A multi-faceted drive to help local food companies win business in France is being launched by Invest Northern Ireland over the next six months. Already planned is a major presentation of local food and drink at the SIAL exhibition in Paris and a visit to Northern Ireland by a delegation of top buyers from French grocery and food services companies. Twenty companies are visiting SIAL 2008, the world's biggest food and drink showcase, with Invest NI from 19-23 October. They will be taking part in a series of events in the French capital including:
- One day visit to SIAL, using the exhibition as a base location
- Overview / presentation of retail and food service market by experts lined up by Invest NI and Food from Britain including Lafayette Gourmet
- Guided visits to retail outlets with buyers / store managers
- Group meetings with supermarket buyers to understand purchasing requirements
The follow-up inward initiative for French buyers will take place over two days in January and will allow local companies which have participated in the events surrounding SIAL to have one-to-one meetings with selected buyers here at Invest NI's headquarters in Belfast. The initiative has been developed jointly by Invest NI's Food and Trade divisions. Maynard Mawhinney, Invest NI's Food Director, commenting on the programme, said: ???France is one of Europe's biggest and most discerning markets for food and drink products. In 2007, for example, the market was worth around £120 billion and was dominated by retail spending. The country also imports food and drink worth over £20 billion annually, the UK supplying around six per cent. ???Around 80 per cent of purchases are now made in the nation's extensive network of hypermarkets and supermarkets. Foodservices is worth around £43 billion annually, with the key growing product sectors being sandwiches and snacks, semi-prepared and prepared meals, drinks, seafood, value-added meat and poultry, and ethnic food. ???Our research shows there are opportunities for Northern Ireland companies in sectors such as:
- Own label, which accounts for around 28 per cent of the total food and drink sales
- Groceries (savory, snack food, sauces), the frozen sector (ready meals, desserts), chilled products, as well as ethnic cuisine
- Traditional classics from the UK
- Innovative products particularly for snacking and convenience.
???The focus on France is essentially an extension of similar initiatives that we've already taken in Scandinavia, Italy and Spain with the red meat companies. In France we are widening out to include companies across a broad range of sectors using the ???meet the buyer' approach that is working well for companies with leading retailers in the UK and Republic of Ireland.??? Northern Ireland Companies taking part in the Invest NI initiatives around SIAL in Paris from 19-23 October 2008 Allied Bakeries, Belfast ??" bread and morning goodsABP, Lurgan ??" beef and lambDale Farm Dairies, Belfast ??" milk, cheese, butter and yoghurtDeli Lites, Warrenpoint ??" sandwiches and wrapsDitty's Bakery, Castledawson ??" oat cakesDunbia, Dungannon ??" beef and lambFoyle Chipping, Londonderry ??" fruit and vegetablesGolden Cow, Portadown ??" butter and cheeseGood4U, Cookstown ??" healthy snack foodsGreenfields Ireland, Belfast ??" dairy productsHewitt Meats, Loughgall ??" beef and lambKestrel Foods, Craigavon ??" dried fruit and nut snacksLinden Foods, Dungannon ??" beef and lambMillar Savoury Foods, Eglinton ??" snack and convenience foodsPritchitts Foods, Newtownards ??" milk and cream productsNorbev, Ballymena ??" contract bottling of minerals and waterOmagh Meats, Omagh ??" beef and lambReady Eggs, Lisnaskea - eggsTMC Dairies, Strabane ??" milk powder In addition, Moy Park, Dale Farm and Pritchitts Foods have stands at the SIAL exhibition.
