Your chance to Taste the Greatness of our food and drink
Article written by Food NI CEO Michele Shirlow for Farm Week 23rd March 2017
We launched ‘Taste the Greatness’, our new strategy for the next five years to build on the resounding success of Year of Food and Drink during 2016. The new strategy, presented to processors, retailers, government representatives, especially our colleagues in Invest NI, and other supporters of local food and drink, aims to drive our most important industry forward in Northern Ireland and also in Britain and international markets.
Our vision is “a thriving local market that is the seedbed for the food and drink stories of tomorrow”. Our commitment in Food NI is to showcase them on “a world-class platform to create standout and credibility within and far beyond our borders”. Our mission is to tell these stories and create a name for ourselves nationally and internationally that underpins and supports all the excellence that is emerging from these shores”.
We look forward to continuing to support Invest NI on measures to boost export sales especially in Britain and to assisting Tourism NI in promoting food and drink as part of the tourism message.
Interestingly this re-iteration of our strategic focus on promoting our food and drink professionally here and abroad coincides with a recent report by GSI, a supply chain body in Britain, which highlighted a growing trend towards authentic local food and drink among consumers concerned about provenance and local heritage, two of the strongest features underpinning our produce.
It found that: “Heritage, provenance, and traceability are no longer nice-to-haves but increasingly important factors that can make the difference between where consumers choose to spend their money.” Smaller companies were benefiting most from the trend towards local food and drink. Craft beers and gins had become among the most important developments in the drink category. This is replicated, of course, in Northern Ireland where we have a thriving craft beer, cider, and gin sector.
Two of our smaller producers, MacIvor’s In Portadown and Tempted in Lisburn last week won medals in the International Brewing and Cider Awards in Britain.
As I’ve written many times in the past, Britain is a market of huge potential for our food and drink producers. There are some 65 million mouths to feed there in a marketplace which is still only around 64 per cent self-sufficient in food products.
Currently, Britain imports around £40 billion in food and drink and exports less than £20 million. As a result, the food deficit is huge. A slice of this would be tremendously beneficial for the Northern Ireland.
A key element in our new strategy is to take the message about just how great our food and drink really is to Britain….and then beyond. Our work will be focused on helping to preserve family farming, on celebrating our world-class ingredients and promoting the explosion of authentic and innovative producers.
As Taste the Greatness says “it’s putting greatness on plates and in glasses”.
We aim “to campaign for and champion Northern Ireland produce and to increase national standout for Northern Ireland food and drink by 2020”. And it’s an objective we are confident can – and will – be achieved.
I believe that Food NI is perfectly positioned in terms of knowledge and experience in the industry here and has the expertise especially in digital technology to take Northern Ireland food and drink to the next level as a driver of marketing and communications activity, a networking resource hub and a source of expert food knowledge.
