Food and drinks start-ups can compete with global brands. Here’s how

Entrepreneur Conor Hyde teaches businesses how to conduct gap analysis, market research and properly appraise competitors

Conor Hyde runs Bullseye Food Marketing, and is the founder of Hyde Irish Whiskey. Picture: Martina Regan

Ireland has given the world some great food brands, from Guinness and Baileys to Kerrygold. But the vast majority of food businesses here are mom and pop shops, not great big multinationals with enormous marketing budgets. So how can small family businesses build big brands?

It’s something Cork man Conor Hyde is deeply concerned with, both through his business, Bullseye Food Marketing, and as founder of Hyde Irish Whiskey, the whiskey bonding business he set up in 2014 which today exports to 65 countries.