The winners of the 2017 Bord Bia Food and Drink Industry Awards were announced at a ceremony attended by more than 350 industry representatives at the RDS in Dublin yesterday (Wednesday November 29).
The event was hosted by RTÉ presenter Miriam O'Callaghan, with nine winners being selected from a shortlist of 24 across categories pertaining to branding, consumer insight, digital marketing, entrepreneurship, export, innovation and sustainability, as reported by The Irish Independent.
This year's event also featured the first "Industry Champion" Award, which was won by Denis O'Riordan of Kerry Foods for his work with the Cheestrings brand.
Commenting on O'Riordan's win, Bord Bia CEO Tara McCarthy said, "Denis O’Riordan, known as ‘Mr Cheestrings’ among his colleagues in Kerry Foods, is one of the pioneers of best practice marketing in Ireland. He is recognised as being the leading force behind the international success of Cheestrings, which is now available to some 350 million people across Europe. Denis has served as a mentor and a role model for how to take a food brand from concept to global presence by embedding consumer and market insight in the business."
The full list of winners is as follows:
Branding - Diageo for Baileys
Consumer Insight - Butlers Chocolate
Digital Marketing - The Happy Pear
Entrepreneurial - Gallaghers Bakery
Export (Smaller Business) - Silver Hill Farm
Export (Bigger Business) - Kerry Foods
Innovation - Pip & Pear
Sustainability - Dawn Meats
Sustainability, Project Impact - Monaghan Mushrooms
