Irish food companies stood out at Food Hotel Asia in Singapore last week at Bord Bia’s Origin Green pavilion.
The food and beverage trade show saw thousands of Asian food buyers compare produce from all over the world with Bord Bia’s green messaging alone in its strong focus on sustainability and grass-fed production.
Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue, who met with all the Irish companies present as part of his trade mission to southeast Asia, said they, along with the farmers whose produce they market, are “giants in food production”.
Opportunities
The Irish Farmers Journal asked the companies about the opportunities they see in the Asian market and the advantage of Ireland’s reputation as a sustainable food producer.
Beef Sales director Jonathan Cahill
“We stand out because what we do in John Stone is that we select the highest-quality carcase, right across from the Quality Assured farms and then we age them. We’re selecting from the best of the best in Ireland. There’s no other country that can compete with us.
John Stone beef managing director Tim Stone and sales director Jonathan Cahill at Food Hotel Asia in Singapore.
“[Asia] is a very buoyant market for high-quality product. John Stone sees this as a huge opportunity. Our distributor is already with Silver Hill Duck, and is already established. That will allow us to open up doors and react very fast to the market.
“[Sustainability] really helps us add to the full story. We find with the east Asians, they’re very educated and they really want a quality product so for us to be able to add the sustainability story, through Origin Green, along with our philosophy of selecting quality dry-age product, it just brings the whole story together really.”
International general
manager Martin McMahon
“We’re very interested in developing our markets further across Asia. We currently deal in Japan and Hong Kong and a small quantity coming in here to Singapore so we’re looking for opportunities to expand that.
ABP international sales team member Ian Lavery and international general manager Martin McMahon at Food Hotel Asia in Singapore.
“[Sustainability] seems to be becoming more and more important. Clients are looking for sustainability in the products that they buy. So, we’re very focused on that.
“Irish produce, we consider it the best beef in the world and lamb, for that matter. So, we’re trying to get that message across to our clients here. Our beef, we consider it better than Australian, as good as American beef, so it’s about trying to teach them that.”
Business development manager (Asia) Lorcan Connolly
“Before the pandemic, we’ve been very strong in duty-free and travel retail markets. As a luxury box-of-chocolates supplier, it’s the perfect channel for us to get into. But now, with travel being so disrupted by the pandemic, we’re making an even bigger push to try and get a presence downtown, in domestic markets.
Butlers business development manager for Asian markets Lorcan Connolly at Food Hotel Asia in Singapore.
“For Singapore, with such a tight geographic space, and a great route of supply with all the freight coming into the market, it’s a great opportunity for us to try and get in and we’ve been working with Premier Brands International to try and help us take those listings in some of the retailers here.”
“In terms of the rich creamy dairy that goes into our milk chocolate, that is definitely a huge, big selling point for us. Sustainability is a huge driver in markets like Australia and New Zealand.”
Key account manager (Vietnam) Marco Quatrana
“Bringing it back to our new name, Tirlán, it’s all about the quality of the source and I think that’s what gives Ireland the edge. Ireland has the perfect climate for dairy products, to rear our grass-fed cows. [It’s about] communicating that high-quality message to our customers.
Tirlán’s Marco Quatrana, Niamh Parlon and Michelle Donnelly at Food Hotel Asia in Singapore.
“I think there’s still a lot of work to do on educating [Asian consumers] around it. With all the negative things that came with COVID-19, the positives now are that people are focusing on their health and the source of products so that perfectly positions Tirlán to go forward with that grass-fed positioning. Having a big green banner here is important because it’s what Ireland stands for and it’s what we want to be known for as a country.”
Business development manager (food ingredients) Des Hurley
“We’ve got customers out here and we wanted to come out and see them. This is an opportunity to get back in the market. We haven’t been in the market through COVID-19. It’s starting to open up and this is the first show out this part of the world of significance.
Lakeland Dairies business development manager Des Hurley with team members Micheál Gately, Katie Meegan and Chere Duffy.
“We’re very close to New Zealand here so if their price is stronger or better at this moment in time, well they’re going to have that market. So, it’s only when you’re equalising that you’re going to be able to make progress on butter in this part of the world. But we’ve had butter come in here and we’ve made our presence felt.
“We’re able to say that our cattle are spending time out in the fields, not many companies and countries can do that anymore.”
Managing director Micheal Briody
“Silver Hill Duck is opening the door for Bord Bia here. Because we’re the only Irish product that is so Asian, more so than western, we can see with all our customers here, that they are looking for sustainable, traceable produce, something different and Ireland has that to offer.
Silver Hill Duck managing director Micheal Briody with Claudia Seng from the Irish Duck Company, Silver Hill’s distributor in Singapore.
“We came into the Singapore market here in 2014. We started off supplying one restaurant and that has slowly, gradually built. We’re now supplying just over 300 restaurants and food outlets here in Singapore.
“We’re very close to hopefully getting market access to Malaysia. We did an audit last year and the overtures are that it’s coming quite soon.
“We’ve had a number of Malaysian customers who are very familiar with our product and who have actually visited us in Emyvale. Once we have market access agreed government to government, they’re ready to kickstart that.
“We’re quite unique in that we’ve got something that’s not available anywhere else in the world.”
Read more
Irish beef and lamb on shelves for first time in Singapore
Irish food companies stood out at Food Hotel Asia in Singapore last week at Bord Bia’s Origin Green pavilion.
The food and beverage trade show saw thousands of Asian food buyers compare produce from all over the world with Bord Bia’s green messaging alone in its strong focus on sustainability and grass-fed production.
Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue, who met with all the Irish companies present as part of his trade mission to southeast Asia, said they, along with the farmers whose produce they market, are “giants in food production”.
Opportunities
The Irish Farmers Journal asked the companies about the opportunities they see in the Asian market and the advantage of Ireland’s reputation as a sustainable food producer.
Beef Sales director Jonathan Cahill
“We stand out because what we do in John Stone is that we select the highest-quality carcase, right across from the Quality Assured farms and then we age them. We’re selecting from the best of the best in Ireland. There’s no other country that can compete with us.
John Stone beef managing director Tim Stone and sales director Jonathan Cahill at Food Hotel Asia in Singapore.
“[Asia] is a very buoyant market for high-quality product. John Stone sees this as a huge opportunity. Our distributor is already with Silver Hill Duck, and is already established. That will allow us to open up doors and react very fast to the market.
“[Sustainability] really helps us add to the full story. We find with the east Asians, they’re very educated and they really want a quality product so for us to be able to add the sustainability story, through Origin Green, along with our philosophy of selecting quality dry-age product, it just brings the whole story together really.”
International general
manager Martin McMahon
“We’re very interested in developing our markets further across Asia. We currently deal in Japan and Hong Kong and a small quantity coming in here to Singapore so we’re looking for opportunities to expand that.
ABP international sales team member Ian Lavery and international general manager Martin McMahon at Food Hotel Asia in Singapore.
“[Sustainability] seems to be becoming more and more important. Clients are looking for sustainability in the products that they buy. So, we’re very focused on that.
“Irish produce, we consider it the best beef in the world and lamb, for that matter. So, we’re trying to get that message across to our clients here. Our beef, we consider it better than Australian, as good as American beef, so it’s about trying to teach them that.”
Business development manager (Asia) Lorcan Connolly
“Before the pandemic, we’ve been very strong in duty-free and travel retail markets. As a luxury box-of-chocolates supplier, it’s the perfect channel for us to get into. But now, with travel being so disrupted by the pandemic, we’re making an even bigger push to try and get a presence downtown, in domestic markets.
Butlers business development manager for Asian markets Lorcan Connolly at Food Hotel Asia in Singapore.
“For Singapore, with such a tight geographic space, and a great route of supply with all the freight coming into the market, it’s a great opportunity for us to try and get in and we’ve been working with Premier Brands International to try and help us take those listings in some of the retailers here.”
“In terms of the rich creamy dairy that goes into our milk chocolate, that is definitely a huge, big selling point for us. Sustainability is a huge driver in markets like Australia and New Zealand.”
Key account manager (Vietnam) Marco Quatrana
“Bringing it back to our new name, Tirlán, it’s all about the quality of the source and I think that’s what gives Ireland the edge. Ireland has the perfect climate for dairy products, to rear our grass-fed cows. [It’s about] communicating that high-quality message to our customers.
Tirlán’s Marco Quatrana, Niamh Parlon and Michelle Donnelly at Food Hotel Asia in Singapore.
“I think there’s still a lot of work to do on educating [Asian consumers] around it. With all the negative things that came with COVID-19, the positives now are that people are focusing on their health and the source of products so that perfectly positions Tirlán to go forward with that grass-fed positioning. Having a big green banner here is important because it’s what Ireland stands for and it’s what we want to be known for as a country.”
Business development manager (food ingredients) Des Hurley
“We’ve got customers out here and we wanted to come out and see them. This is an opportunity to get back in the market. We haven’t been in the market through COVID-19. It’s starting to open up and this is the first show out this part of the world of significance.
Lakeland Dairies business development manager Des Hurley with team members Micheál Gately, Katie Meegan and Chere Duffy.
“We’re very close to New Zealand here so if their price is stronger or better at this moment in time, well they’re going to have that market. So, it’s only when you’re equalising that you’re going to be able to make progress on butter in this part of the world. But we’ve had butter come in here and we’ve made our presence felt.
“We’re able to say that our cattle are spending time out in the fields, not many companies and countries can do that anymore.”
Managing director Micheal Briody
“Silver Hill Duck is opening the door for Bord Bia here. Because we’re the only Irish product that is so Asian, more so than western, we can see with all our customers here, that they are looking for sustainable, traceable produce, something different and Ireland has that to offer.
Silver Hill Duck managing director Micheal Briody with Claudia Seng from the Irish Duck Company, Silver Hill’s distributor in Singapore.
“We came into the Singapore market here in 2014. We started off supplying one restaurant and that has slowly, gradually built. We’re now supplying just over 300 restaurants and food outlets here in Singapore.
“We’re very close to hopefully getting market access to Malaysia. We did an audit last year and the overtures are that it’s coming quite soon.
“We’ve had a number of Malaysian customers who are very familiar with our product and who have actually visited us in Emyvale. Once we have market access agreed government to government, they’re ready to kickstart that.
“We’re quite unique in that we’ve got something that’s not available anywhere else in the world.”
Read more
Irish beef and lamb on shelves for first time in Singapore
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