Today, Bord Bia Bloom’s Food Village was booming at an early-morning business event that saw both new and existing Irish food and drink suppliers explore potential new business opportunities.
From zero sugar to zero emissions, this year’s product offering has captured some of the growing and emerging trends in food and beverage.
Today marks the 11th year of the Bloom Trade Breakfast, which last year generated over 100 leads and opportunities for Irish food producers.
These opportunities led producers to gain retail listings or feature on menus in Irish foodservice outlets.
Among the new opportunities last year was an agreement between BiaSol, a producer of nutritious zero-waste food products, and Ireland’s largest hotel operator, Dalata Hotel Group.
Following initial discussions at the 2023 Bloom Trade Breakfast, Dalata made a commitment to stock BiaSol’s range of oat bars at its Red Bean Roastery coffee dock areas in its Clayton and Maldron hotels nationwide.
New Products
Many of the food and drink companies this year are exhibiting products capturing emerging trends.
These include zero- and low-alcohol options, such as HOPE Beer’s Hop Off 0.0 brew, low- and no-sugar options, such as Mama Bear’s family-friendly low-sugar condiments and ketchups, Glenilen Farm’s no-added-sugar yoghurt pouches, and low-carbon products, such as the range from Ireland’s first zero-emission distillery, Ahascragh Distillery, in Co. Galway.
For the first time, the accelerator programme for start-up food and drink companies run by Bord Bia, Enterprise Ireland and Teagasc – Food Works – is hosting its own stand in the Food Village.
The stand displays new products that are currently in development.
These include Blynk+ craft beverages, Chimac sauces, Element Irish whiskey and the FemFuelz female supplement brand, among others.
Buyers in attendance include those from Musgrave Group, Dunnes Stores, Tesco, Lidl, Aldi and M&S.
Specialist retailers such as Donnybrook Fair and Fallon & Byrne are also in attendance, as well as Dalata Hotel Group, Freshly Chopped, Applegreen and more.
‘A Fantastic Platform’
Speaking at the Bloom Trade Breakfast this morning, the chief executive of Bord Bia, Jim O’Toole, said, “Bord Bia Bloom is a wonderful public showcase of the best of Irish horticulture, food and drink, but it also offers a fantastic platform to do business.
“For the 100+ food and drink companies exhibiting at this year’s festival, the Bloom Trade Breakfast provides them with a much-anticipated opportunity for face-to-face engagement with decision-makers in Ireland’s leading retail and foodservice businesses.
“This event has a proven track record of delivering commercial business for our exhibitors, and it is encouraging to see the event grow from strength to strength.”
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