Food for thought

The top 3 Irish brands sent abroad are Tayto crisps (39%), Barry’s Tea (22%) and Cadbury’s chocolate (19%) - food for thought,huh??

Taste of Ireland

Is Irish Culture behind the success of Irish brands?

Our culture, identity and everything that goes into building and maintaining ''brand Ireland'' really does play a major part in the success driving such brands as Glenisk, Kilmeaden and Ballygowan.

Shoppers around the world can't get enough of our brands and the sense of ''Irishness'' that goes with them. Products from our fair isle scream heritage and quality but do Irish consumers buy into this?

Brand Loyalty Still There It Seems

It seems brand equity and loyalty is still influencing the choices made by consumers in the supermarket. According to research, of the 20 brands seen as the most powerful in Ireland, 13 of these were Irish!! Barry's Tea, Tayto, Ballygowan, Guinness and Bulmers were among those mentioned.

Promising, one would think, during the ever present recession. Most people still want that comfort of a brand that they know and trust. What Irish brands are out there that you can't live without and why? With a lot of shoppers reaching for the cheaper version, are there any brands that you just can't bare to 'downgrade'?

www.sbpost.ie (media and marketing/'Brand equity and loyalty still influence purchasing decisions')

Are we still seen as backward?

Hollywood can be a powerful force, it can shape the opinion of viewers on many issues. From 'Into the West' to 'PS I Love You', movies can give us a glimpse into Ireland and show the world that we exist and are pretty darn great!

However, Hollywood often tend to show an idealized view of Ireland, one of leprechauns and shamrocks - begorrah, begosh!!

Is this a good thing or a bad thing for selling 'brand Ireland' and raising our world profile? Any publicity is good publicity, right?

'Brand Ireland' taking on the Oscars!

Oscar time is almost upon us and Ireland has something to celebrate - Irish animators are being tipped for success after receiving Oscar nominations; The Secret of Kells - Best Animated Feature, Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty - Best Animated Short Film and The Door has been nominated in the Best Short Film category. A nod must also be given to animator Richard Baneham for Best Visual Effects category for his work on Avatar.

With the movie industry booming, this could be a prime opportunity for 'brand Ireland', a chance to shine on a world stage and remind people that this wee island of ours is worth its weight in gold! Can Ireland redeem itself through the silver screen?

Do store brands tickle our taste buds?

Leaflets through the front door, papers on the way into work in the morning - it's hard not to notice the huge adverts that supermarket chains have nowadays, things weren't always like this, were they?!

With special deals and cheaper alternative store brands thrust before our very eyes, it's hard not to be a little intrigued - but at what cost? Are store brands as tasty as they make them out to be or of better quality?

Can we survive the 'own brand' stamp?

Across the nation store own brands are becoming better in quality and a cheaper alternative to our favored Irish brands, but it seems that no product is safe (be it food, clothing etc)!!!

These mega supermarket chains and companies have their eyes on every single money making angle and if it's going to save the average joe on the street his recessionary cents and MAKE these companies more cash no product is safe from the 'own brand' stamp - it is a competitive market out there and survival of the fittest!

Private label brands, hit or miss?

With private label brands growing day in day out in Ireland, does branding even matter to people when doing their weekly shop? Tell us what you think?

What's got us talking this week....

Good news Irish brand fans - with a well needed nugget of positive news sorely craved, Ireland can embrace the news that not all of our Irish brands are suffering right now but are happily thriving through the tough times. One such example is Oatfield Confectionery, who are manufacturing and exporting their sweets worldwide with hopes for future expansion as demand grows.

Oatfield Confectionery, Ireland's oldest sweet factory, are behind such brands as -

Emerald
Colleen
Orange Chocolate,
Glucose Barley
Eskimo Mints

Can anyone think of any other Irish brands that are using this recession as a building block?

What's got us talking this week....

Imposter brands – Irish or not

To buy locally seems like an ideal solution to the bitter cold snap that Ireland has faced these past 18 months. If we dig deep, I think most Irish consumers would buy home produce. But lets face it, we are feeling it in our pockets at the moment.

But how realistically do we do ‘our bit’ and warm up the cold front and kick start our year? It's easy really when you think about it. Reach for a home brand! You know, the brands that give us that cosy feeling. The ones we pack in a corner of our suitcase when we are off to far flung corners of the globe. You would think - a spoon full of Siucra sugar in our mug of Lyons, would be just that, but are we being fooled? Are these brands we call our own, Irish, the real thing? Think again. Welcome to the world of imposter brands!

We live in a global economy; we must continue to compete globally and to represent our Irish brands to the worldwide stage. But, where along the way have the Irish people been duped into a false sense of security? In a time when we should be supporting our own Irish brands to revive our economy, stimulate jobs and promote the country – certain brands are benefiting off the back of the ‘Irish brand’, when shockingly they are not what they claim to be!


Here are some of the brand imposters that are not as Irish, as we thought -

Siucra Sugar
Rachel’s
Jacobs Biscuits
Lyons Tea

Find out who the imposter brands are and share it with us!

Join in the conversation and have your voice heard.