Look for Local Campaign urges consumers to Shop Fingal!

NEW LOOK FOR LOCAL CAMPAIGN URGES CONSUMERS TO SHOP FINGAL!

Look for Local Campaign Fingal

A new campaign by Fingal Local Enterprise Office, which was launched this week, is asking consumers to look local when they are shopping for products, services and experiences this Summer. The Look for Local & Shop Fingal campaigns, supported by Enterprise Ireland and Fingal County Council, aim to raise awareness of the benefit of spending in your local area.

At the launch, which took place outside of County Hall, Swords, Mayor of Fingal Cllr. Seána Ó Rodaigh emphasised the importance of supporting the Look for Local and the Shop Fingal initiatives, saying: "LEO Fingal and Fingal County Council have played an essential role in supporting and assisting businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic. Shopping locally will make the difference for so many businesses across Fingal, and I would encourage every citizen of Fingal to get behind these initiatives and spend locally this year - it has never been as important."

Research that was carried out as part of the first Look for Local campaign which was run by Fingal Local Enterprise Office in November and December 2020 showed that Irish consumers were 83% more likely to look local for products and services in 2021.

This campaign aims to strengthen that sentiment and to educate consumers on the domino effect that local spending has throughout their community. Every €10 spent in Fingal on Irish products and services generates more than €40 of benefit to Fingal in terms of employment*.

AnnMarie Farrelly, Chief Executive of Fingal County Council and Chair of the CCMA Business, Enterprise and Innovation Committee said; “Local authorities are providing a range of supports for businesses to help them get back on their feet but the support of the public is crucial for those businesses and for our local economies. Small businesses and retailers are the lifeblood of our cities, towns and villages, providing vital economic activity and employment opportunities. Local enterprise has so much to offer from top quality products to unique experiences, and the coming months are a great opportunity to take advantage, so please ‘Look for Local’ and ‘Shop Fingal’, if you can.”

Head of Enterprise in Fingal Oisín Geoghegan, said “Since the onset of Covid-19, the Local Enterprise Offices have been working closely with small businesses across the country to help sustain them with financial supports, training, mentoring and consultancy for all areas of their business. Now it’s our turn as consumers to Look for Local and Shop Fingal with the economy reopening.

Every Euro you spend with a local business is an investment in the community around it and the quality of goods, services and experiences on our doorstep is second to none. Not only that but it makes a positive environmental, economic and societal impact. This Summer we are asking everyone to Look for Local and Shop Fingal to support businesses and jobs in their community.”

Also in attendance at the launch was Denis Manzke of Nufields Ltd., an award-winning supplier of organic grow kits, seeds and equipment that allow their customers to grow microgreens and sprouts at home all year round. Nufields Ltd. is one of many successful start-up businesses that have been supported by Fingal Local Enterprise Office. More information about Nufields Ltd. and their products is available at www.nufields.com.

The Local Enterprise Office’s “Look for Local” campaign, which is funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, in partnership with Enterprise Ireland and the local authorities, will run across the summer on national, local and online / digital media and will promote small businesses across the country and the benefit of spending with them.In 2020 the Local Enterprise Offices approved over 13,000 Trading Online Vouchers which enabled small businesses to set up an online trading presence. This was up over 950% from the year previous (1,218) and helped small businesses to keep the virtual doors open, when the physical ones were shut. This supplemented with training, mentoring, sector & issue specific consultancy and financial supports helped thousands of businesses to continue to trade and sustain themselves ahead of this summer's reopening.

*ISME Shop Local Report 2020