The Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards are back and once again open for entries with their full awards programme. Since their launch 9 years ago, the Awards have become one of the most prestigious and coveted awards in the industry, being responsible for launching hundreds of innovative new products onto the Irish market and boosting the sales of many more. Winning an Irish Quality Food and Drink Award is a well-recognised badge of excellence amongst retail customers and the Irish food and drink community.
Retailers, wholesalers, foodservice, own label, and branded producers are all welcome to enter food and drink products into a broad range of categories, with each being specifically tailored to represent the key drivers in today’s ever-changing marketplace.
Once again products will be judged in their categories and awarded on their merits by an independent judging panel of 100+ respected industry experts during an extremely rigorous process. The Product of the Year accolade will be awarded to the product the judges agree is the best they have seen; in previous years awarded to Finnebrogue Artisan Naked Smoked Streaky Bacon; North Cork Creameries, and Meere’s Pork Products, among others. The Retailer of the Year Award will be awarded to the best performing retailer across all the categories. The Christmas categories recognise products designed specifically for sale during the festive season.
An integral part of the Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards is that every entry receives a comprehensive judges’ feedback on how the product meets and satisfies the criteria, even if the product does not reach the finalist stage. This provides all entrants vital product insight from independent leading experts which can be used as a valuable product development tool. Those awarded a Gold, Silver or Bronze will be given free use of the logos, which will be provided alongside a winner’s press kit. This guide will offer useful tips to winners on making the most of their win and maximising ROI.
The Small Producer Award is open to companies with fewer than 10 staff and annual sales under €1 million. This award offers artisan producers a suite of benefits including a reduced entry fee, whilst still having the opportunity to be judged alongside larger companies. Previous winners include Drummond House Irish Garlic Scape Sauce and Dip, Sage Restaurant Buttermilk Ranch and O'Neill’s Dry Cure Bacon Co.
Event Director Beckie Dart said “Following on from yet another challenging year for the food and drink industry, the IQFDA are delighted to be returning to shine a light on those retailers, producers and suppliers who have excelled in their field. We look forward to discovering wonderful products and once again recognising those fantastic producers and retailers who have continued to provide for the people of Ireland. We are also very excited to see you all in person again this year for the Awards Ceremony that will take place in September in Dublin.”
For more information about how to enter the 2022 Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards, please visit: https://irish.qualityfoodawards.com/
