Food Networks & Other useful Links
Regional
Other Supplier Development Programmes
Grow with Aldi
Grow with Aldi is a supplier development programme to help the very best small to medium sized Irish suppliers in building their brand. The mentor scheme is undertaken in conjunction with Bord Bia. Following the programme’s successes in recent years, it has continued in 2021 with the PR launch calling for entries in January, through to the judging phase in February and the product launch in stores which will take place on June 6th
Altogether, 196 Irish suppliers have taken part in the Grow With Aldi programme since it began in 2018. This year, 69 suppliers will launch 135 products in all 145 Aldi stores nationwide as part of the special buy promotion and of these, 5 suppliers will win a core listing for a 12-month period and 2 further participants are picked for a seasonal launch in October. These artisan Irish suppliers have been sourced across chill, ambient and freezer categories. Those suppliers who were chosen for a core range listing will receive mentoring and development through a number of workshops, such as Commercial Management & Social media marketing followed by a number of individual mentoring sessions.
If you want to find out more go to https://www.aldi.ie/grow.
Lidl Kickstart Programme
Kick Start is a supplier development programme run by Lidl in conjunction with Bord Bia. The aim of the initiative is to give small Irish food & drink suppliers the chance to promote their products and grow their business through Lidl stores across the country. Successful suppliers can secure a listing in their twice-yearly events. Suppliers gain invaluable experience through this program on the Lidl ways of working.
Lidl Kick Start is a supplier development programme giving Irish food & drink producers the chance to showcase their products and grow their business through the 181 Lidl stores nationwide. Producers on the programme will participate in a tailored workshop to support them in having the tools to have a successful product launch. In 2020, the programme saw over €1million worth of Irish products from over 60 producers on shelf.
If you want to find out more go to https://www.lidl.ie/kickstart
Food Works
Food Works is a tri-agency accelerator programme for food and drink start-ups. Enterprise Ireland, Bord Bia and Teagasc have worked together since 2012 to support high potential start up food and drink businesses, to launch and scale rapidly.
Food Works is run by three government agencies – Bord Bia, Enterprise Ireland and Teagasc. In this time Food Works has helped more than 90 Irish food entrepreneurs scale their businesses.
What Food Works does:
- helps entrepreneurs to validate their product through market and consumer research or validation
- provides access to research and development (R&D) expertise, pilot scale production facilities, food incubation units and product testing
- assists entrepreneurs to develop their business into a tried and tested, financially viable proposal provides expertise to help scale and grow business for export
- supports companies to produce an investor ready business plan
Food Works is an intensive programme, which incorporates workshops with industry experts, customised support from business advisors and facilitated peer to peer learning opportunities. The overall programme output will be a clear, investor-ready, practical business plan focused on scaling internationally.
To find out more : https://www.foodworksireland.ie/
Food Service
Catex - catexexhibition.com
Chef Network - chefnetwork.ie
