Irish Meat,Cheese & Foodstuffs Brands Vs Ireland Originated Food- A Re-Assessment

Cicero

Hi all,

While aware of the good work An Bord Bia carry out in making consumers aware through their labeling of quality Irish produce in relation to meat and as a consumer who (thinks they) seeks out quality Irish meat, eggs & cheese etc, it only dawned on me today, that there are brands out there, that we have all grown up with in Ireland, that no longer produce Irish meat and cheese etc but yet continue to trade using the original Irish associated brand.

Take this complaint on the advertising standards authority website:

http://www.asai.ie/complaint_view.asp?CID=568&BID=27

Galtee sausage meat not Irish Meat.

What kills me is that I should have known about this- with factory closures from Biscuits to Sugar recorded in the news over the last number of years, I as a consumer should have questioned a lot more what I was purchasing, and from what country the ingredients originated- it's what all advertisers rely on-complacency- and I fell for it.

My question for you is this: What are the well known Meat, Cheese, Sugar, Biscuits, Beer etc etc brands that actually produce IRISH produce from Irish raw materials Vs those who produce or manufacture a product whose raw materials are sourced outside of the 26 counties, but trade under a well established brand, associated in the past as being "IRISH"
(PS: I am aware of the trick of 'additional processing' to make products 'appear' Irish on the supermarket shelves- I am more interested in hearing about brands that people associated as being Irish but who no longer (and indeed quite legally) source their raw materials in this country) I just think it's time to make this clear to all consumers so that they can make their own minds up when rushing around a well designed supermarket.

tallaghtfornia

Jacobs biscuts are now made in the UK and in other EU member states.

Chef Sauce, Fruitfield jams are now produced in the UK.

Chivers Jam is now produced in the UK.

Erin soup is now produced in the UK.

HB icecream is now produced in the UK, Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic( Except for Hazelbrook farm which lakeland dairys now produce)

Iam sure there are plenty of well know Irish brands that people can think of that are now made overseas

I try to buy Irish when I can but when so little is produced here anymore its very hard :mad:

karlr42

If it's not profitable to produce produce here, well don't expect the like of Unilever(the multinational corporation behind many, many brands such as HB, Knorr,and Hellmans) to invest in Ireland- they will simply go elsewhere, they're not a charity .Likewise they are not going to rebrand products that have a following and good reputation.
We live in a globalised economy, if Ireland can't compete in it, well, that's another issue, and one which threads like this won't solve.

Cicero

karlr42 wrote: »

If it's not profitable to produce produce here, well don't expect the like of Unilever(the multinational corporation behind many, many brands such as HB, Knorr,and Hellmans) to invest in Ireland- they will simply go elsewhere, they're not a charity .Likewise they are not going to rebrand products that have a following and good reputation.
We live in a globalised economy, if Ireland can't compete in it, well, that's another issue, and one which threads like this won't solve.

eh...I don't...but that's not the purpose of this thread.

karlr42

It's just a comment to the effect that we shouldn't demonise and boycott and criticise the corporations for things like this, and that if blame must be proportioned, it should be directed at our elected officials for not making Ireland a viable location for industry!

Cicero

karlr42 wrote: »

It's just a comment to the effect that we shouldn't demonise and boycott and criticise the corporations for things like this, and that if blame must be proportioned, it should be directed at our elected officials for not making Ireland a viable location for industry!

Don't mean to demonise or boycott any corporation Karl42 - branding (especially in a supermarket) relies a lot on the consumer making 'short-cut' decisions- i.e. X brand = Quality/good/reliable etc etc etc

I think it's important to highlight that purchasing decisions made in the past (especially if based on supporting Irish produce) may no longer be based on accurate information- this does not mean that consumers may not or should not continue to buy these products- only that they are more aware of what they are now buying, and have updated their decision making process using up to date information- that's the purpose of the thread- apologies if the opening was mis-leading

BnA

karlr42 wrote: »

It's just a comment to the effect that we shouldn't demonise and boycott and criticise the corporations for things like this, and that if blame must be proportioned, it should be directed at our elected officials for not making Ireland a viable location for industry!

I would agree with you to an extent. i.e. It's not personal, it's just business.

However, I would agree with the OP too. If someone is making an effort to buy Irish, which a lot of people do, they should be made aware of what is Irish and what isn't. Wheather it is a brand like Jacobs, that we all just presume to be Irish because it has been around so long, or wheather it is our and out lies like the Galtee example where they actually falsely advertise themselves as Irish.

partyatmygaff

BnA wrote: »

I would agree with you to an extent. i.e. It's not personal, it's just business.

However, I would agree with the OP too. If someone is making an effort to buy Irish, which a lot of people do, they should be made aware of what is Irish and what isn't. Wheather it is a brand like Jacobs, that we all just presume to be Irish because it has been around so long, or wheather it is our and out lies like the Galtee example where they actually falsely advertise themselves as Irish.

In a sense Galtee are Irish because they originated here, personally I buy whatever is the best quality and the best price. If they can't compete thats not my problem.

wmpdd3

If I do pay extra for Irish products I want something like the organics promise.

The guaranteed Irish logo was a liecence to print money, it had a lot of good will attached to it and customers knew what it meant to make that choice.

Is there any way around the EU objection to our guaranteed Irish logo?

They don't like the protectionism.

The only thing they do seem to condone is copyrighting a location for a particular product i e Champagne can only be called that if made in that area.

teawithrosie

Robert Roberts Tea & Coffee is all made in Dublin - drive past the airton road and smell the coffee being roasted. Obviously climate change has not got to the stage where we have tea or coffee plantations in Ireland yet but all the blending, roasting, packing etc as well as the sales & marketing are done out of Dublin.

tallaghtfornia

Anyone know were lyons tea is 'packed' now ?

Seems its no longer been packed islandbridge for the past few years?

teawithrosie

I agree that Irish products need to compete with those from abroad - on quality, service and price.
I would like to add one point to the discussion above re "Irish" brands manufactured abroad - granted that the best case scenario for employment is where the product is manufactured in Ireland - however bear in mind that even when a product is not manufactured here but is a local brand it is probably still supporting more jobs than international products. For example - any advertising or packaging design will be more than likely done by Irish companies, promotional activities will also have an Irish focus eg local solutions like Pigsback have a better chance of being chosen when the brand desisions are made here rather than abroad. Also bear in mind that profits from Irish companies at least will go back into the exchequer via corporation tax, the same cannot be said for international companies.

BnA

partyatmygaff wrote: »

In a sense Galtee are Irish because they originated here, personally I buy whatever is the best quality and the best price. If they can't compete thats not my problem.

RE Galtee being Irish, they are as Irish as a Paddy Whackery Oirish Pub in Marbella being run by a Chinaman.

Re buying Irish. I'm no fool either. I would just always be aware of Irish goods and services. If I am buying something, eg a packet of biscuts, I would usually look at where they are made and them being Irish would influence my decision. i.e. If I want a packet of Custard Creams and one is Irish and the other isn't and they are the same price, i will buy the Irish ones.

Admitidally though, I would be a small bit illogical when it comes to Meat and Veg. Where possible, I would only buy Irish of these, but that is probably because I am from an Agricultural backround.

Also, I have a bit of a thing about Water. I would NEVR buy Imported water. I have gone into shops that only stocked volvic and walked out again. I think it is utterly mental that we would import drinking water into this country.

wmpdd3

BnA wrote: »

Also, I have a bit of a thing about Water. I would NEVR buy Imported water. I have gone into shops that only stocked volvic and walked out again. I think it is utterly mental that we would import drinking water into this country.

Agree