Bernadette O'Byrne (Bord Bia) with Ms. Florence Bray, Paris based journalist for LSA covering the agri-food industry, production, product innovation, and consumption trends, with farmer Patrick Nuttall, on his farm in Newtownmountkennedy, Co. Wicklow.
Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, is hosting representatives of European food and agriculture media this month to highlight the strengths of the Irish food industry and its leadership in sustainable production with the Origin Green programme. The journalists, from publications reaching a collective audience of over 270,000 trade and business readers, were briefed on the Origin Green programme and visited dairy and beef farms around the country, as well as diverse food manufacturers including the Teeling Distillery in Dublin and Cashel Irish Farmhouse Cheesemakers in Tipperary.
The visits are part of Bord Bia’s strategy to drive awareness with trade press and international markets, carrying the Origin Green story to over 1 million business readers in the last two years. This year, Bord Bia will arrange over 15 immersive Origin Green media visits from journalists in target markets including the UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark. Press hosted by Bord Bia last month included correspondents for The Dairy Reporter in the UK, Germany’s Food Service, Bauernzeitung/Die Grune based in Switzerland, LSA in France and Zuivelzicht, a Dutch outlet. In August, Bord Bia will host two leading dairy trade publications from Germany and Switzerland (Lebensmittel Praxis and Alimenta) in addition to leading Dutch meat trade publication VleesMagazine. Bord Bia organized an immersive Origin Green experience for the visiting journalists, connecting them with farmers and food producers, as well as representatives of the Irish Dairy Industries Association, Teagasc, Ornua, and the Musgrave Group. Bord Bia staff then briefed the visitors on the Irish food industry and the business case for Origin Green relevant to the local European market exports.