Irish beef is performing increasingly well in the German market, growing six fold in six years, according to figures released by Bord Bia today. The continuous growth of the sector follows a major promotional campaign, developed and managed by Bord Bia, which saw Irish beef exports reach almost €120 million in 2014 (+24% year on year, 21,000 tonnes), compared to just €17 million in 2009 or €50 million in 2011. Beef exports have remained strong in 2015 (+4%), despite a tightening of supply. Bord Bia is set to launch a new three year promotional campaign, starting in 2016, to increase beef exports by a further 50% to reach 30,000 tonnes per year by 2018. Germany represents Ireland's fourth largest export market for food and drink, valued at €565 million in 2014.
Speaking in Cologne, Germany today (Monday) where twenty Irish food companies are participating at Anuga, the world's largest trade food fair, Bord Bia's Donal Denvir said "Over the past four years, our beef campaign has been successfully building awareness of Irish beef which is now among the top 3 beef brands in the German market. Distribution has also significantly increased and Irish beef is now widely available through all key German retailers including REAL, Sky Coop, Kaufland, Rewe and Karstadt among others."
The REAL deal
Earlier today the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Tom Hayes TD and Bord Bia's Chief Executive Aidan Cotter held a meeting with senior representatives from REAL Hypermarket. REAL is owned by the Metro Group, a leading international retailer and Germany's largest food retailer.
"REAL is a key customer of Irish beef in Germany, importing over 5,000 tonnes each year. Today's meeting allowed us to recognise the valued strategic partnership between REAL and the Irish beef industry" commented Mr. Cotter. "It was also an opportunity to present an update on the Irish food industry's Origin Green programme to a key global retailer."
Earlier this year, REAL launched a national promotional campaign to celebrate its 50th birthday and selected "premium Irish beef" as the key focus of its TV campaign. Following today's meeting with Patrick Müller Sarmiento, Director of Food for REAL Hypermarkets, Minister Hayes launched anew in-store Irish beef promotion at the REAL Hypermarket based in Leverkusen.
Meanwhile, during the month of October, there is also a significant promotion of Irish beef taking place at Maredo Restaurants across the country. Maredo is one of Germany's leading steakhouse chains, with 51 restaurants nationwide. Bord Bia is further supporting the campaign with a comprehensive online promotion.
Kerrygold Paves the Way in Germany
Ornua's Kerrygold brand is a household name in Germany and continues to lead the way for Irish food in terms of reach and visibility. Kerrygold butter is the number-one selling butter in the German market, with a 17% market share. Ireland's dairy exports account for 41% of food and drink exports to Germany, valued at €230 million in 2014. Most German consumers associate Ireland with "Die Grüne Insel" (The Green Island) and high quality Irish dairy products, such as butter and cheese. Organic and farmhouse cheeses such as Little Milk Company and Cashel Blue have also gained ground in Germany in more recent years.
New Business Wins
In 2014, prepared foods accounted for approximately 16% of Irish food and drink exports to Germany (CSO, 2015). Key players include Keogh's crisps, Dawn Farm Foods, Green Isle Foods and Kepak Convenience. New to the market is Irish sous-vide specialist, Ribworld, who secured three new listings this year in the German market, including in one of the country's leading premium retailers.
Green Isle Foods recently won silver and gold medals in the Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft (DLG) awards for products from their new Gluten Free Pizza range. In addition, Anuga 2015 awarded Green Isle with two innovation awards for its Sweet Pizzas and pulled pork pie products.
Irish Food and Drink Exports to Germany
| Sector | Jan to DEC 2014 | % Share |
|---|---|---|
| >Beef | >116,000,000 | >20 |
| >Beverages | >54,000,000 | >10 |
| >Dairy | >230,000,000 | >41 |
| >Pigmeat | >25,000,000 | >4 |
| >Poultry | >3,000,000 | >1 |
| >Prepared Foods | >92,000,000 | >16 |
| >Seafood | >22,000,000 | >4 |
| >Sheep | >22,000,000 | >3 |
| >Beef Offal | >3,000,000 | >0.8 |
| >Edible Horticulture | >1,000,000 | >0.2 |
| >Total: | >565,000,000 | >100.0 |
Exhibitors at ANUGA 2015
- Ashbourne Meats
- Dawn Farm Foods
- Dawn International
- Dawn Meats Group
- Dawn Pork & Bacon
- Irish Country Meats
- Kepak (AgraKepak)
- Kildare Chilling Co.
- Liffey Meats
- Ribworld (Callan Bacon Co Ltd)
- Rosderra Irish Meats Group Ltd
- Slaney Foods International
- Ornua
- Glanbia Consumer Foods
- Kerry Foods
- Green Isle
- Aran Ard Teoranta t/a Gallagher’s Bakery / Pure Bred Bakery
- ABP Food Group (Meat Hall 6.1; Stand A50 – B51)
- Foodbridge Limited (Meat Hall 6.1; Stand D14
- True Life Health Foods (Fine Food 10.2; Stand D11)
Meat Hall 6.1
Dairy Hall 10.1
Frozen Foods Hall 4.1
Bakery Food Hall 2.2
Exhibiting Independently: