New Buyer Event Showcases Best Emerging Food Producers from Fingal

Meet the Buyer at LIT

Exciting new food products from Fingal producers such as Everest Snacks, My Apricot Kitchen and Hope Beer will be representing Fingal at a new ‘Meet the Buyer’ Local Enterprise Office (LEO) event which will take place on ‘The Street’ at the Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) on Thursday 23 May 2019.

Featuring over 80 up and coming artisan producers and new foodstuffs from all over the country, buyers from Ireland, the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, representing the key supermarket groups and food service sectors, are expected to attend on the day.  This will provide SMEs with a great opportunity to gain new distribution for their products and to get expert advice on how to succeed.

Fingal is putting its best foot forward with top quality products created locally: Everest Snacks in Blanchardstown produces a range of premium yoghurt granola cups and have recently introduced new porridge and a chia pudding cups; My Apricot Kitchen (also in Dublin 15) makes a range of artisan, vegan sauces with fresh locally sourced ingredients; Hope Beer brews a number of premium, craft beers in small batches in their brewery in Howth Junction.

The event is trade only, so it is open to buyers from across the food industry such as supermarket groups, food wholesalers, retailers, independent fine food shops, food service, development chefs, restaurants and more.  They will be invited to sample a huge range of the finest new Irish produce from up to 90 producers and meet the passionate, talented artisans behind it. 

Spearheaded by the Network of Local Enterprise Offices and The Irish Quality Food Awards and hosted by the Limerick Institute of Technology, this event is set to be a key annual business event for the Irish food industry.

Oisin Geoghegan, Chair of the Network of 31 LEOs and Head of Enterprise at LEO Fingal says “Our food producers are making a range of quality food products and with the support of the LEO through financial assistance as well as training and promotional supports are achieving fantastic success in developing their markets. The meet the buyer event will assist these producers to develop new markets and outlets for their produce and will enable them to benchmark their products against the best from all over Ireland. I expect this event to grow in the coming years and to become a key annual event for not only producers but also for buyers”.

Helen Lyons of the Irish Quality Food Awards (IQFAs) adds “We are delighted to partner with LEOs around the country for this event.  It is particularly exciting to showcase the brightest talent and newest produce coming out of the country.  In the 7 years that we have been conducting the IQFAs, we have been hugely impressed by the increasing quality of Irish produce, which is now amongst the best in the world. We all want to know where our food is coming from and to be reassured that it is made with integrity, clean, local ingredients and with care.  Irish producers really understand this.”

Buyers who are interested in attending this event should register their interest by emailing helen.lyons@emap.com. The LEOs are funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland in partnership with the Local Authorities.