Fingal Food and Drink Producers Invited to Join Food Academy

Fingal Food and Drink Producers Invited to Join Food Academy

• Success stories from Fingal include Hope Beer, Baldoyle, My Apricot Kitchen, Carpenterstown, Dublin 15 and Sarah's Rawbites ,Portmarnock.

• Food Academy programme, run by Local Enterprise Offices, SuperValu and Bord Bia, supports 1,500 jobs in local communities nationwide.

• Food Academy producers have generated €200m in sales in SuperValu stores nationwide since 2013.

Local Enterprise Office Fingal is inviting food and drink producers from the county to join the hugely successful Food Academy programme and follow in the footsteps of local companies, such as Hope Beer, My Apricot Kitchen and Sarah's Rawbites  which have previously taken part.

Now in its ninth-year, Food Academy is a unique food business development programme between the 31 Local Enterprise Offices, including Local Enterprise Office Fingal, SuperValu and Bord Bia. Participants in the programme receive training in food safety, market research and branding, marketing, finance, sustainability and business development.

The Food Academy programme currently supports 290 Irish food and drink producers generating €200m in sales. In 2020, there was a 6% growth in Food Academy product purchases at SuperValu stores with participants delivering €30m in sales.

The Food Academy programme supports 1,500 jobs in local communities nationwide and local producers are now being encouraged to apply through their Local Enterprise Office for the 2022 programme before Friday, April 8^th.

Welcoming the increase in Food Academy sales through Supervalu in 2021:Oisín Geoghegan Head of Enterprise at Local Enterprise Office Fingal said: “Since it was started up nine years ago by the Local Enterprise Offices, Supervalu and Bord Bia, the Food Academy programme has been hugely successful, going from strength to strength. It has helped hundreds of up-and-coming food and drink producers, like Hope Beer, My Apricot Kitchen and Sarah's Rawbites to get their products market-ready, giving them an opportunity to sell to a nationwide audience.”

He added: “The Food Academy is part of a suite of Local Enterprise Office supports designed for food and drink entrepreneurs in Ireland. Other supports to the sector include the LEO’s Digital School of Food and Food Starter programmes, aimed at helping aspiring food entrepreneurs.”

Ian Allen,Managing Director, SuperValu said: “Food Academy, run in collaboration with Bord Bia and the Local Enterprise Offices, helps new businesses to grow and get the support they need. With Food Academy, producers are on shelves 52 weeks of the year. By having this guarantee of shelf space, food producers can generate regular income and ensure their businesses thrive. We have so many examples of former Food Academy producers that have gone on to fantastic success, including The Happy Pear, Pizza Sorrento and SynerChi Kombucha. If you have a great idea for a food or beverage business, then this is your opportunity to sign up for Food Academy and make your dream a reality.  At SuperValu, we are committed to supporting local Irish producers and we are ready and waiting to nurture new talent this year.”

Gillian Willis, Small Business Development Manager, Bord Bia said: “At Bord Bia, we focus on promoting Irish food, drink and horticulture that is produced to the highest quality standards. Food Academy provides invaluable support to participants to get their small businesses off the ground, and to reach consumers nationwide on SuperValu shelves.  This commitment as well as the support provided by Food Academy gives food producers a huge advantage when starting out. We in Bord Bia will continue to provide comprehensive market knowledge, consumer insight and branding expertise to Food Academy participants nationwide.”

The Food Academy Programme is now open for applications until Friday 8^th April 2022 and the programme costs €200 and is inclusive of all course materials, training and mentoring provided. To apply, interested food and drink producers from Fingal are encouraged to contact Local Enterprise Office Fingal for an application form by e-mailing info@leo.fingal.ie or by visiting www.LocalEnterprise.ie .

Further information about the Food Academy, how to apply and other Food Supports is available at www.LocalEnterprise.ie/FoodSupports .

For further information:

Please contact Local Enterprise Office, Fingal:  

Tel: 01 8900 800     E-mail: info@leo.fingal.ie

About Local Enterprise Office, Fingal  

The Local Enterprise Office (LEO) in Fingal is part of a network of 31 Local Enterprise Offices nationwide, located within the Local Authority structure. The Fingal office is one of the largest and most active LEOs in the country.  The role of the LEO is to support and provide assistance to existing and potential small business promoters located in Fingal, North County Dublin.  In addition, the Fingal LEO aims to foster the development of an enterprise culture. The LEOs operate under a Service level Agreement with Enterprise Ireland.  Local Enterprise Office Fingal is funded by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and is con-financed by the European Regional Development Fund. 

About SuperValu

SuperValu serves over 2.6 million customers every week and has 223 stores nationwide. Together with its retail partners, SuperValu employs approximately 14,500 colleagues, making it one of the State’s largest private-sector employers. SuperValu continues to source locally wherever possible which helps to sustain 30,000 jobs in the Irish economy.