A healthy appetite for Irish organics

Joining Bord Bia in July was a natural ‘next step’ for Tara in a career spanning almost two decades in the Irish food and drink industry. “I've been working in that industry for nearly 20 years now,” Tara says. “I was actually based in the US for 10 years. I worked with Ornua on the Kerrygold brand for the first part of that, and then I also worked with ABP on the beef side. I would have worked closely with Bord Bia at the time in helping to launch Irish beef into the US and subsequently, did some consulting with them. For the past six years I've been working with Glanbia Nutritionals on the ingredients and marketing side in the European region.”

Her long-standing experience in promoting Irish food is paired with personal conviction. She explains: “I'm hugely passionate about Irish food and drink, hence I have immersed myself in it throughout my career. But as a consumer, organic is a huge passion of mine, so both personally and professionally this role was a very good fit,” she says. Today, her focus at Bord Bia is to 'work on the key pillars within Ireland’s National Organic Strategy' and to drive growth in both domestic and international organic markets.

A strong home base

Ireland’s National Organic Strategy 2024-2030 has six key priorities with the overall aim of growing the output value of the sector to €750m by 2030. This represents a four-fold increase on 2022 levels. Among the priorities is a national target to have 10 per cent of land farmed organically by 2030 – approximately 450,000 hectares. We may be starting from a low base, but things are moving in the right direction. In 2021, 1.6 per cent of agricultural land was organic, while this year that percentage has more than tripled to 5.5 per cent. In terms of farmer numbers, they are also positive. In 2023, there were 2,000 organic farmers in Ireland, and this year that number has almost tripled to 5,700.

Central to growing organic consumption at home has been Bord Bia’s More-ganic campaign, says Tara. Launched in 2023 with the tagline 'make your meals a little more-ganic', it brings together radio, social media and outdoor advertising to highlight the benefits of organic produce, including beef and lamb.

“Research around that campaign revealed that 84 per cent of shoppers would pay more for organic food and that 63 per cent were actively looking for organic food after seeing the campaign,” Tara says. “We also found that four out of 10 shoppers claimed that they had bought more Irish organic food after seeing the campaign.” This campaign, she adds, runs up to and including 2027, with targeted marketing bursts each spring and autumn. Additionally, she says, Bord Bia collaborates with retailers and key stakeholders from farmers to processors, and all the various Government organisations, with organic growth front and centre.

Targeting key export markets

The organic livestock sector in Ireland is the largest and fastest-growing part of organic farming here, with cattle and sheep producers making up over 80 per cent of new entrants in the last three years. Trade shows and, indeed, roadshows recently supported by Bord Bia, Teagasc, the Organic Strategy Forum, farming organisations and processors are helping farmers to understand the market opportunities that exist. This understanding is aided by research and insights, Tara explains. “Everything that Bord Bia does is really driven by insights. We do a lot of research to ensure that we are targeting the right people in the right way, and that we are evaluating the success of these before we go to the next wave,” she says.

Pan-European research carried out across the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria and Belgium has also guided Bord Bia’s focus, and the findings were striking: seven out of 10 consumers said they would choose Irish organic products over any other country. “There is a real positive association with Irish organic across EU countries. And if we look at why that is, among other things, it is about our pasture-based system, it’s about quality, and it’s about taste,” Tara states.

The UK remains Ireland’s number-one export market for organic meat products, with Germany in second place. For beef specifically, Germany leads the way, while lamb goes primarily to Belgium, followed by Germany and the UK.

Building awareness and demand

Trade events, as mentioned, are an essential part of Bord Bia’s strategy. “We participate in Biofach [the world's leading trade fair for organic food and agriculture]; we have a large stand at that, and a number of our client companies would attend too, including those specialising in beef and lamb,” Tara says. Bord Bia’s network of overseas offices also plays a vital role in gathering market intelligence and helping Irish companies respond quickly to trends and opportunities.

This is all bolstered by a €2.7m, three-year, EU co-funded information and education campaign for beef and lamb in Germany, Belgium, Sweden and Austria. The co-funding is broken down into €2.2m from the EU and €0.5m from Bord Bia, with the aim of increasing awareness of the positive environmental, sustainability and animal welfare attributes of pasture-fed organic beef and sheepmeat.

“This is very much a B2B campaign but it involves things like meat academies, trade shows, inward visits where media and potential customers are brought back to Ireland, shown the farms and shown the processes, educating them and strengthening those relationships,” she explains. Additional PR and trade promotion work reinforces the message, she says.

“A clear organic roadmap has been established over the last couple of years and, from a Bord Bia perspective, it is about continuing to focus on making sure that farmers stick with it [organic] and that we have outlets for them. There is a job to be done in ensuring that there are additional processors coming on stream to make it a little easier for farmers."

Understanding the organic consumer

As the More-ganic campaign continues, Bord Bia is deepening its understanding of organic consumers, categorised as ‘dabblers’ and ‘seekers’, says Tara. “The dabblers buy organic every now and then but it's not really that important, whereas the seekers look for organic products but will change [consumer habits] due to costs,” Tara explains. “Within the seekers, you have convenience seekers who look for organic mostly but they don't always have the time or the energy to search for them, and then you have the proactive seeker where organic is a lifestyle choice. These are people who will seek out organic regardless. It is our job to make sure that we are targeting our message to the right people at the right time.”

Both markets matter

On the importance of the domestic versus the export market for Irish organic meat, Tara says: “A majority of organic beef or lamb is exported so the export market is critical for growth but, with that said, the domestic market is also extremely important. You really need both and both are important in different ways.” But research has shown that outside of Ireland, 85 per cent of UK and Belgian shoppers would buy Irish organic beef, 80 per cent of Swedish shoppers would buy organic lamb, and 79 per cent of Dutch shoppers would buy Irish organic beef. The appetite is healthy for Irish organic products. “These are the stats we share with our clients as they try to find new markets and help them refine their strategies. This information, which is data driven, is key for them. This data is also important for when we apply for EU funding, so we can show that we have done our research, and we know where our core markets are. It is all about connecting the dots but continually reassessing and re-evaluating,” she says.

A growing sector

Starting from a low base, the sector’s growth trajectory is positive. “All indications show that we are on track, and there is an appetite for organic in terms of the growth in farmer numbers,” Tara says. “Farmers are willing and investing in this and we have seen farmers who have been conventional farming for decades switching over.”