Bord Bia publishes whitepaper - COVID-19 impact on Irish foodservice industry

​​Coming into 2020, the Irish foodservice industry, both in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland, was in a relatively strong position.

​Bord Bia / Technomic research indicated that the foodservice industry totaled €8.6 billion on the island of Ireland at the end of 2019. Growth had been strong, with ROI showing 4.9% value growth in 2019 and NI growing at 3.5%. 

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Forecasts for the future were expecting similar (albeit slightly lower) growth rates for the next several years, in conjunction with expectations of continued economic growth. 

When COVID-19 first started making headlines in late 2019, very few people would have expected the
global impact that would occur as a result of the spread of the virus. 

Within Ireland, the foodservice industry has been challenged as never before, and the goal of this
whitepaper is to begin to quantify the scale of the impact on the industry and what the landscape may look like as this situation progresses.

While acknowledging the clear and ongoing damage to the Irish foodservice market, it’s also important to begin thinking about how the industry restarts and what permanent changes may ultimately be seen. 

• What does the foodservice industry look like when this is over?
• How long will it take to recover?
• What steps are being taken now by the industry and how likely are current initiatives to remain in place after the immediate danger has passed?

The goal of this analysis is to evaluate those potential changes and to help Irish producers, operators, distributors and others serving the industry to start developing strategies around the longer-term
ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bord Bia and Technomic will continue to monitor developments and will present a more in-depth analysis toward the end of the year as the situation evolves.​

DOWNLOAD THE WHITE PAPER