Bord Bia is planning a worldwide promotion of Irish food for St Patrick’s Day, which includes sending Irish beef to Barack Obama.
The U.S president will be presented with a hamper of Irish food and drink to celebrate the occasion.
Through its network of international offices, Bord Bia has coordinated over 100 promotional activities and events aimed at consumers, retailers, trade and foodservice operators.
Aidan Cotter, Bord Bia’s chief executive, emphasised the importance of the celebration to the agri-food industry: “St. Patrick’s Day provides Bord Bia, and the Irish food and drink industry, with an invaluable opportunity to highlight the quality and sustainability credentials of our produce.”
In the UK, Bord Bia is coordinating major in-store Irish food promotions across 100 retail stores where products such as prime Irish beef and Irish pork sausages will be given prime positioning.
In Paris, the Chefs Irish Beef Club, Bord Bia’s international initiative which brings together chefs who use and endorse Irish beef, will host an event to welcome its newest member, Claude Colliot, who features Irish Hereford beef on his restaurant menu in the French capital.
In Germany, over 30,000 German consumers enjoyed Irish food during the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Munich earlier this week. Bord Bia also hosted a German media and trade event where Mario Corti, a Michelin Star chef and a Chefs Irish Beef Club member, served Irish Hereford and Black Angus beef and briefed local media on the premium quality of Irish beef.
Meanwhile, Bord Bia Spain is running an Irish beef promotion with premium retail chains AlCampo and El Cortes Ingles across a number of their stores.
Bord Bia has also distributed samples of Irish beef and air dried lamb to embassies across all continents, to ensure that guests attending official St. Patrick’s Day events have the opportunity to experience Irish food.
Currently Irish food and drink exports reach over 175 countries around the world and in 2015 were worth €10.8 billion.
Photo credit: Bord Bia.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
