SuperValu Food Academy marks five years
Food Academy, the food start-up initiative founded as a joint project between Bord Bia, SuperValu and the Local Enterprise Office, has marked five years with a special event setting out the vision for the next five.
Print25 May 2018
Food Academy, a startup initiative designed to advise, nurture and grow Irish food businesses in their early stages, has marked five years in operation with a new sales objective of €50m over the next five years. The initiative, a joint project between Bord Bia, the Local Enterprise Office and SuperValu, was established to support access to expertise in branding, market research, business development and distribution, to allow them to scale up and eventually secure listings with SuperValu.
Since the programme’s inception in 2013, Food Academy graduates, supported by their Local Enterprise Offices, have sold €78 million worth of produce in SuperValu stores and the 329 suppliers involved have grown to provide approximately 1,500 jobs.
Commenting at an event in Dublin to commemorate the milestone, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed TD said the success of Food Academy is due in part to the increased consumer interest in high quality locally-produced food products. “This interest has helped to boost growth of the sector in recent years,” he said, “ensuring that small food and drink producers are now more closely than ever associated with Ireland’s food and drink identity.”
Tara McCarthy, CEO of Bord Bia, said the organisation is proud to partner with LEO and SuperValu to grow and support innovative food businesses. “Over five years the programme has attracted a diverse range of producers from all across Ireland,” McCarthy said. “Operating both locally and nationally, Food Academy producers have become an integral part of Ireland’s successful food and drink industry. As the programme evolves into the future, Bord Bia will continue to provide comprehensive market knowledge, consumer insight and branding expertise to Food Academy participants nationwide.”
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