Ireland's iconic food brands were today celebrated at a special Ryder Cup Brand Forum event in the Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, which included the launch of "The Book of Irish Food and Drink Brands" - a showcase of Ireland's foremost food and drink brands, to an audience of international food buyers, guest of Bord Bia at the Ryder Cup this week.
Guinness, Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur and Kerrygold are amongst the Irish brands showcased in the book, which will be distributed to international trade buyers and media as a key marketing tool in support of Ireland's €7.5 billion export market.
Guests at the event also heard from sports marketing expert Roddy Carr of IMG Sports, who represent international sports stars such as Tiger Woods and Maria Sharapova, on how the Ryder Cup will benefit Ireland and its food and drink industry.
Speaking at the launch Roddy Carr said, "This is a unique opportunity for Brand Ireland to promote its attributes on a world stage". A sophisticated host poised to showcase Irish food and drink to a global cuisine market.
Launching the book, Aidan Cotter, chief executive of Bord Bia, said: "Like the Ryder Cup, Ireland, and many Irish products, can truly claim to be great international brands and stand for excellence, passion and quality. The relationships that the Irish food and drink sector are building with key international buyers this week are invaluable and will bear fruit for years to come. We are confident that our involvement in the Ryder Cup has created long term benefits for the sector and will impact positively on export figures."
The Book of Irish Food and Drink brands is the second in the series produced by Bord Bia's Brand Forum, which is a network of some 120 Irish food and drink companies that promotes best practice in food and drink brand marketing, all with the common purpose of building brands of distinction that meet consumer needs on a daily basis.
The Book is a collection of some of the most ambitious, entrepreneurial and innovative Irish food and drink brand owners. The publication affords industry an opportunity to showcase Irish brands to influential decision-makers from leading international retail and foodservice organisations.
The Book of Irish Food and Drink Brands"will be promoted by Bord Bia and will be circulated to member companies, press and trade buyers attending the Ryder Cup and via Bord Bia's network of overseas offices. It will also be used as a marketing tool for Bord Bia's international business event ‘Marketplace Ireland 2007' – a forum for international trade buyers to meet with over sixty Irish food and drink companies focused on driving export sales.
The Ryder Cup has secured over €10 million in additional revenue for the Irish food and drink sector and gains are set to continue significantly into the future, according to Bord Bia. Over €2 million worth of Irish food and drink products have been ordered by the event's exclusive caterers, Compass and Sodexho, for the 50,000 meals to be served during the Ryder Cup week including corporate and public meals and those served at the Players' Dinner and the Gala Dinner. Bord Bia has ensured all Ryder Cup menus showcase the best of Irish food and drink and use Irish-only ingredients.
Bord Bia's partnership with Ryder Cup caterers Compass and Sodexho (two of the biggest catering companies in the world) has already borne fruit and resulted in the inclusion of Irish products on the Wimbledon and British Open menus this year generating further business and international profile for the Irish food and drink industry.
Bord Bia's official sponsorship of the Ryder Cup offers an unparalleled opportunity for the Irish food and drink industry to showcase its products and capabilities on a world stage to a captive audience leveraging its sponsorship to promote the Ireland the Food Island brand to the Ryder Cup's millions of viewers across the globe in support of Ireland's food, drink and horticultural exports.