Overview of Bord Bia supports to small business
Having run several specially designed programmes for small food and drink producers for some time, Bord Bia has taken steps to ensure its supports continue to be closely aligned with business needs going forward
“The combined objective for all parties involved is to up-skill companies on the essentials of running and growing a food business, while also providing a viable route to market”
Bord Bia commissioned research in the fourth quarter of 2017 to gain a clearer picture of the small business food and drink sector in Ireland. The findings will feed into the development of a specific strategy to be launched later this year.
With many new entrants in the sector and developments such as the Food Academy and Kick Start, it was important to assess the needs of the sector and to evaluate how closely these needs are being met by the supports in place.
In-depth face-to-face interviews were held with over 20 small business producers from across Ireland in late 2017. An online survey was developed to ensure that a broader representation of the small business sector was captured. The businesses involved ranged from startup or fledgling stage to more established producers turning over up to €3.5m.
The following is a round-up of recent developments in terms of existing Bord Bia supports that are relevant for the smaller food and drink operator.
Financial supports
The Bord Bia Marketing Assistance Programme (MAP) is open to companies with a turnover greater than €100,000 and less than €3.5m in the year prior to application. Companies can apply for funding across a wide range of marketing activities such as attendance at trade fairs, market visits, packaging design and instore tastings.
In 2017, 180 companies were approved for MAP grants totalling €823,000 in support from Bord Bia. Up to 200 companies are expected to be approved for these grants in 2018 to a total value of €800,000.
Bord Bia introduced the Step Change Programme (SCP) in 2015 as an additional fund to support companies with turnover greater than €100,000 and less than €10m in the year prior to application.
Companies applying for this fund have to demonstrate significant new activities or a major new project, which will mean a substantial departure for them. This could be a product launch, entry to new export markets or developing an online sales facility for the first time.
To date, 24 companies have been approved for SCP funding. This year, Bord Bia expects six to eight companies to receive grants totalling €250,000.
Route to market
A shared initiative of Bord Bia, SuperValu and the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), Food Academy Start aims to provide a standardised programme for new entrants into the food sector, no matter where they’re located in Ireland.
The combined objective for all parties involved is to up-skill companies on the
essentials of running and growing a food business, while also providing a viable route to market.
Food Academy Start is designed to benefit companies at start-up and pre-start-up stages, which are looking to develop at local and regional levels. Those that take part get training in a wide variety of areas. These include consumer trends, branding, finance, regulation and production.
It is interesting to note that of the 700 companies that have completed the programme since 2013, 350 of these are now stocked in SuperValu stores. Over 170 SuperValu stores have a tailored Food Academy fixture. Last year, sales from the Food Academy fixture in SuperValu and Centra stores combined reached €35m.
A thorough evaluation of the programme was carried out and its content and structure have been revised in recent months. The revamped programme will be launched nationwide at the end of the first quarter of 2018. Bord Bia and LEOs have also agreed to collaborate in rolling out a ‘Food Starter’ programme nationally this year; it is designed to be a prerequisite to Food Academy Start.
A Bord Bia programme geared towards high potential start-ups already exists in partnership with Enterprise Ireland and Teagasc. Called Food Works, it aims to foster and encourage innovative new product ideas which satisfy a genuine market need while supporting the growth of the Irish food industry on a global scale.
Since 2012, Food Works has engaged with around 70 start-ups in developing scalable and export-focused business ideas. One in five of these start-ups has achieved export success and global markets reached span the four continents of Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.
In addition to the aforementioned Food Academy, Bord Bia has worked with other retailers on supplier development initiatives in recent years. A series of supports will be on offer again this year in this area, along with workshops as part of Bord Bia’s FoodService Academy, which is run in partnership with Musgrave MarketPlace.