Building the Brand Reputation of Irish Food and Drink
Aidan Cotter
Food & Drink Summit, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, Friday 27th May 2011
“It is a mistake”, David Bell and Mary Shelman told us last year, “It is a mistake to make a promise that
isn’t true”.
But exactly what promise we make, and how we make certain it is a promise we can keep, has been the
subject of much debate as the story has unfolded following the publication of Pathways for Growth and
it is the subject of this presentation, Minister, ladies and gentlemen, over the next twenty minutes or so.
It is a subject around which we have had many conversations and discussions with customers,
consumers, and opinion formers, from the United Kingdome to the United States, and from Europe to
Asia.
Yet there is no clear template for how the story - of creating and building a credible and distinctive
brand reputation for Irish food and drink – should evolve. We have heard valuable pointers from John
Quelch. And the final chapter, of this part of the brand story, is still being written, a chapter which only
you can help us conclude.
Ultimately, bringing the promise to life and keeping the promise true may require nothing less than
what has been described to us in our research as the zeal we might associate with a national movement
or mission; such is the scale of a task for which there are few precedents, yet one which alone of all the
things we might do has the power to capture, to symbolize and to convey all that the vision of Food
Harvest 2020 represents; and help transform in the process the fortunes of our industry in this decade.
A Vision of the Future
This story of course began as David Bell and Mary Shelman described their vision in Pathways for
Growth, using the working title “Come See Us”, “we’re open for inspection”, in which the creation of an
umbrella brand for Irish food and drink would play a central part.
“In preparation for living up to the claim of being open for inspection”, they wrote, “food and agriculture
companies must take to heart the need for sustainability and transparency in food production”. This was
to underpin that part of the brand promise, that “we are natural and we can prove it”. Because it is a
mistake to make a promise that isn’t true.
Yet, while being green and natural is absolutely necessary, in our highly competitive world it may not be
sufficient. We need to go beyond green.
And search out those aspects of Irish food and agriculture that are or would be the most appealing to
customers and consumers. Establishing in particular the emotional as well as the functional hooks, that
from the perspective of the marketplace lie at the heart of and embody a brand reputation, was the
challenge we set out to address.
The Study
The purpose of our study across countries and continents was to dig up hidden gems: ideas, pictures,
feelings that we as a brand can own; to deliver insights that help to define Irishness in the 21st century.
Because we need research to find out what matters, moves, motivates…and why people outside of
Ireland might prefer our products to someone else’s.
We have been talking in particular to the ultimate decision makers who decide if we should succeed or
fail – consumers –while recognising the fact that much of our exports are business to business,
ingredients or private label – yet ironically because they are unbranded may have the greatest potential
to benefit from an umbrella brand.
We have of course also been talking to buyers, including global manufacturers: the Gatekeepers who
decide which ingredients or products end up in their products or on the shelf but not necessarily in the
shopping trolley (yet they have more than a passing interest in how our ingredients or products might
help theirs to sell through to the consumer).
Our study spanned six countries, covered six phases, and commenced earlier this year. We had also
conducted significant consumer research in China in November, with a focus on dairy products, and its
output was also integrated with this study. Coordinated by Point Blank International research agency
based in Berlin, local research agencies have been involved in each market, while for the moderation
and interpretation of outputs along the way we have had recourse to brand expertise, with nation and
tourism branding expertise, here at home. The study has been extensive:
Desk research in all countries
75 hours of discussion with 180 consumers in 30 2.5 hour workshops
63 hours of interviews with 42 industry buyers and food journalists
Interviews with 5 leading Irish chefs for a reality check and source of inspiration
“A bring it all together” creative brainstorming session of all research agencies – to co-create
and further develop our thinking and to get the global picture
And finally a validation phase - on line qualitative discussion to reconnect with the most
engaged participants, both consumers and experts for a one week online blog and discussion
forum
Images of Ireland
The overwhelming image from the research is one of a nation of friendly, warm and welcoming people;
a land of green fields and an abundance bestowed by nature; untainted, pure, and free of the pollution
typically associated with industrial production.
Yet, people have limited knowledge of Ireland – the research was conducted through a period when
Ireland was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, yet no negative feelings were voiced or
transferred as a result and there were virtually no mentions of the state in which we as a nation find
ourselves; most people take a compassionate stance towards Ireland and towards the Irish people,
distinguishing also a people from its institutions. In fact, the Celtic Tiger years have passed consumers
abroad widely unnoticed – Ireland in their view is still unspoilt and there is no better opportunity than
now.
An Almost Blank Canvass
In effect, this limited awareness where China lies at the extreme, and with it an undiscovered food
culture, leaves us, notwithstanding some stereotyping, with a relatively blank slate, a canvass on which
we can paint a picture much of our choosing, yet clearly one that must be within the limits of existing
perceptions, beliefs, and firmly rooted in reality.
And what is real and credible and intuitive to the world into which we sell, given our green and natural
image, is the implicit purity and naturalness of the ingredients, food from Ireland as distinct from Irish
food. Green is our strength, but when many countries play the same card, we need to find the
uniqueness that makes ours a trump card.
Beyond Green
The research reveals that we need to go beyond green and into its heart; where we will find that people
are longing for a purity lost, and for the innocence and respite that the notion of a green country offers.
This brings us to the concept of sustainability, which describes the capacity of this generation to meet
the needs of the present, while not compromising the capacity of future generations to meet theirs. It
brings being green and natural to a completely new level, a level that is highly relevant to consumers
and buyers today, yet as an idea one still too big to be relevant, in many cases, as a specific product
benefit.
Instead, what we are learning is that sustainability needs to be translated and transformed as an
emotional hook, such as that embedded in our nation’s philosophy, almost as a national mission,
connecting and leveraging the relationship between the land and its people, allowing us to go beyond
green – and to its heart.
The Language of an Irish Food Culture
We have also learned that while there is a rich vocabulary and language that is resonant of a credible
Irish food culture, there are also words of caution around a language that can sometimes be as selflimiting as we think it powerful, and so context is critical; traditional is also old-fashioned, simple can
lack resourcefulness, creative and innovative are food values considered to be owned by France and
Italy; even the concept of family farming can stretch consumer credibility and needs to be explained.
The Power of Stories
And time and time again the power of stories to convey the richness around products - to make
emotional connections, and create a distinct sense of Irishness - was repeated by research participants
across markets: stories of the people and places behind the products, cues for taste and quality, or their
origins in the local culture.
Signature Products and the Halo Effect
Ultimately the uniqueness of our food and drink proposition will be delivered through the products that
are exported around the world. The concept of signature products – products that are distinctively
superior, consistent yet quintessentially Irish and unique – emerged from the discussion in all markets as
potentially key ambassadors that are capable of extending a halo around our entire industry. Initially
such products would most likely be drawn from primary industry, such as grass-fed beef, ocean seafood,
or farmhouse cheeses.
It was also recognized that Ireland already possesses strong assets in its most successful and well-known
brands, and while it was felt they paid largely into their own account, they had some potential also to be
leveraged and to pay into the Brand Ireland food and drink account.
Brand Ireland…….Inc.
Brand Ireland of course is made up of a number of accounts. We are also engaging and sharing research
with other outward facing agencies, including Tourism Ireland and Failte Ireland, the IDA and Enterprise
Ireland. While our target audiences may differ, and the messages tailored, the overall image of Ireland
transcends, frames and informs the perceptions of all our target audiences. And whatever the final
route that is chosen to promote food and drink, it must also be capable of paying into the number one
account of the overall Brand that is Ireland, just as our industry may in turn withdraw from what others,
through a coordinated approach, pay into that same, number one account.
In the twenty minutes or so allotted to this presentation today, I can only impart to you a mere flavor of
the outputs from what after all were several hundred hours of discussion. Some of what I have shared
with you may make the final cut, some may not, other things I may not have mentioned today may
become more important as the final chapter of this part of our story concludes.
“We are green and natural – and we’re proving it”
What is clear, and however we evoke it, being green and natural is a fundamental part of the promise
that is Brand Ireland for food and drink, and so demonstrating our sustainability credentials is in turn a
fundamental to supporting that promise.
And we can report some progress in its support too.
From this month, each farm audit under our BQAS, which has 32,000 members, audited at the rate of
500 farms a month on an 18 month cycle, will incorporate a sustainability survey on an ongoing basis.
It follows accreditation from the Carbon Trust for our beef carbon footprint calculation model, which we
developed with the help of Teagasc, following more than twelve months and detailed audits on 200
farms representative across our scheme. The accreditation ensures consistent measurement to a
recognized specification, providing feedback to producers on how to build on their environmental
performance. Because you can’t manage what you don’t measure.
It is the first scheme of its type in the world to incorporate an objective assessment of the carbon
footprint.
But sustainability would be a narrow concept if it were just about carbon, and so measures of
biodiversity and water-footprinting, measures around which we also have a good story to relate, are
now priorities to develop and broaden the programme.
Sustainability in Primary Agriculture
Of course to be credible, the sustainability programme must embrace all sectors of primary agriculture
and extend, equally, along the value chain, until every farm and food business subscribes to the brand
agenda.
The Glanbia Sustainability initiative in the dairy sector announced this week strongly supports that
agenda, and our involvement with Glanbia will enable the development of a carbon model, similar to
that in beef, that will be available to roll out across that sector.
Similarly, we are in discussion with potential partners in other sectors to explore how the programme
can be extended further across primary agriculture. In the case of seafood, sustainable sourcing is
already a market imperative and BIM has a range of schemes already in place to underpin it.
But while we focus on farms and factories, the truth in our promise will also be judged by the
performance in our wider environment, which we can expect may come under ever greater scrutiny.
The Quality of our Environment
“All Ireland is washed by the gulfstream”, Stephen Daedalus noted in the early pages of Ulysses,
seemingly absolving himself of the need to wash more regularly than once a month. Geography does
confer advantages. Yet, while our air quality is a major strength, and among the best in Europe, and our
water quality better than average, according to the EPA, with whom we are liaising on this project, the
quality of our environment cannot be taken for granted.
There are a range of environmental metrics on which we are benchmarked by the European
Environmental Agency, into which the EPA inputs its data. And our positioning on these metrics will be
critical to underpinning Brand Ireland for food and drink and to the claims we may wish to make for it.
Bringing it together
So as we seek to bring it all together, how will the promise look, how shall we frame it, how will we
support it?
Our collaborators in this project have been developing a model, or framework, that as it is completed
will have the purpose of informing how the brand will work, and how the elements of the model may be
modulated to the demands of particular products, sectors or contexts. The draft model or framework
shown here has been reviewed with this in mind with some 18 Irish companies last week and so it is
strictly work in progress, yet may be of some help in conceptualizing where the project is going and as
we complete it over the summer months.
Those who may have read Pathways for Growth recently, or who may have specific expectations of this
project, may ask will there be a brand name, a mark to be applied on product, or standards to conform
to. The answer is that our focus now is on providing a framework to establish a brand reputation, based
on a crystal clear narrative, and underpinned by a pioneering sustainability programme that can help
transform how food from Ireland is perceived in the marketplace and add value to our exports. Any
development beyond this is a matter for discussion and subject to state aid rules on branding.
Communicating Brand Ireland Food & Drink
Similarly some of you may wonder how we will communicate our message to those whom we think will
value it. To borrow a phrase from earlier, the Book of Our Deeds will tell its own story. But for an
industry that exports €8 billion of food and drink to some 160 countries around the world, there are
many touchpoints, and many trade platforms on which to focus our message. And as you interact with
your customers you are ambassadors for Brand Ireland too. We can help you, based on what we have
learned, to tell the story in a clear and compelling way so that everyone benefits. We can and will invest
in an ongoing campaign, social media offers significant potential, while creatively leveraging and
connecting with existing resources, not least with our tourism partners, may be among our greatest
opportunity.
Conclusion
Last year, David Bell and Mary Shelman wrote that “Ireland is at an enviable starting point in the race to
produce exactly the type of food that a growing number of consumers are demanding.” Today, Minister,
ladies and gentlemen, I believe we can all still agree that this is a race we can win. Brand Ireland, by
providing a clear persuasive positioning, in the words of John Quelch, can help us win it. But only by
doing all of the things that we have committed to doing in Food Harvest will we win it – each and every
one of the 200 things that Brand Ireland for food and drink alone can capture, symbolize and represent
to the world around us.
Because it is a mistake to make a promise that isn’t true.