Bord Bia & Google Launch ‘Digital Food Hub’, Training Program for Irish Food Industry

25 Apr 2014 --- Bord Bia in partnership with Google Ireland today launched a new and innovative training program to help Irish food businesses to maximize their online presence and sales. The ‘Digital Food Hub’ digital training program has been specifically tailored for the Irish food industry.

Having completed an application process, 21 Irish food companies have been selected to participate in the inaugural seven month program, which will include workshops, training modules and one-to-one mentoring delivered by Google digital experts at its European headquarters in Dublin. The companies, representing dairy, meat, confectionary and chilled food sectors, range from large multinational players such as Kerry Foods and Cuisine de France to new businesses such as The Little Milk Company and Elivar.

According to Bord Bia’s Tomorrow’s Shopper research the number of Irish consumers buying online continues to grow, with 94 per cent of shoppers in Ireland purchasing online. Mobile and social commerce are showing significant growth, facilitated by portable, handheld devices and speedier networks. By 2015, nine out of ten consumers in Ireland will own a smartphone, with tablet ownership projected to reach 50%. The study found that many consumers are using these devices to research products and services before they buy – some 82% of those surveyed had completed pre-purchase research on their smartphone. In addition, the use of social networks, such as Facebook, for purchasing goods and services represents a significant opportunity for companies. According to Gartner, over 50% of all internet sales globally will take place via social media by 2015.
 
Speaking at the launch today Bord Bia Chief Executive Aidan Cotter welcomed the partnership with Google, citing it as an exciting and opportune development for the Irish food and drink industry. “It is widely recognised that technology is one of the key drivers of change in terms of consumer buying behaviour. Both brands and retailers need to think outside the confines of the ‘bricks and mortar’ store to build stronger and longer lasting relationships with consumers. Irish food and drink companies with the capability to collect, understand, and leverage specific consumer information using digital technology will be best positioned to deliver value added benefits to shoppers. This coupled with a multi-channel online presence, in the form of a proactive and comprehensive digital strategy, will create the optimum shopper experience and provide increased purchasing opportunities.”
 
The ‘Digital Food Hub’ program will address barriers to successfully doing business online. The curriculum will include modules on website design, Google AdWords, tracking and measuring online sales via Google Analytics, online brand building and identifying export opportunities.
 
The program outline was developed in conjunction with Google Ireland following a Bord Bia research study carried out last year with 12 Irish food companies. The study set out to report on the challenges and opportunities facing companies wishing to develop a trade online, and identify where companies required additional support, advice, education and training. The study found that while Irish food companies had taken some initial basic steps, they required further guidance in terms of technology infrastructure, best practice case studies and training on how to build and develop in-house expertise.
 
According to Ruth McEntee, Industry Manager, Google “the Bord Bia study highlighted a number of barriers to both online selling and digital brand building for many in the Irish food and drink industry. Through this program, we hope to address some of these gaps and develop skills within the industry in measuring and evaluating E-commerce sales as well as in video and social media communication. With online sales of Irish groceries at just 1.3%, there is significant room for growth in terms of meeting current consumer demands and those of an upcoming generation who will shop online as default.”
 
According to Bord Bia, the demand for the ‘Digital Food Hub’ program was extremely high – so much so that a second program is already in planning for January 2015.

European online sales are expected to double to €323 billion by 2018. Irish online sales are expected to account for €11.5 billion of that total figure. Currently 73% of all money spent online in Ireland goes to overseas sites and 50% of all Irish retailers are not trading online. This represents a substantial growth opportunity for Ireland’s digital economy, which is already growing at 10 times the rate of the rest of the economy. (Sources: EEI Online Trading Report July 2013, National Digital Strategy 2013)
 
Participating Irish Companies
1. Burren Smokehouse
2. Ballymaloe Foods
3. Barry's Tea
4. Cuisine de France
5. Cuisine Royale Manufacturing Ltd
6. Dawn Farms
7. Dawn Meats
8. Elivar
9. Glanbia Plc
10. Glenisk
11. Good4U
12. Irish Dairy Board – Kerrygold
13. Kepak Frozen Division
14. Kerry Foods – Cheestrings
15. Largo Foods
16. Lily O'Brien's
17. Nature's Best
18. Silver Hill Foods
19. Sofrimar Ltd
20. The Jelly Bean Factory
21. The Little Milk Company