Irish companies at SIAL
This year marks 60 years of SIAL, the biennial international food show, which unites producers, distributors, restaurateurs, importers and exporters from all around the world. Once again, Ireland will be proudly represented by some of our best companies involved in producing, promoting and selling our wonderful Irish food products. Here, we profile those flying the flag at this year’s extra-special SIAL Paris 2024
ABP Ireland
ABP Ireland is part of the ABP Food Group, headquartered in Co. Louth. Its activities include processing, deboning, and retail-packing beef and lamb at nine plants that are strategically located throughout Ireland. The award-winning company has a long and proud tradition of working with farmers and customers in supplying quality beef and lamb for worldwide markets. It supplies major retailers, foodservice clients, manufacturers, and wholesale distributors. The company offers a range of premium-branded products such as Irish Nature, Irish Hereford Prime, Certified Irish Angus and a comprehensive range of organic beef under the Good Herdsmen brand. ABP’s beef cattle and lamb are reared on a natural, grass-based diet. ABP’s beef is carefully matured and undergoes the company’s patented ultra-tender process. The company offers a wide range of bespoke beef and lamb products for the manufacturing sector in a variety of specifications in both fresh and frozen formats. It produces a full range of diced, minced and manufacturing products for convenience food and ready-meal producers throughout Europe. Farm assurance, animal welfare, food safety and sustainability ensure the highest standard of product integrity, the company states. ABP is a founding member of Origin Green and currently holds gold-member status.
Ashbourne Meat Processors
Ashbourne Meat Processors is a privately owned company that supplies high-quality beef to domestic and worldwide markets. It operates its own slaughterhouse, cutting plants, and modern processing facilities in Ireland, under the strictest quality control and management supervision. Ashbourne Meat Processors holds higher level European Food Safety Inspection Service (EFSIS)-approved ISO 9001 status. It also has modern processing and cold-store facilities. The company offers full traceability from farm to fork and is a member of the Bord Bia Quality Assurance Scheme. This is coupled with a commitment to service which, the company says, gives it an edge in a competitive marketplace. Annually, Ireland produces close to 500,000 tonnes of beef, with 450,000 tonnes exported across the globe. Ashbourne Meats operates modern processing, storage and handling facilities. According to the company, traditional methods of animal husbandry and Ireland's mild climate, fine grasses and expert processing, as well as the company’s strong focus on quality, mean you can taste the difference in its products. The company’s sales team has built trusted and lasting partnerships with distributors in Europe and beyond. Ashbourne Meat Processors is committed to sustainability and is a verified member of Bord Bia's Origin Green sustainability programme.
Bord Bia
Headquartered in Dublin, Bord Bia (Irish Food Board) is the Irish government agency charged with the promotion, trade development and marketing of the Irish food, drink and horticulture industry, both in Ireland and around the world. To help achieve this, Bord Bia has a network of offices in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), Asia, and the US. Bord Bia’s stated purpose is to bring Ireland’s outstanding food, drink and horticulture to the world, enabling the growth and sustainability of producers.
Buitelaar Group
Established in 1922, the Buitelaar Group specialises in providing sustainable, higher-welfare, beef-supply-chain solutions with a focus on Irish and British beef, and rosé veal. Additionally, it has maximised the value of its by-products through the development of supporting business divisions, which include hides and skins, raw materials, and pet food. The award-winning company was built from the ground up by CEO, Adam Buitelaar, who is passionate about creating sustainable futures for the coming generations of family farmers. This passion has seen the Buitelaar Group become a highly influential voice within the industry, and an advocate for knowledge transfer across cattle farming. Working in partnership with family farmers, the Buitelaar Group says it is committed to producing excellent, higher-welfare pork that is farmed symbiotically with nature. Bred for superior-eating quality, the pigs are farmed within circular systems, with feed produced onsite and farmyard manure incorporated back into the arable land, strengthening key ecosystems.
Dawn Meats
Dawn Meats is the supplier of choice to a range of leading supermarket, foodservice, and manufacturing businesses, exporting to more than 50 countries. As a family owned business, Dawn Meats says it remains true to its farming heritage through the close relationships it has forged with over 40,000 family farms from which it directly sources grass-fed cattle and lamb for processing at its 11 Irish and 13 UK sites. Dawn Meats was established in Co. Waterford, Ireland, in 1980. It has grown into a business with over €2.7bn in annual revenue, employing over 8,000 staff in 12 countries. The company works with some of the world’s leading food companies who are attracted by its commitment to sustainability and quality. Trading as Dunbia in the UK and Dawn Meats in Ireland, the combined businesses process approximately one million cattle and 3.5 million sheep annually.
Dawn Pork & Bacon
Dawn Pork & Bacon produces high-quality pork, locally sourced from carefully selected and sustainable stocks. Its state-of-the-art facility is fully customised to process and deliver goods that satisfy a broad range of customer specifications. The pork is prepared from slaughter and deboning through to butchering and delivery, for both national and international markets. The company’s client base stretches from the Irish domestic market to mainland Europe, and beyond, including countries such as Japan, the US, China, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, South Africa and Korea. The company’s manufacturing facility uses the most up-to-date technology, including a computerised traceability and stock-control system from intake to dispatch. In 2014, the company became verified members of the Bord Bia (Irish Food Board) Origin Green programme. Membership of Origin Green and standard accreditations such as BRC, MPQAS, USDA and ISO 14001 ensure that the company maintains constant and continuous development to the highest national and international standards in the food industry. Dawn Pork & Bacon uses only the finest livestock approved by Bord Bia, and sourced from farms within the Republic of Ireland. This is an important aspect of the company’s procurement policy, enabling it to maintain products of the highest standard above and beyond customer expectations. The company breeds its own pigs at a number of Queally-owned farms located in Co. Waterford, in the south of Ireland. It also sources pigs from other Bord Bia-approved farms. With a focused eye on animal breeding programmes, and close working relationships with local farmers, Dawn Pork & Bacon says it ensures that only the finest quality animals are processed at its facility.
Dawn Farms
Family-owned company, Dawn Farms, is Europe’s leading cooked meat, fermented sausage, and plant protein ingredients company. It not only offers a comprehensive range of fermented and dried sausage products for pizzas, sandwiches, snacks, and prepared meals, it also produces a selection of cooked protein options. It exports to over 50 international markets and has grown through long-term investment and strategic alignment with many well-known food brands, both in retail and in foodservice. It operates out of manufacturing facilities in Ireland, Germany, and the UK. The company practices a customer-centric business model and prides itself on its added-value services, such as its Pure Culinary Science insights and innovation platform. Its Food Plus programme delivers a brand protection guarantee to its customers through high levels of surveillance, forensic investigation, supply management and factory controls to protect its business. The All Our Futures sustainability programme is Dawn Farms’ commitment to producing sustainable protein ingredients across its facilities in Ireland, the UK and Germany. This commitment includes gold membership of Origin Green in Ireland, as well as a commitment to the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), incorporating key goals under the four pillars of environment: health and nutrition, sustainable sourcing, workplace, and the community.
Foyle Food Group
The Foyle Food Group is a family-owned business with over 40 years of expertise in beef-supply-chain and processing. Farming and agriculture are central to its business and the company is committed to promoting practices that protect and regenerate the land around it. The Foyle Food Group is dedicated to operating as a sustainable business and committed to doing that well. Foyle Food Group is the largest single dedicated beef processor in the UK and Ireland and is a key player in the global beef industry. The company invests in cutting-edge technology to ensure that it maximises productivity while meeting worldwide quality standards. Passionate about beef, the Foyle Food Group has a product-development team with culinary expertise, and the company says it understands the consumer influences and trends to bring first to market product propositions. Its team works closely with leading ingredient suppliers and retailers to deliver innovative solutions.
Kepak Group
Kepak Group boasts a turnover of €1.75bn and operates 13 manufacturing facilities throughout Ireland and the UK, with sales offices in Europe, the US, and Asia. The group markets a broad range of meat products serving the wholesale, food service, and retail markets. AgraKepak is the international trading division of Kepak Group, with over 50 years of global trade and logistics experience and a leading exporter to Asian markets with plant approvals for Kepak Longford IE 533EC; Kepak Kilbeggan IE 2007 EC; Kepak Athleague IE 313 EC; Kepak Clonee IE 317 EC; and McCarren’s IE 608 EC.
Liffey Meats
Liffey Meats is ideally situated in the rich grasslands of Co. Cavan to take advantage of the supply of prime cattle from the surrounding countryside. Over the last 100 years, thecompany has evolved from a traditional family butchery to become one of Ireland’s leading beef processors. Liffey Meats prides itself on adhering to the strictest quality policies and has always maintained its ethos of customer satisfaction. It has expanded its range of value-added products, providing convenience-led solutions for retail and foodservice. It boasts one of the largest, single-site abattoirs in Ireland, and with other sites in Carlow and Galway, slaughters over 150,000 cattle per year. Liffey Meats manufactures a range of reformed, portion-controlled and pre-packed products, including value-added products, in its Sheelin brand, as well as private-label for retailers and foodservice customers across Europe. Its convenience foods include hamburgers, grill steaks and retail-packed fresh meat. Liffey Meats has invested heavily in convenience food R&D, not only in meat technology but also in increasing packaging sophistication and enhancing long-life products. It says its development team is ready to work with customers to bring products to market that meet consumer demands.
Ornua
Ornua is Ireland’s largest exporter of Irish dairy products and has annualised sales of over €3.4bn. Headquartered in Dublin, Ornua has a strong global team of 3,000 employees, operating from 10 business units worldwide, including 16 production facilities. Ornua’s core purpose is to build profitable routes to market for Irish dairy products. The group is structured across two divisions: Ornua Foods and Ornua Ingredients. Ornua Foods is responsible for the marketing and sales of Ornua’s consumer brands including Ireland’s most successful food export: Kerrygold, as well as Kerrygold Dubliner, Pilgrims Choice, Forto and BEO milk powders. Markets are served by production facilities in Ireland, Germany and the UK and by in-market sales and marketing teams in Asia, Germany, Ireland, MEA, Poland, Spain, the rest of Europe and North and Latin America. Ornua Ingredients is responsible for the procurement of Irish and non-Irish dairy products, for the sale of dairy ingredients to food manufacturing and foodservice customers across the world, and for managing volatility through de-risking and trading strategies. The business is supported by production facilities in the UK, Spain, the US, Saudi Arabia, and by in-market teams in Africa and the Middle East.
Provincial Agri Foods
Provincial Agri Foods is a privately owned, innovative food company located in Co. Monaghan, Ireland. It manufactures cooked bacon products under three brand names: Just; Clór Vale; and Clór Vale Heritage. The products include streaky bacon, back bacon, and diced bacon suitable for a wide range of applications across both the foodservice and retail channels. Provincial Agri Foods exports its products across the UK and Europe.
Pure Irish Ice
Pure Irish Ice is based in the beautiful Wicklow Hills in Ireland, using 100 per cent Irish water and renewable wind energy to produce and supply quality, safe and sustainable ice products. Founded as a small, Irish ice-manufacturing business in Dublin, the company says it wasn’t long before it needed to scale up its operation to meet the growing demand. In 2022, the company moved into Ireland’s first commercial-scale ice-manufacturing plant. Pure Irish Ice has capacity to produce up to 120 tonnes of ice per day and has over 50 per cent market share on the island of Ireland. The company says it is now ready to start exporting to mainland Europe.
QK Meats Ltd
Established in 1992, QK Meats Ltd, located in Co. Kildare, is part of the Arrow Group of companies. This is a privately owned, Irish agri-food group comprising of 18+ production sites specialising in primal meat-processing to ready-to-eat production facilities. QK Meats is a specialist provider of pork, beef, poultry and lamb proteins, as well as offal for the processing industries used in the manufacture of retail and wholesale finished goods. It also a supplier to the pet-food industry. In relation to fresh meat production, QK Meats specialises in packing and quick freezing to enable continuous supply on the worldwide markets, bridging seasonal supply shortages of primal cuts, offal and high-volume commodity raw materials. Over the last 30 years, the company has built on its experience and broadened its market reach. QK Meats differentiates itself as a preferred supply-chain partner for its customers and suppliers by developing and maintaining key partnerships with major global processors and manufacturers, utilising our unique access to EU import/export quotas, our dedication to food safety and quality; with continuous investment in people over the past 30 years making QK an exciting place to work. Its new sales office in Singapore was established this year to service the Asian markets is part of the company’s expansion.
Rosderra Irish Meat
Rosderra is Ireland’s largest pigmeat processing business, accounting for approximately 50 per cent of the national kill. The company operates two state-of-the-art processing facilities at Edenderry, Co. Offaly and Roscrea, Co. Tipperary. The company also has a speciality-meat-ingredients facility, a pork-curing facility and a cooked-meat facility. Rosderra exports to over 75 countries in the world including across Europe, the US, Australia, China, Korea, The Philippines, Canada and Japan. With advanced control and quality processes, Rosderra’s farm-to-fork traceability provides its customers with a wide range of world-class pork and bacon products. The company’s unique product-coding system enables it to trace all its meat products from their origin to the point of their final destination. The company’s primary focus is to ensure that all the animals supplied are born and reared in Ireland, from farms participating in the national DNA trace back scheme and from national registered farms, certified under Bord Bia’s (Irish Food Board) farm assurance scheme; and approved under Rosderra’s quality pig grid for animal welfare, husbandry, biosecurity, healthcare and structures.
Tirlán
Tirlán is a farmer-owned co-operative has a first-class track record of success on the global market. Rooted in a rich heritage of family farming and embedded in its communities, Tirlán has evolved to bring the passion of its farmers and their high-quality milk and grains to the international marketplace. Using modern-day technology and applying the best processes to its milk pool of three billion litres and its premium grains portfolio, Tirlán now exports to more than 100 countries. Its award-winning brands are household names in Ireland, and include Ireland’s number one consumer dairy brand, Avonmore. The organisation draws on a wealth of experience to deliver exceptional products and tailored nutritional solutions including Kilmeaden, Wexford, Truly Grass Fed, Solmiko, CheddMax and Gain Animal Nutrition. Tirlán has a strong market presence in the UK, France, Germany, Middle East, the US, North Africa, Japan and China. Avonmore produces a range of premium dairy products to cater for a wide variety of consumer and food service needs. Its international product range includes cheese, butter, UHT milk and UHT cream. A talented team of over 2,100 people manage Tirlán’s network of 11 production facilities. Tirlán is committed to sustainability through its comprehensive Living Proof programme.
Wild Irish Game
Wild Irish Game was established in 1993, in Glenmalure, Co. Wicklow. Since then, it has become the number one provider of wild deer and wildfowl in Ireland, and Ireland's longest established game-processing company. The company remains Irish owned and a family-run business. Based now in Clane, Co. Kildare in a state-of-the-art premises, the company operates strictly in accordance with current European and Irish legislation. Wild Irish Game is the only game producer in Ireland to be Quality B.R.C. AA Food Certified. Wild Irish Game says it is committed to delivering quality while working alongside nature and to maintain the balance between what they do and what nature provides us with.