This week representatives of the Irish food and drink industry were in Paris for the biennial SIAL food trade show. SIAL is one of the world’s largest food trade fairs, with 150,000 visitors and 6,300 exhibitors from 100 countries

This year marked the 40th anniversary of Ireland’s participation at the show, where 21 Irish companies sitting mainly in Bord Bia pavilions were present to pursue new business opportunities. Companies attending included ABP, Kepak and Dawn Meats along with the Irish Dairy Board and Glanbia.

Sustainability was a key theme at this year’s event, and Origin Green was the brand under which the Irish companies sat.

Bord Bia CEO Aidan Cotter outlined progress to date on Origin Green and said: “Ireland is the only country in the world in a position to offer an independently verified national sustainability commitment to its customers.” He indicated that 362 food and drink manufacturers, accounting for more than 85% of our exports, have signed up to Origin Green.

Gilles Degroote, of Ethicity, a French research company, said “that while customers are not prepared to pay more for sustainable food, initiatives like Origin Green are critical so that blue-chip customers will chose Irish”. He said that there is real demand for sustainable products in France, with 15% of the population saying it is a key factor in choosing a product.

Despite challenging trading conditions, to see the Irish presence having such a large footprint at the event is an excellent endorsement of the strength of our food sector. The 40% growth in the number of participating companies demonstrates our ambitions to become more outward-facing.

Recent food scares drove some of the key trends at the fair, such as consumers wanting more guarantees to rebuild their confidence in food. There is also a big trend for natural products, with consumers linking green with healthy products. Consumers also want more simplicity and wish to practice responsible consumption which generally means locally sourced food.

The biggest challenges for Irish exports will be overcoming the fact that most consumers are unwilling to pay more for sustainable food along with wanting more local produce.