A new Bord Bia Insight Centre is being opened in London this Wednesday to boost exports to the UK. It is being opened by the Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed and Bord Bia’s CEO Tara McCarthy.

The centre is modelling off the ‘Thinking House’ centre in Dublin and will be housed in Bord Bia’s existing London office.

“Insight-led thinking is needed to address the challenges facing Irish exporters and indeed their customers in the UK as Brexit draws closer,” Creed said. “This Bord Bia initiative, supported by my Department, will help position Irish exporters with their customers through a shared understanding of the changes in consumer trends and how to meet them commercially.”

Over three days, the Minister and Tara McCarthy will host meetings with CEOs of Sainsbury’s, Marks and Spencer, McDonalds, Ocado and Amazon. Online grocery shopping is the fastest growing channel in the UK, worth over £10 billion.

The CEO of Ocado said that Irish foods are growing more rapidly than the Ocado business average. The retailer serves a customer base of 645,000 and achieves a £1.5 billion growth in annual sales.

“Our relationship with Ocado, which stretches back over 10 years, has included the launch of a dedicated Irish shop section and a significant programme of business development events assisting Irish suppliers to build their business with Ocado and introducing a wider Irish product portfolio to Ocado’s customers,” McCarthy said.

The UK is Ireland’s key export market valued at €4.5 billion, which was an increase of 7% on the previous year. The UK grocery market is forecast to increase to the value of £213 billion by 2022, a 15% increase from 2017 according to IGD.

Read more

Creed in UK for trade mission like St Patrick's day visit