2016 Year of Food and Drink

Over the past few years the awareness of how great Northern Ireland's food and drink is, has grown exponentially. With the continued success in the UK Great Taste Awards, the growth in food and drink festivals and the tireless promotional work of Food NI the penny has dropped nationally and internationally that this is a great place to enjoy quality food and drink. Tourism NI wanted to work with Food NI to create a whole year of celebration of our food an drink sector, from beef farmers to cider makers and from food tours to fancy restaurants, it was time to turn the spotlight on greatness. We created a brand for the Year of Food and Drink that was instantly embraced by the people that matter – the chefs, restaurateurs, producers, growers, breeders and festival organisers whose work is making waves across the world. The brand was structured around the words grow, breed, cook, craft, catch and enjoy allowing for participation from every aspect of the sector. To achieve buy-in from the sector we launched a toolkit that introduced them to the brand, ideas on how to use it and links to on-line resources where they could download brand elements.

A success? We think so, and the Belfast Telegraph agreed…

Year of Food and Drink a massive success story

2016 culinary campaign significantly widens Northern Ireland's profile, with positive PR value generated worth around £41m after initial target of £10m