International buyers pay a visit to two local drinks companies

TWENTY international drinks buyers visited Wicklow to meet with two of the county’s leading drink businesses, Glendalough Distillery and Wicklow Way Wines, as part of Bord Bia’s Marketplace International.

In total, almost 550 food buyers from 50 countries around the world participated in the week-long trade development event – the largest of its kind ever to take place in Ireland. Bord Bia is targeting €40 million worth of new business as a direct result of this year’s event.

Buyers from Africa, Eastern Europe, North America, Russia, South East Asia and Italy en- joyed a guided tour of Glendalough Distillery, which creates whiskey, gin, and poitín.

In Newtownmountkennedy, Wicklow Way Wines provided an escorted tour of their winery to the visitors.

This was just one of 28 different three-day group itineraries organised and hosted by Bord Bia for Marketplace International.

The buyers included representatives from Australia, Algeria, Bahrain, China, Indonesia, UAE, Japan, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa. Interest from UK buyers has remained strong, with close to 50 in attendance.