Artisan Burren smokehouse looks to new commercial horizons after 25 years
“Irish organic salmon is widely known as being among the best in the world,” said Brigitta. “It is fished from a sustainable source, and due to the conditions in which it lives it has a much firmer texture.
“Our business is going through the start of a transformation right now, which will involve re-branding and getting higher efficiencies in how we work. We are effectively in the process of building a platform that will help us to grow into the next phase of our commercial development.”
Engaging with professional expertise to help take their smoked products to another level is part of the current re-evaluation.
“We have a world class product, and have not fully capitalised so far on promoting it to its full potential on the global stage.”
Great feedback in Supervalu Carrick-on-Shannon with the Hot Smoked Irish Organic Salmon spiced going down a storm! pic.twitter.com/OpPIPFRYVl
— Birgitta HedinCurtin (@BurrenSalmon) June 19, 2015
Even an established product needs to have its marketing profile examined and re-engineered at regular intervals.
“We believe in the integrity of our product, and if it has the potential to reach a larger market, why not try to reach it. This process involves looking at your product, considering new markets and being ready to invest in branding and marketing and any areas where you don’t have expertise. It is difficult to be an expert about every aspect of your business, and so you must invest in the knowledge of those who know the market better.”
Burren Smokehouse sources local raw materials for its smoked salmon, trout, mackerel, and cheese, and controls its own quality standards with backup of regular testing from independent laboratories and ongoing engagement with the ceritfying organisations.
The company is a member of the Burren Ecotourism Network, a circle of 20 businesses in the region committed to promoting environmentally friendly services to the tourist industry.
“We are committed to conserving energy, reducing waste and recycling as much as possible of the raw materials that we utilise,” said Brigitta.
“We changed our electricity supplier to a company that uses renewable sources to create energy, and the oak shavings we use for smoking are a side product of a wood craft company in Clare. We are committed to leave as little trace as possible.”
The company’s fish are sourced from Clare Island and Waterford, all with an ECO-label and ISO 14001.
“We’re committed to sourcing organically produced raw materials, and to keeping the mileage as low as possible. Our priority lies in sourcing as locally as possible, and helping to support and grow our local economy,” she adds.
While mindful of the advantages of technology, the Burren Smokehouse is strongly wedded to its artisan roots.
“The artisan methods of smoking our products and how we monitor them at every stage of this process is fundamental to the operation, core to our business and will never change because that would compromise the quality.
“However, we will look to modern technology wherever possible to help us promote and develop the potential of our products in the areas of sustainable traceability, storage, planning and marketing — all of which can be enhanced in various ways by innovative IT and better applications of technology.”
The growth of small artisan producers around Ireland over the past decade has served to enhance and underpin the future potential of the industry, Brigitta believes: “Irish producers are really only recently starting to realise that what we have is world class due to the purity of our soil, water and air. The fact that Ireland did not fully industrialise did hold it back historically, but has now become one of its greatest advantages in a world increasing concerned about food and how it is produced. Ireland has an untapped potential that should pay off handsomely for generations to come.”
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