Buyers, Producers, and the WTC Dublin Uncovering the Mayo Gems

County Mayo, located on the west coast of Ireland is an area that represents the tenacity and grit of Irish history best understood when you experience the landscape.  When you travel to Mayo, you can see the years of hard work, diligence, and challenges that reflect the amount of hands-on work that it took to recover the land from the Great Famine.  This same determination is seen today in the local businesses that produce quality, organic, and sustainable food and drinks that are coming to market with passion.  This was the energy felt when Adam Lynch, the newest WTC Dublin sales manager, attended the Mayo Food & Drink Showcase and Meet the Buyer event held on June 23, 2022.

The event was the culmination of a 15-month training program for food and beverage producers in the region. Approximately 30 producers exhibited with the exclusive opportunity to speak with buyers and participate in panel discussions on current hospitality, retail, consumer, and food tourism trends.

For Adam and the WTC Dublin, after over 2-years of pandemic closures, the event was a welcome opportunity to not only meet new producers and their products, but to connect in person with one of our members, Mariko Green Tea.  Their products, including the sparkling lemon and lime tea which Adam sampled, did not disappoint They are the perfect definition of the producers in Mayo: focused, healthy, refreshing with a sparkle.  Like other WTC Dublin members, Mariko Green Tea is a standout in the wellness category. Due to high consumer demand for healthy food and beverages, Adam believes "it is a product that should be on the shelves of most retailers and readily available to consumers due to its health benefits and delicious taste."

WTC Dublin is proud to support our members and their unique, wellness-focused food and beverage products. We look forward to working with our current and new members and supporting them through our extensive global WTCA network to help them grow their businesses

The Mayo Food and Drink Programme is a LEADER-funded response to the challenges and opportunities identified in the Mayo Food & Drink Strategy 2025. It puts the specific priorities identified by producers into action and is focused on food and drink. This was the final networking event, but training continues for another month with some online classes and one-to-one specialised training and mentoring, all of which are free of charge and available exclusively to Mayo food and drink businesses. Booking for these free courses is through the website www.mayofood.ie or Eventbrite and links on social media (@mayofoodanddrink).