Food industry leaders to mentor small businesses

Aidan Cotter, CEO, Bord Bia, Simon Coveney, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Shane Dempsey, head of consumer foods, FDII
Aidan Cotter, CEO, Bord Bia, Simon Coveney, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Shane Dempsey, head of consumer foods, FDII

A mentoring programme for small food firms has been organised by Bord Bia in cooperation with Food and Drink Industry Ireland (FDII)

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15 February 2012

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A new structured mentoring initiative where the expertise of leading indigenous food and drink companies will be shared with small food firms was launched recently at Bord Bia’s Small Business Open Day. Over 120 food companies gathered in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Blanchardstown, Dublin, to hear how global food and drink companies such as Glanbia, Nestle, Coca-Cola, Kepak, Bulmers and Kraft will offer their advice and expertise to small food firms in the key areas of business strategy, account management and logistics. The mentoring programme will be coordinated by Bord Bia in cooperation with Food and Drink Industry Ireland (FDII).

 
Launching the initiative the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney, commended the industry for its support and willingness to help the specialty food sector achieve its potential. “The sharing of experiential learning is hugely beneficial and I’d like to encourage all small companies to avail of this invaluable guidance, insight and advice. Food Harvest 2020 recognised ‘co-opetition’ as a key strategy for Ireland’s food industry and this programme represents an excellent opportunity for companies large and small to collaborate and co-operate for the benefit of the sector.”  
 
At the seminar, Bord Bia invited small companies to participate in the mentoring programme. Those who register for the service will be matched with an appropriate industry experienced mentor.
 
Bord Bia works with over 400 small food businesses with an annual turnover of some €400 million. Approximately 3,000 people are directly employed in the sector and in 2011, 183 companies were approved a total in excess of €1 million in marketing grant aid. “As one of Bord Bia’s six strategic priorities, supporting a dynamic and growth-oriented small business sector remains central to Bord Bia’s policy for the food and drink industry,” said Bord Bia CEO Aidan Cotter.  
 

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