This Friday we had the opportunity to visit Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board. To be honest, we weren’t quite sure just what Bord Bia did! To put it simply, Bord Bia is an agency that acts as a food consultant to Ireland. Their strategy is “To drive, through market insight, and, in partnership with industry, the commercial success of a world-class food, drink and horticulture industry”. Through their wide variety of services, they hope to grow and promote the food industry within “Ireland Inc.”

The idea of Ireland Inc. is that Ireland has a distinct brand. I don’t think that the idea of a cultural/country-wide brand is unique to Ireland but Ireland’s “brand” effects every industry. In the tech district, companies all have to operate under Irish business customs and react to their communities. They must support local businesses and respect Irish customs. One thing I have heard multiple times from professionals across different industries is the idea that one of Ireland’s biggest commodities is their culture. After being oppressed by another country’s culture for so long, the people of Ireland came to realize the uniqueness and importance of preserving their culture. In the case of Croke Park, they created a huge not-for-profit stadium just to support their tradition of playing Gaelic sports. They are interested in keeping Irish traditions relevant and exciting not only for their citizens but for foreigners as well. The Ireland Inc. brand promotes something that can’t be replicated or stolen by any other country in the world, and their culture. In the case of Bord Bia, their goal is to keep Irish food products relevant to the ever-changing world around them. They are keeping up with trends and showing the superiority of certain Irish food products to keep the Irish “brand” strong across the globe.

I think that Irish businesses and government have done a great job at dedicating resources to the “brand”. They are attracting more and more tourists to the area and instilling a greater national pride among their citizens. I don’t think that Ireland is commodifying their culture but I do think that compared to other countries, they have done a wonderful job at making a more unified brand that other people want to become more engaged with.