More than €156,000 for equipment to diversify into frozen and vegetarian sausages in Co Cork. €120,000 for the expansion of a manufacturing facility for healthy snacks in Co Kerry. Nearly €30,000 for training for artisan, micro and small food business in Co Limerick. Over €30,000 for a food incubation hub and community kitchen in Co Mayo. These are just some of the 20 projects that have received funding under the LEADER Food Initiative; and with €15m in the pot to be allocated by the end of 2020, this represents a significant opportunity for small rural businesses.
Speaking to Irish Country Living, JP Mulherin, principal officer for the management and implementation of the LEADER programme, explains that the €15m fund was launched last May following a decision at national level to prioritise funding for small rural food businesses.
“So far, we have allocated funding to 20 projects to the value of €1.25m,” says JP, who explains that recipients to date have ranged from private businesses to community projects and food festivals.
Applicants fill out what is known as an “expression of interest” through their LEADER Local Action Group (or their delivery partners in a local development company), who will assess their proposal and assist with preparing the application to the Department of Rural & Community Development if they feel that it ticks the necessary boxes.
So, what kind of projects are LEADER looking to support?
“Really that it fits with the criteria of the initiative,” says JP. “So if it’s in the area of marketing or processing or improved product quality, if it’s shown to make a difference to the competitiveness of the business, if it’s shown to make a difference to the sustainability of the business, if it’s sustaining jobs, if it’s delivering jobs – all those things are taken into account.
“But in general what you’ll find is if it’s approved by the Local Action Group, then it’s been evaluated at that stage, so most of the projects that are coming to us are generally of high standard.”
It’s significant in that there’s not a lot of capital supports available for food businesses
The maximum individual allocation under the fund is €200,000, which can be delivered in up to five phased payments as work is completed. It’s also worth noting, however, that applicants will have to match-fund whatever they get from LEADER, in most cases, up to 50%, but the support is still significant.
“So if you are doing a project that is costing you €300,000, you can get €150,000,” gives JP as one example.
“It’s significant in that there’s not a lot of capital supports available for food businesses. There’s a lot of softer types of supports around training and mentoring and business development, but there isn’t as much direct capital supports, so this would be very unique for food businesses.”
In addition to the 20 projects already funded, LEADER Local Action Groups are currently looking at expressions of interests from other applicants to the value of €5m. However, with the fund only available until the end of 2020, JP would advise any interested party to contact their Local Action Group to talk through the possibility of making an application.
“It’s a huge opportunity for rural businesses and one that we’re hopeful that people will make use of over the next couple of years,” concludes JP.
For details of local LAGs, visit https://drcd.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/list-of-LAGs.pdf
Nicole Dunphy runs premium confectionary business Pandora Bell in Ballysimon, Co Limerick, supplying stores such as Brown Thomas and Avoca with products like lollipops, salted caramels, butter fudge, honey nougat and vegan fruit jellies that she sources from independent makers, with 50% of sales overseas.
Nicole Dunphy of Pandora Bell. \ Tarmo Tulit
Based in Ballysimon, Co Limerick, Nicole employs two full-time staff as well as seasonal workers for busy periods. As a small business, she has struggled to find the funds – or time – to invest in design and marketing to bring the luxury brand to the next level.
“When you’re a small business, you can just work along and forget to push yourself the next step forward,” says Nicola, who applied to the LEADER food initiative for funding for new packaging and design, a social media and digital marketing campaign, trade show events and programmatic display advertising (targeted online ads) and was awarded €19,374.37, which is 50% of the total two-year project cost.
Nicole worked with Ballyhoura Development Company on her application and while she found the detail involved “intense” at times, argues that this does “focus your thoughts” on your plans.
“You’ve got a schedule and goals for the year through this, so it’s good,” she says. “It kind of sets your own agenda.”
Brand refresh
The first step of her project will be to work with a designer to give the brand a refresh. “Tastes change and premium packaging shouts a lot louder than it used to do a few years ago,” she explains. “You need to keep your finger on the button.”
Another priority will be to engage the services of a digital marketing specialist to run a targeted campaign online in the run-up to Christmas, which she has found difficult to dedicate time to in the past due to the volume of orders at that time of year.
“If there’s a truck that’s lost two pallets or there’s an Instagram post to put up, you’re going to find the two pallets,” says Nicole. “It’s the most important time to have your profile out there, yet it’s the hardest time to do it.”
Funding will also go towards attending trade shows, with Nicole providing the match-funding required under the initiative through cashflow. Her advice to any business considering applying is to be “100% clear of what you want and what you want it for”.
“This is the project you are doing, this is who is doing it and this is how much it’s going to cost,” she says.
“There’s no point going in with some kind of a vague notion – and you do have to pay the other 50%, so you want to make it work for you.”
Another business that applied for funding under the LEADER Food Initiative with the help of Ballyhoura Development Company is Hodgins Foods.
A craft butcher by trade, Mervin Hodgins decided to focus on making sausages and puddings when he moved into a purpose-built plant outside Mitchelstown in 2002 and today supplies Tesco, Dunnes Stores, SuperValu, Iceland, Aldi and Applegreen stores nationwide, employing just over 50 staff.
Keen to diversify into frozen and vegetarian sausages, however, Mervin applied under the LEADER Food Initiative and was awarded €156,586.50, which is 50% of the overall cost of equipment needed.
Mervin Hodgins of Hodgins Foods, Mitchelstown
“This is a whole new project,” says Mervin, who explains that he first heard about the LEADER Food Initiative after receiving an email from Ballyhoura Development Company.
While he says that the staff at Ballyhoura were “fantastic” when it came to the application process, he made the decision to employ a consultant to pull all the necessary information together, such was the time commitment involved.
“Look, it’s public money, so it’s only right that it should be properly gone through,” he says. “But I suppose the reality of it is that unless you were going for a fairly sizable figure, it wouldn’t be feasible.”
The time and effort obviously paid off, however, as the funding will allow him to invest in a high-speed production, freezing and bagging line, which he hopes will help him grow his customer base in the food service, retail and, particularly, the export market.
“In order for us to look beyond the UK and look further into Europe, we have to go frozen and it’s an investment we have to make,” says Mervin, who is also keen to capitalise on the growing vegetarian market.
Balla Food Hub
It’s not just private businesses that have benefited from the fund, however.
Balla Community Resource Development (CRD) worked with South West Mayo Development company to secure €31, 256 towards the cost of a new food hub and community kitchen. It’s the latest in a long line of community initiatives in the village of 720 people, which won a national “Pride of Place” award just before Christmas.
Balla community resource centre
Balla CRD committee member, Pat Boyle, explains that the idea for the Food Hub was first mooted when the playschool in their community hall moved to a new location, leaving the space vacant.
Putting the feelers out, they discovered a demand locally from people who wished to go into the food business, but did not have access to production facilities at an affordable rate.
“We felt that if the community developed a Food Hub and a community kitchen, that could be used by many different people and we’d operate it on a time-share basis,” explains Pat.
The community worked with their local LEADER programme co-ordinator, Norita Clesham, to put their application together, and while Pat agrees it is a detailed process, he appreciates that this is necessary.
“There’s a lot of checking regarding tax clearances, all those things have to be updated,” he says, “but those are the rules and that’s what you accept when you apply in the first place. I suppose from a public point of view it’s good to see that proper checks and balances are put in place to begin with.”
And having had their application approved in December, they are hoping to have the facility – which will consist of a full production kitchen and separate food incubation/preparation unit (eg for packing) – up and running by July, using money they have fundraised to cover the remainder of the total project cost.
As well as supporting start-up food businesses, however, Pat explains that the kitchen will also be available for the use of the wider community.
“The last thing we want to do is have a white elephant that we have all the mod cons in there just because we got a grant for it and it’s not being used, so we want to make sure it will be as flexible as possible so that use of it will be maximised,” he says.
More than €156,000 for equipment to diversify into frozen and vegetarian sausages in Co Cork. €120,000 for the expansion of a manufacturing facility for healthy snacks in Co Kerry. Nearly €30,000 for training for artisan, micro and small food business in Co Limerick. Over €30,000 for a food incubation hub and community kitchen in Co Mayo. These are just some of the 20 projects that have received funding under the LEADER Food Initiative; and with €15m in the pot to be allocated by the end of 2020, this represents a significant opportunity for small rural businesses.
Speaking to Irish Country Living, JP Mulherin, principal officer for the management and implementation of the LEADER programme, explains that the €15m fund was launched last May following a decision at national level to prioritise funding for small rural food businesses.
“So far, we have allocated funding to 20 projects to the value of €1.25m,” says JP, who explains that recipients to date have ranged from private businesses to community projects and food festivals.
Applicants fill out what is known as an “expression of interest” through their LEADER Local Action Group (or their delivery partners in a local development company), who will assess their proposal and assist with preparing the application to the Department of Rural & Community Development if they feel that it ticks the necessary boxes.
So, what kind of projects are LEADER looking to support?
“Really that it fits with the criteria of the initiative,” says JP. “So if it’s in the area of marketing or processing or improved product quality, if it’s shown to make a difference to the competitiveness of the business, if it’s shown to make a difference to the sustainability of the business, if it’s sustaining jobs, if it’s delivering jobs – all those things are taken into account.
“But in general what you’ll find is if it’s approved by the Local Action Group, then it’s been evaluated at that stage, so most of the projects that are coming to us are generally of high standard.”
It’s significant in that there’s not a lot of capital supports available for food businesses
The maximum individual allocation under the fund is €200,000, which can be delivered in up to five phased payments as work is completed. It’s also worth noting, however, that applicants will have to match-fund whatever they get from LEADER, in most cases, up to 50%, but the support is still significant.
“So if you are doing a project that is costing you €300,000, you can get €150,000,” gives JP as one example.
“It’s significant in that there’s not a lot of capital supports available for food businesses. There’s a lot of softer types of supports around training and mentoring and business development, but there isn’t as much direct capital supports, so this would be very unique for food businesses.”
In addition to the 20 projects already funded, LEADER Local Action Groups are currently looking at expressions of interests from other applicants to the value of €5m. However, with the fund only available until the end of 2020, JP would advise any interested party to contact their Local Action Group to talk through the possibility of making an application.
“It’s a huge opportunity for rural businesses and one that we’re hopeful that people will make use of over the next couple of years,” concludes JP.
For details of local LAGs, visit https://drcd.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/list-of-LAGs.pdf
Nicole Dunphy runs premium confectionary business Pandora Bell in Ballysimon, Co Limerick, supplying stores such as Brown Thomas and Avoca with products like lollipops, salted caramels, butter fudge, honey nougat and vegan fruit jellies that she sources from independent makers, with 50% of sales overseas.
Nicole Dunphy of Pandora Bell. \ Tarmo Tulit
Based in Ballysimon, Co Limerick, Nicole employs two full-time staff as well as seasonal workers for busy periods. As a small business, she has struggled to find the funds – or time – to invest in design and marketing to bring the luxury brand to the next level.
“When you’re a small business, you can just work along and forget to push yourself the next step forward,” says Nicola, who applied to the LEADER food initiative for funding for new packaging and design, a social media and digital marketing campaign, trade show events and programmatic display advertising (targeted online ads) and was awarded €19,374.37, which is 50% of the total two-year project cost.
Nicole worked with Ballyhoura Development Company on her application and while she found the detail involved “intense” at times, argues that this does “focus your thoughts” on your plans.
“You’ve got a schedule and goals for the year through this, so it’s good,” she says. “It kind of sets your own agenda.”
Brand refresh
The first step of her project will be to work with a designer to give the brand a refresh. “Tastes change and premium packaging shouts a lot louder than it used to do a few years ago,” she explains. “You need to keep your finger on the button.”
Another priority will be to engage the services of a digital marketing specialist to run a targeted campaign online in the run-up to Christmas, which she has found difficult to dedicate time to in the past due to the volume of orders at that time of year.
“If there’s a truck that’s lost two pallets or there’s an Instagram post to put up, you’re going to find the two pallets,” says Nicole. “It’s the most important time to have your profile out there, yet it’s the hardest time to do it.”
Funding will also go towards attending trade shows, with Nicole providing the match-funding required under the initiative through cashflow. Her advice to any business considering applying is to be “100% clear of what you want and what you want it for”.
“This is the project you are doing, this is who is doing it and this is how much it’s going to cost,” she says.
“There’s no point going in with some kind of a vague notion – and you do have to pay the other 50%, so you want to make it work for you.”
Another business that applied for funding under the LEADER Food Initiative with the help of Ballyhoura Development Company is Hodgins Foods.
A craft butcher by trade, Mervin Hodgins decided to focus on making sausages and puddings when he moved into a purpose-built plant outside Mitchelstown in 2002 and today supplies Tesco, Dunnes Stores, SuperValu, Iceland, Aldi and Applegreen stores nationwide, employing just over 50 staff.
Keen to diversify into frozen and vegetarian sausages, however, Mervin applied under the LEADER Food Initiative and was awarded €156,586.50, which is 50% of the overall cost of equipment needed.
Mervin Hodgins of Hodgins Foods, Mitchelstown
“This is a whole new project,” says Mervin, who explains that he first heard about the LEADER Food Initiative after receiving an email from Ballyhoura Development Company.
While he says that the staff at Ballyhoura were “fantastic” when it came to the application process, he made the decision to employ a consultant to pull all the necessary information together, such was the time commitment involved.
“Look, it’s public money, so it’s only right that it should be properly gone through,” he says. “But I suppose the reality of it is that unless you were going for a fairly sizable figure, it wouldn’t be feasible.”
The time and effort obviously paid off, however, as the funding will allow him to invest in a high-speed production, freezing and bagging line, which he hopes will help him grow his customer base in the food service, retail and, particularly, the export market.
“In order for us to look beyond the UK and look further into Europe, we have to go frozen and it’s an investment we have to make,” says Mervin, who is also keen to capitalise on the growing vegetarian market.
Balla Food Hub
It’s not just private businesses that have benefited from the fund, however.
Balla Community Resource Development (CRD) worked with South West Mayo Development company to secure €31, 256 towards the cost of a new food hub and community kitchen. It’s the latest in a long line of community initiatives in the village of 720 people, which won a national “Pride of Place” award just before Christmas.
Balla community resource centre
Balla CRD committee member, Pat Boyle, explains that the idea for the Food Hub was first mooted when the playschool in their community hall moved to a new location, leaving the space vacant.
Putting the feelers out, they discovered a demand locally from people who wished to go into the food business, but did not have access to production facilities at an affordable rate.
“We felt that if the community developed a Food Hub and a community kitchen, that could be used by many different people and we’d operate it on a time-share basis,” explains Pat.
The community worked with their local LEADER programme co-ordinator, Norita Clesham, to put their application together, and while Pat agrees it is a detailed process, he appreciates that this is necessary.
“There’s a lot of checking regarding tax clearances, all those things have to be updated,” he says, “but those are the rules and that’s what you accept when you apply in the first place. I suppose from a public point of view it’s good to see that proper checks and balances are put in place to begin with.”
And having had their application approved in December, they are hoping to have the facility – which will consist of a full production kitchen and separate food incubation/preparation unit (eg for packing) – up and running by July, using money they have fundraised to cover the remainder of the total project cost.
As well as supporting start-up food businesses, however, Pat explains that the kitchen will also be available for the use of the wider community.
“The last thing we want to do is have a white elephant that we have all the mod cons in there just because we got a grant for it and it’s not being used, so we want to make sure it will be as flexible as possible so that use of it will be maximised,” he says.
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