Love Irish Food - 'Green Ireland' Podcast Series

In this episode we explore the future in food service trends with Maureen Gahon of Bord Bia and Richard Bisset of Bewleys. Two excellent speakers who have insights to share with anyone working in the out of home dining.

In this episode with talk to Greta Hammel of Gallaghers Bakery who share with us wonderful insights from first hand experience about product innovation and launches. The Gallagher family has been baking bread in the award-winning picturesque village of Ardara, Co Donegal since 1968.Nestled at the foot of The Glengesh Pass in the heart of Donegal, nature is at the heart of everything they do. The bakery has been in existence for over 50 years in the seaside village of Ardara, Co. Donegal and plays an integral part of local community life.They are master bakers; all breads are made by experienced bakers who have enhanced their skills over the years to produce the highest quality baked goods and we use traditional baking principles, the finest ingredients and a fantastic team to deliver you fresh delicious bread each day.

In this episode we look at women in the food industry with Mary Sadlier of Coole Swan and Noreen Gallagher of Plant It and how more women can get involved in the food industry. Two amazing business women sharing their stories in business.

In episode 8, the second episode of the Leaders Session, host Conall O Moráin speaks to James Flahavan, Manager, Flahavan’s and Brian O'Sullivan, Managing Director - Retail at KeelingsWe learn about identifying growth opportunities through market research and being agile in forecasting the challenges ahead and the approach of these food industry leaders in their strategy formulation.Both domestically and globally, the food and drinks industry has experienced a number of significant shocks in recent years. From recession, to pandemic, and fallout from our largest export partner, the UK, leaving the EU block. Yet, despite all the adversity, the Irish food and drinks industry has shown growth with inspiring stories from many local Irish brands. A combination of inward focus on the domestic market and growing the support local customer base and looking beyond our neighbours, to find new markets and customers internationally.

In episode, 7 the first episode of the Leaders Session, host Conall O Moráin speaks to John O'Connor, Managing Director, Tayto Snacks and Kevin Donnelly, Managing Director, Britvic Ireland. We learn how past experience and learnings in business shapes the approach of these leaders in their strategy formulation.Both domestically and globally, the food and drinks industry has experienced a number of significant shocks in recent years. From recession, to pandemic, and fallout from our largest export partner, the UK, leaving the EU block. Yet, despite all the adversity, the Irish food and drinks industry has shown growth with inspiring stories from many local Irish brands. A combination of inward focus on the domestic market and growing the support local customer base and looking beyond our neighbours, to find new markets and customers internationally. The path to success is of course cobbled with challenges, we find out in this episode the style of these leaders in dealing with the challenges that the Irish food and drink industry face.

In this episode, we are given an insight into the learnings on digital marketing from Stephen Cramp who manages iconic Irish brand Club Orange and the Britvic Ireland portfolio. While we also learn some great tips from homegrown start-up Jo’s Absolute Nutrition about how Jo Davey launched online with little or no budget and and went on to build a very active audience.

In the 5th episode of the Green Ireland Podcast Series, host, Conall O Morain explores the landscape of Irish food and drink brands in 2021 and is joined by Maev Martin, Editor of Checkout, Ireland’s leading B2B grocery retail trade magazine and Kieran Rumley, Executive Director, Love Irish Food, formerly marketing director at Batchelors. Checkout Top 100 Brands is the most anticipated Grocery Retail publication of the year and is widely regarded as the definitive guide to Ireland's biggest and best selling brands. In this episode, the audience will get an insight into what Irish brands have climbed the rankings and discover if Irish brands have unique characteristics that make them local.Kieran Rumley has driven growth of the Love Irish Food symbol to a consumer awareness level of 88%. 2021 saw a big increase in new members joining Love Irish Food. Now with over 70 companies, equating to nearly 100 Irish food and drink brands, there is recognition of Love Irish Food as the key provenance indicator for Irish food and drink brands. Kieran discusses trends in the food and drink industry and and highlights the activity of Irish food and drink brands.

In this 4th episode, "THE GREEN, GREEN GRASS OF HOME" - MAKING AN INTERNATIONAL BRAND FROM HOME, Conall O Morain speaks to Maxine Hyde, Ballymaloe Foods, Tom Cronin, and Peter Maguire, Rye River Brewing. Love Irish Food is synonymous with local Irish brands from heritage brands like Flavahan’s, to iconic brands like Ballymaloe to home grown recent successes such as Rye River and East Coast Bakehouse. How does a brand make that leap from the green, green grass of home to become a success internationally? Besides hard work…What do you need to make it happen internationally? The right distribution network? What communications strategies are best to build brand awareness and presence abroad? Chasing the diaspora or do people seek to eat irish food globally?In this fascinating episode, Conall O Morain speaks to Maxine Hyde who runs Ballymaloe Foods in Little Island, Cork. The company was established 30 years ago by her mother, Yasmin, the daughter of Myrtle Allen. Tom Cronin, Rye River Brewing who having gained more than 25 years’ experience working for drinks giants including Heineken and Molson Coors, Tom Cronin moved in 2013 to become a director of Rye River Brewing Company – a craft brewery that now has a range of more than 30 beers under six brands. Peter Maguire, Rye River Brewing with over 15 years’ experience, having held various positions in customer business development, sales team leadership and principle management within Richmond Marketing, Pernod Ricard (IDL), Nestle Ireland and Boramic Candles. Together, Tom Cronin and Peter Maguire and their team have not only created a hugely successful local brand in the domestic Irish market but established their brands worldwide.