Food for thought as Reox plans cheese sale
Food innovation and new food product development, consumer trends — including health and nutrition and ethical foods — were all on the menu, so to speak.
Without doubt this sector is changing, and at an incredible pace, driven by many factors, including rising living standards and an increasing quest for food and drink that are health-enhancing as well as nourishing.
Much of the two days is dealing with highly technical stuff and might not appear to be that relevant to the many cottage industries operating in niche markets, such as the cheese makers and yoghurt makers that have sprung up across the country down though the year as Ireland started to mature as an economy.
Enterprise Ireland has sponsored the event again this year, taking the view that an event of this type has to reflect well on the Irish food sector even if it is not germane to all of those active in making Irish food.
Added health benefits, nutrition, ethical foods and convenience are the key drivers of food innovation and new food product development, and have become increasingly critical to all food producing countries.
For Ireland these are of huge economic importance because our ability to evolve new products in this area will have a huge bearing on the industry’s future here.
The industry is quite sizeable, accounting for an output of 18bn, exports of €8bn, and direct employment of 54,000.
Mike Feeney, Enterprise Ireland’s director with responsibility for food and drinks, said: & “This is a key annual event for the global food industry, and it provides Irish companies with an opportunity to network with global players in the food industry, and to explore potential partnership and open innovation opportunities,” he added.
Irish food companies in the past have bought the technologies required in food ingredients and elsewhere, and have punched above their weight in key areas. Companies such as Kerry Group and Glanbia are significant players in key areas of the food sector, supplying ingredients to new and evolving products, as well as producing a wide range of consumer dairy and meat brands.
The gods seem to favour some companies more than others.
For instance, Reox Holdings looks to be on the cusp of selling off its Irish consumer division that owns the Galtee range of cheese and meat products and a number of dairy spreads.
Reox is the non-milk part of Dairygold, set up to drive the property, consumer foods division and DIY retailing end of the business forward as a separate entity.
In the context of health and wellness and all the other buzz words now surrounding the cult of food, Reox’s decision to sell off the Irish consumer brands comes as a shock.
Reox appears to have taken the view that it cannot hope to compete in Ireland and Britain selling to the big multiple stores down the line, because margins are being beaten down and its operations are too small to stand up to big retailers.
As if on cue Tesco will today announce figures showing it is the second largest buyer of Irish food and drink in the world, which at best is a mixed blessing as we contemplate the future of our food and drinks industry.
It was Tesco that bought Magners cider in Britain and brought it back into Ireland to sell in its stores at knock down prices when its makers, C&C, were on their knees in Britain.
It’s good for the consumer, but if the consumer is the only barometer of what’s right, then so be it.
