Margaret Lynch
FOOD FOCUS
Couverture
represent more than 65 per cent of exports.
Already Origin Green member companies can incorporate its message into their
own marketing material and the initiative
is set to step up a notch in June, when Bord
Bia will launch a new media plan aimed at
international trade customers.
“This new creative will move us from current messaging around ‘the promise’ of
what Origin Green can give to our customers to the ‘verified reality’ of what we can deliver our customers,” says Fitzgibbon.
The initiative has paid off for some companies already, with one member company
winning a Belgian retail account on the
back of it and another winning tenders for
food service provision in the UK because of
its involvement.
“What companies are finding is that it’s
changing the nature of the conversation
with their key customers, assisting them to
develop longer term relationships and assisting others win new business,” says Fitzgibbon.
But such an approach can have its challenges. As Henchion notes, it’s all about
“credence attributes” whereby the consumer has to believe what you are saying.
Making desserts proved a sweet
recipe for business success for
Margaret Lynch of Couverture, a
contract manufacturer.
A graduate of the bakery
school at DIT Kevin Street, she
got her first job with Lir Chocolates. She stayed 10 years,
learned how to set up and grow a
successful food business and
made contacts with supermarkets which were to prove invaluable to her when, in 1998, she left
to set up Couverture with her
sister Geraldine O’Connor. Celine
Hayes-English, a partner in the
business, joined soon afterwards
and looks after sales and marketing.
The company manufactures
own brand desserts for, among
others, Supervalu, and provides
contract catering services to a
number of well known food
brands.Having seen others
Building an international presence by stealth: Barry’s Tea
“Who’sBarry?”It’saquestionthe
manufacturersofIrishteabrandBarry’sTea
arefrequentlyaskedwhenendeavouringto
exporttheproductabroadandisreflectiveofa
widerchallengeIrishfoodcompaniesface
whensellingininternationalmarkets–what
worksinIrelandmaynotnecessarilywork
abroad.
Barry’sTeafirststartedtoexportits
productsinthe1980s,initiallyrespondingto
requestsfromoutletshopingtoselltheproduct
toIrish emigrantsindestinationssuchasNew
York,ChicagoandSydney.
“Thetargetmarketwasthesameasathome
anditwasthesamepackthatwasexported,”
saysBarry’sTeaexportmanagerAisling
Gildea.
Sincethen,however,theCorkfirmhas
becomemorestrategicaboutexportsand
Barry’sTeaisnowsoldin14countriesaround
theworld,includingtheUS,Canada,UK,
France,Germany,theMiddleEastand
Australia,accountingforabout10percentofits
totalsales–afigurewhichithopeswill
continuetorise.
“Forustokeepongrowingwehavetogrow
exports,”saysGildea,addingthatBarry’sTea
hasbuiltupitspresenceininternational
markets“bystealth”,butthatintheUS“it’s
startingtotakeoff”forthecompany.
Intryingtoreachawideraudienceacrossthe
Atlantic,Barry’shasverymuch heldontoits
Irishoriginsandnowusesaspecialpack
featuringatricolourandshamrocktosellthere.
Thatisquitedifferentfromtheonesoldin
Ireland.However,whileinternationalmarkets
offermanyopportunities,exportingisnot
withoutitschallenges.
IntheUK,whichisanobviousmarketfor
Barry’sTea,Gildeanotesthatwhiletheproduct
isstockedontheshelvesofTesco,Sainsbury’s
andMorrisons,youwillfinditinthespecialist
worldaisles–notsittingalongsidebigBritish
namessuchasPGTipsandTyphoo,whichis
whereitwouldliketobe.
“Thechallengehasbeentoflipovertothetea
category,”saysGildea,noting
thatthecompanyhas
beenconsidering
changingitsname
orrepackaging
itfortheUK
market.
“It’sa
difficultone
andaprocess
we’restill
working
throughasto
howwemightcrackit,”
shesays.
succeed in selling her creations,
the big question for Lynch has
always been whether or not to
create a brand of her own.
“It is something we have
always struggled with but it
would take such an amount of
investment to develop a brand
that it wouldn’t be worth it,” says
Lynch.
“As things stand, we are actually a very well known