Winners of National Organic Awards revealed
A quarter of consumers have purchased more organic produce since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic
Print27 October 2020
Bord Bia, in association with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, recently recognised the achievements of six Irish organic food and drink companies. The biennial National Organic Awards celebrate the quality and excellence across the Irish organic sector with seven categories judged by a panel of industry experts.
To coincide with the Awards, Bord Bia has released research on consumer attitudes to organic food. The findings show that a quarter of consumers have purchased more organic produce since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, with 27% buying organic food weekly or more.
Health was the key reason for choosing organic food (73%), followed by taste (65%) and environmental concerns (55%). The study also found that people under the age of 35 are more likely to pay more for organic food.
Award winners
Waterford Distillery was awarded the Retail Award for its organic Gaia 1.1 whisky, the first Irish organic whiskey launched in October 2020. The New and Innovative Award went to baby food producer Pipin Pear for the development of a new organic chilled baby food product, ‘Baby Beef Ragu’. The new product uses 100% recyclable packaging and a bowl format making it convenient for on the go.
Meanwhile, Begley’s Leeks won the Private Label Award for the group’s work with Supervalu to create fully compostable packaging for their organic leeks. Monaghan based The Nest Box Egg Company, which is stocked in over 105 stores worldwide, won the Export Award for its Golden Irish 10 Organic Egg box which was specifically designed for the export market.
Burren Smokehouse won two awards; the company was awarded the E-Commerce Award for the use of digital marketing to drive sales of its organic salmon range and the Business in the Community Award for its initiative “Taste the Atlantic – The Salmon Experience”, an interactive and educational visitor attraction that tells story of Irish salmon.
Yogurt company Glenisk was awarded the Marketing Campaign Award for its partnership with Self Help Africa to plant over One Million Trees in Africa and Ireland. The multi touch point campaign included an exclusive retail partnership with SuperValu, on pack promotion, in store activations and a national radio campaign.
Continuing to thrive
“These National Organic Awards provide an important opportunity to recognise excellence so I want first of all to congratulate all of today’s winners,” said Minister of State, Land Use and Biodiversity, Pippa Hackett T.D. “Seeing their innovation and creativity, I know we can be confident the organic sector will continue to thrive. It is a vital sector of the Irish food and drink industry, and one for which this Government is committed to developing domestic and international markets.’’
Tara McCarthy, CEO of Bord Bia, described the current range of organic products coming out of Ireland as “exceptional”.
“Significant shifts in consumer preference to healthy, sustainable food choices endorses our confidence for the sector,” McCarthy said. “Specifically there are growing opportunities for Irish producers and exporters, in the German and French organic markets where Ireland enjoys a strong image as a food producer and we look forward to working with companies and growers, including many of those shortlisted, to explore these in the future. Congratulations to all the nominated companies, and the very deserving winners.”
The winners of the National Organic Awards were announced on Bord Bia social media channels, with successful companies winning a Digital Marketing package to the value of €5,000.
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