present

The Business of Food Turning Ideas into Invoices

Thursday, 26th November11.20am–3pm

Gleeson Hall, DIT Kevin Street, Dublin 8

Featuring talks and panel discussionswith top entrepreneurs and industry experts

#businessoffood2015

Supported by:

The first panel will discuss the academic supports available to the food industry, and demonstrate how research col-laborations have resulted in innovation and commercial successes for Irish food producers.

Dr. James Curtin ieads the DIT School of Food Science & Environmental Health, one of the leading providers of under-graduate and postgraduate Food Science and related education in Ireland with research outputs over the last decade in the top 1% worldwide. Dr Curtin’s primary research interests are in developing nutraceutical, chemotherapeutic, immunotherapeutic and technological treatments for Brain Cancer. He has led a number of Food-related projects in the last two years, such as a World Health Organisation (WHO) funded project to develop a core undergraduate curriculum for Food Inspectors in 37 countries in the Western Pacific Region.

Dr. Frank Cullen is a BSc, MA and Doctoral graduate of Trinity College Dublin and holds a Masters (Hon) Degree in Hospitality Management. Frank has over 32 years’ experience working in education and the hospitality industry. Frank advocates the development of culinary education programmes that focus on the ‘education’ of the student and instil the knowledge, skills and an ability to adapt and transfer to different positions within the wider food industries and life experiences. The school’s culinary programmes are underpinned by a theoretical framework that produces food busi-ness graduates as well as professional chefs.

Declan James Troy is Assistant Director of Research, Teagasc. He is also Director of Technology and Knowledge Transfer for the Teagasc Food Programme and is based in Dublin. He recently launched the Teagasc Technology and Knowledge Transfer Strategy aimed at increasing engagement with industry. Presently Declan is Managing Director of Moorepark Technology Limited (MTL), a joint venture company established by Teagasc with shareholders from the Irish Dairy Industry. It provides commercial pilot plant & research services for food industry customers and is a key constituent of Teagasc Food Research Centre Moorepark in the process of knowledge and technology transfer.

Peter Mooney has a Bsc in Biotechnology from DCU, an IEA Diploma in International Trade and Marketing, and an MII Marketing Diploma. Peter has over 25 years’ experience in RD&I, Product and Business Development, working for Irish exporting companies including Glanbia, Ornua, Agra Trading, and Parc Aviation. Peter has overseen dozens of products from concept to commercial reality, including commodities, food ingredients, consumer products, and b2b service products. He is a founder of Innovation@Dawn; he works across the Dawn Meats Group to commercially assess new technologies and drive new ideas generated within the Group.

Dr Juan Valverde is R&D Programme Manager for Monaghan Mushrooms, one of the world’s largest and most progres-sive fresh mushroom companies. Juan has worked with DIT on collaborative projects designed to improve the shelf-life and quality of mushrooms. Juan has over 10 years of experience in the food and drinks industry working with multina-tional prepared food companies. He has also worked as a commercial advisor to innovative SMEs. Juan has supported some extraordinary companies to achieve the highest international food accolades, including Michelin Stars. Juan also worked with Teagasc as Network Scientific Manager for the Irish Phytochemical Food Network.

This panel is made up of entrepreneurs from the retail, food service and food producer arenas and will focus on defin-ing what makes a great food entrepreneur and how food businesses can create significant employment opportunities.

Lil Courtney, CEO of the Courtney Group, holds a BComm and MBs from UCC. Lil began her career with Dunnes Stores and become a senior buying manager with the company. Subsequently she worked for Dawn Farm Foods as Business Development Manager before leaving to open her own 4,500 sq. ft Centra store in Fairview, Dublin 3. In 2007, she opened Centra East Wall and most recently, she took over her third store, Centra Five Lamps in Dublin 1. The Courtney Group generated turnover of €16.5 million last year, employs more than 100 people and has won 29 industry awards.

Rowan Manahan has worked in the commercial-industrial sector with indigenous and multinational companies amass-ing over 20 years’ experience mentoring and training with executives at all levels. Rowan splits his time between spe-cialist consultation on Presentation Skills and Career issues. He serves as an External Lecturer for Trinity College Dublin, Bochum University, The National College of Ireland, Dublin Insititute of Technology and Froebel College (NUIM). Rowan is the author of two best-selling books on career management issues, speaks frequently at a variety of conferences and appears regularly in the media sharing ideas and advice relating to the world of work.

David Carey is an award winning young entrepreneur and a Sport Science & Health graduate from Dublin City University. He began his first business at the age of 17 and progressed on an entrepreneurial journey gaining extensive experi-ence in the food & drink industry across the world. Davidrecently developed a new brand called ‘Nutraplenish’, which provides innovative lifestyle nutrition products for the retail sector. All products are manufactured in a custom built state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. David has worked with some of the world’s biggest food & drink brands and has been tipped by industry peers as ‘one to watch’.

Ger Cleary is a Director of Glenisk, Ireland’s largest yogurt maker, and the Cleary family business. Ger has worked full time with the business for the past 20 years. The company transitioned to organic production in 1995, commencing a journey which has seen Glenisk become one of Ireland’s most recognised sustainable food brands. A multi awards winning company Glenisk now employs more than 60 people directly and works with 50 family farms across Ireland. Glenisk is experiencing record growth with a 20% increase in sales year on year and a tripling of market share over the past 5 years.

Elaine Cohalan was raised on a dairy and beef farm in Kilmichael, County Cork surrounded by green fields and lots of siblings. Her family taught her to value locally sourced foods and the worth of the Irish producer. Though Elaine spent years working in education, marketing and business, she was ultimately drawn back to food and the booming Irish producer scene. As the business lead and managing director of the Dublin Cookie Company, Elaine has managed to knit together her business and management experience with her love Irish food.

James Burke has personally worked in the food sector for over 23 years. Having started in SuperValu in West Cork, and then moved to Superquinn he spent 10 years at the operational side of the business and 10 years at head office. During his career in Superquinn James became group purchasing manager and he was also appointed to the board of the company. He is now CEO of Irelands largest food and retail advisory business. He is also a member of the TASTE Council (the strategic advisory group for the speciality food industry).

The Businessof FoodTurning Ideas into Invoices

Agenda

Welcome Panel One: Innovation in AgriFood Technology & Industry-Academic Collaboration

Panel Two: Entrepreneurship & Employment Opportunities in the Food IndustryEvent Moderator

TIME

11.20

12.00

12.15

12.20

13.20

13.55

15.00

EVENT

Networking, Producer & Food Research Showcase

Welcome from Professor Brian O’Neill and Mary MacSweeney

Event Overview and Introduction from James Burke

Panel 1: Discussion around the latest innovations in agrifood technology and R&D opportunities available to food businesses through collaboration with third level institutes.

Lunch, Networking & Showcase

Panel 2: Discussion around the employment and entrepreneurship opportunities in the Irish Food Industry, what makes a great food entrepreneur and what students can do to improve their career prospects in this industry.

Close

Prof. Brian O’ Neill Director of Research,

Enterprise & Innovation Services, DIT

Dr. James Curtin Head of School of Food Science

& Environmental Health, DIT

Lil Courtney Chief Executive,

The Courtney Group

Peter Mooney Head of Innovation,

Dawn Meats

Ger Cleary Director, Glenisk

Dr. Frank Cullen Head of School of Culinary Arts & Food technology, DIT

Rowan ManahanFounder & MD, Fortify Services

Dr. Declan Troy Assistant Director of Research,

Teagasc

David Carey Managing Director, Innovante Foods

Dr. Juan Val Verde R&D Food Programme Manager,

Monaghan Mushrooms

Elaine CohalanCo-Founder,

The Dublin Cookie Co.

James Burke MBADublin Food Chain Network Manager

Mary MacSweeney Assistant Head of Enterprise,

LEO Dublin City

The following Dublin Food Chain producers will be exhibiting their latest products and providing tastings to guests throughout the afternoon:

CRACKED NUTourban artisan

DIT Hothouse is the award-winning Innovation and Technology Transfer Office at Dub lin Institute of Technology, committed to helping industry access ex perienced researchers and excellent research facilities in a professional, customer-orientated manner. Compa-nies often know exactly what tech nologies would help improve their business, or what technical innovations would help them compete in a new market but often lack the tech-

nical capability, resources and time to develop them. By collaborating with DIT Hothouse, companies can improve cash-flow, free up staff, access world-class facilities, and create cutting-edge technology that will help their business to grow. For more info, visit www.hothouse.ie, email hothouse@dit.ie or call 01 402 7179

The Dublin Food Chain is a marketing and networking forum which represents many of the outstanding food and drink producers, retailers, food service operators and distributors that are based throughout Dublin City and County. The Dublin Food Chain is an initiative jointly supported by the four Dublin City and County Local Enterprise Offices, The Irish Exporters Association, and Bord Bia.

For more info, visit www.dublinfoodchain.ie or email info@dublinfoodchain.ie

The School of Food Science and Environmental Health is one of the largest research centres in DIT with a strong research profile in areas such as Environmental Health, Food Technology and Pharmaceutical Technology. Re-search groups are in areas such as Nutraceuticals, Food Science, Synthetic Organic and Inorganic Chemistry and Biological Chemistry. For more info, visit www.fseh.dit.ie or phone 01 402 4355

With over 800 full and part time students, the DIT School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology is one of the leading providers of education, training and research for the culinary and food re-lated industries in Ireland. The School is closely involved with the latest developments in its core disciplines and maintains strong links with academia, industry, national and international bodies.For more info, visit www.dit.ie/culinaryartsandfoodtechnology or phone 01 402 4344

The Centre for Applied Data Analytics Research (CeADAR), funded by Enterprise Ireland and the IDA, is an industry-led centre for development and adoption of data analytics technologies across a range of indus-tries in Ireland. CeADAR has worked with organisations in the Food and Agriculture sectors, and in DIT, CeADAR staff are members of the Applied Intelligence Research Centre and the Agri-Analtyics Research Group in the School of Computing. For more info, visit www.ceadar.ie or contact CeADAR Director, Edward McDonnell on 087 333 9777

Event Organisers

Food Research Showcase

Dublin Food Chain Producer Showcase