a significant focus on Irish Beef.
Bord Bia Spain will run St. Patricks´ week beef promotions and point of sale tastings at El Corte Ingles as well as online promotional activities.
Following consumer research in Belgium in late 2014, which confirmed a strong awareness of Irish beef amongst Belgian consumers, Bord Bia will focus the majority of its promotional budget for 2015 on a pilot radio campaign for Irish beef. The campaign will feature testimonials endorsing Irish beef from two Belgian Chefs Irish Beef Club members.
Bord Bia has also engaged a number of leading French and Belgian retailers to support its St. Patrick’s Day promotions. Irish seafood – including crab, mussels, salmon and oysters – will take centre stage in 20 flagship Casino stores. Groupe Casino is the 5th largest retail group in France with an annual turnover of €42 billion. Meanwhile, Intermarché, the 3rd largest grocery retailer in France, is planning a nationwide promotion on Irish steer ribs across 1,500 stores, while Metro will promote Irish beef and lamb across its 9 Cash and Carrys in Belgium. Irish farmhouse cheese will feature on French cheese platters across the country on St. Patricks Day with notably a promotion in a chain of 12 cheesemongers called Philippe Olivier in the North of France.
Bord Bia Paris has joined forces again this year with Tourism Ireland to promote “Ireland in Paris”, a celebration of Irish food, music and film in the Irish Cultural Centre on March 18th which is expected to attract an audience of over 200 guests from media, tourism and food trade circles. The guests will enjoy a range of Irish food products including beef, oysters, cheese, and beverages. Franco-Irish chef, David Gilabert, a former Top Chef contestant will prepare Irish beef with Paris based Irish chef, Siobhan Gough.
In Sweden the top meat restaurant AG will be present an Irish specific menu from the 17th - 19th of March. Irish products will include a range of dry aged beef, flat oysters cheese, beer and whiskey. Restaurant guests will be introduced to Irish beef by AG chef Johan Jureskog who recently joined the Swedish Chefs Irish Beef Club. He will be joined by Irish chef Doug Harrington and patrons will be treated to live Irish music to ensure a complete experience. At retail level, an on pack promotion for prime Beef Quality Assurance Scheme (BQAS) beef across three Swedish stores – Axfood, Willys and Hempköp – will commence on the 16th of March.
Finally, this week Bord Bia has distributed produce to in excess of 60 Embassies and Consulates around the world to ensure that influential foreign guests attending official St. Patrick’s Day events experience the best of Irish food and develop a taste for more.