LEOWicklowmay runanotherfood academyin2020

LOCAL Enterprise Office Wicklow (LEO Wicklow) is currently taking expressions of interest to participate in the Food Academy Programme 2020.

Depending on sufficient demand, LEO Wicklow may run an additional Food Academy Programme in 2020. Run over a five-month period, the Food Academy Programme aims to get local artisan food producers onto the shelves of their local supermarket. Developed by Bord Bía in conjunction with Musgraves through the SuperValu brand, this programme is run nationally through the network of Local Enterprise Offices.

The aim of Food Academy Start is to provide small food businesses with a solid foundation to progress confidently onto retail shelves. At the end of three days of intensive workshop training and one-to-one mentoring for each business, all participants are given the opportunity to pitch their product to a panel of buyers, including a local SuperValu store owner.

Successful participants are also given the opportunity to trial their product in their local stores for a period of 12 weeks. This provides a real advantage to small businesses in terms of real retail experience, as they are in a position to liaise with the store to gain feedback on their product range from both the store staff and consumers. This helps each artisan producers to further develop their product ranges, marketing approach and packaging and distribution for a wider national audience.

To register your interest, visit www.localenterprise. ie/Wicklow/ and complete the online form.