Truly Grass Fed™ Partakes in US Trade Mission

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As part of a Ministerial Trade Mission to the US focused on Irish Food and Drinks promotion, Glanbia Ingredients Ireland (GII) was invited by Bord Bia, Ireland’s Food Board, to present on its new Truly Grass Fed™ dairy ingredients brand. Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed T.D., took to the floors of some of Chicago’s major retail outlets (Binny’s & Whole Foods Market). Engagements focused on drinks and dairy and included the promotion of Ireland’s Origin Green strategy.

The day commenced with a breakfast meeting where the Minister introduced Origin Green, Ireland’s national sustainability programme, to International dairy representatives. The Minister said:

“Ireland is proud to be a global leader in dairy, with an unparalleled reputation for quality, safety and sustainability. Its hard earned reputation sees Irish dairy products exported to approximately 130 countries each year. The US was the fifth largest market for Irish Dairy in 2016, and exports have grown by over 50% since 2012-13. We are proud to have a mutually beneficial trade and commercial relationship with the US, and are using this trade mission to build critical relationships and develop even closer ties to US customers and consumers.”

Speaking at the breakfast briefing event in Chicago, Bord Bia CEO Tara McCarthy presented Ireland’s Origin Green Programme to key dairy buyers from the Mid-West.

“Through our Origin Green programme at farm and processor level we offer independently verified solutions to US dairy buyers to the growing demand from their customers for sustainably produced dairy products.”

Glanbia Ingredients Ireland’s Head of Marketing, Nicola O’Connell, followed Ms McCarthy to introduce Truly Grass Fed, GII’s premium grass fed dairy ingredients brand, which was launched at the beginning of 2017. The brand aims to partner with leading natural food companies to support and endorse their brands in market. Ms O’Connell explained how U.S. consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the food they consume. They want to know more about where their food comes from and how it’s produced. Earlier this year, the Truly Grass Fed brand was awarded Non-GMO Project Verification. As North America’s most trusted seal for GMO avoidance, it is a huge endorsement for the dairy brand’s natural credentials and transparency of its production system.

Ms O’Connell commented:

“As founding members of Origin Green and committed processors to the Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme, we are fully aware and appreciative of the value of Ireland’s green credentials. These attributes gave us the foundation to develop our Truly Grass Fed offering. Over many years, we’ve been working with our farmers to ensure that all of our milk suppliers deliver milk of exceptional quality achieving the highest international sustainability standards. Now with the addition of Non GMO Project Verification and with work underway for third-party grass fed verification, we can offer assurance to our partner customers that our products truly are naturally produced and friendly to animals and the environment.”