22 February 2010, 09:50 AM
  • I can report that business in the speciality food sector is better than it was this time last year.

I have been on my travels again the last couple of weeks; to the ISM Show in Cologne (31st January - 3rd February) and a Bord Bia event in Ireland. Both gave an indication of how the economy is performing in relation to speciality food on a European level. (Since then the news has broken about the mess Greece’s economy is in, so we’ll have to wait and see what impact that will have).

Everyone seemed to be reporting better figures for Christmas trade and there was a far greater sense of optimism about the coming year.

Ireland is one of the so-called ‘PIGS’. (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain are perceived as the weakest economies in the Eurozone at present).

Sure, as I reported in November, it is struggling in a very deep recession, but they have dug in and the Government is working very hard to get them out of it. The Irish Food Board, Bord Bia, really is an incredible organisation, and if other sectors work as hard as they do, there will be a good future for Ireland.

The Bord Bia event I was attending was the closest thing to a business version of speed-dating I have ever been on:

160 Irish suppliers together with 350 buyers from 27 different countries were involved in a total of 3,500 meetings in one day. 20 minutes were allocated for each meeting, then a bell rang and we moved on to our next pre-arranged meeting.

It was a phenomenal feat of organisation and Bord Bia deserves my highest commendation - I had 18 productive meetings in the day – and then was hoping to collapse in a heap at the airport, but another business contact was waiting there to talk to me!

UK trade shows should look at this kind of format as I believe far more would be achieved than at the average trade show.

Generally since the snow at the beginning of the year, we have found this year very buoyant indeed. So much so, that I am taking on two extra field sales people and a sales manager – doubling the sales part of my company.
It’s a bit of a risk, but I feel we’re poised for good growth this year – and it would be a shame to miss it!