On Tuesday, Oct 2nd, FoodCentral played host to the Dublin Food Forum, bringing together over 200 delegates involved in the food growth, production, transport, wholesale and retailing sector.
The Dublin Food Forum is aimed at food producers, food processors, food distributors, food retailers, and executives in food marketing, manufacturing and technical areas of operation in the Irish food industry. The theme of the event ‘Growth, Innovation and Collaboration in the Food Industry’ was discussed by a range of speakers including: James Burke (leading food industry expert); Caroline Keeling (Group Managing Director); William Keeling (Managing Director FoodCentral); David Keeling (Managing Director Keelings Retail Ireland) with Bronagh Conlon, Founder of "The Real Irish Food Company" acting as MC for the night. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD, was also in attendance and spoke of the importance of export growth in maintaining and creating employment in the food sector.
One of the key success stories of the Fingal area was also celebrated at the event. Keoghs Crisps was named the winner of the Fingal Enterprise Awards 2012.
The importance of the Fingal area as a major and growing hub for the food sector was highlighted at this, one of the most important gatherings of the year for businesses involved in Ireland’s food sector. Speaking about the Dublin Food Forum, William Keeling, Managing Director of FoodCentral commented “This was a brilliant evening of learning and networking with the best in the industry. It was also a unique opportunity for the industry to see FoodCentral and visit the Keelings facilities”.
The Dublin Food Forum took place as part of Fingal Enterprise Week, which was organised by Fingal County Enterprise Board. Dublin Food Chain is a collaborative initiative of the Irish Exporters Association and the Dublin-based County and City Enterprise Boards and is part of an on-going effort to harness the power of the 'collective', in order to ensure that Co. Dublin's unique food heritage benefits from the attention it deserves.
FoodCentral was established last year in a prime location close to Dublin Airport, the main motorway network and Dublin Port Tunnel for ease of distribution and sourcing raw materials. It already employs 1,000 people and 75% of Ireland’s retail food distribution operates within 25km of FoodCentral, highlighting the importance of the Fingal area for the industry. Currently located in FoodCentral are three major players in the food industry - Keelings, Donnelly and Brakes.