Food Marketing and Entrepreneurship students at Cork University Business School have successfully completed projects assigned by several well-known Irish food and beverage companies who received Origin Green Gold Membership 2022 status. The Origin Green sustainability programme, developed by Bord Bia, is the worlds’ only national food and drink sustainability programme that spans the entire supply chain from farm to fork.
Over a 12-week period (January-April), students worked on project briefs involving various objectives related to the business’ needs and their sustainability focus, such as development of social media strategy, market research, packaging and branding, and assistance with market positioning and communications.
Dr Emma Beacom, Programme Co-Director - Food Marketing & Entrepreneurship said: “The students worked on several exciting projects as part of a new second-year module ‘Food Business Sustainability’. This module was developed based on feedback from employers about the need for graduates with an understanding of sustainability and related implications for business. Module content was informed by industry consultation, and representatives from Bord Bia and Kerry Foods delivered guest lectures. Working on live project briefs for successful Irish companies with a strong sustainability focus was an excellent opportunity for students to gain industry insight and to develop useful skills and knowledge for future careers.”
Michael Ryan, one of the students involved added: “Taking part in the Origin Green project empowered the group to actively support a progressive Irish food business by applying the knowledge we learned in the classroom. As a group, we gained great insight into business operations and relevant markets.”
The companies engaged in the partnership were Ballykilcavan Brewery, Kearney’s Home Baking, Kepak Group, McCormack Family Farms, Murphy’s Home Bakery, Seabody, and Pearse Lyons Distillery.
Marek Pisarczyk, Marketing Manager at McCormack Family Farms commented: “We are delighted to have partnered with UCC on this – it is always great to see how students apply learnings in real-life scenarios as they get ready to start their careers and the fresh point of view that they offer is very valuable.”
UCC recently launched their new Strategic Plan 2023-2028 where a key goal of the college relates to innovating sustainability solutions for local, national, regional, and global impact. This collaboration is an example of how the students themselves are contributing to UCC’s long-term goals.
About BSc Food Marketing & Entrepreneurship programme
The students involved are enrolled on the BSc Food Marketing & Entrepreneurship programme. This programme uniquely blends learning on food marketing, the business disciplines, and the food and nutritional sciences, equipping graduates to work in various roles in the food industry. Throughout the four years on the programme, students learn from academics who have worked in industry and who actively research in the disciplines, and have various opportunities to gain practical experience and skills through engagement with industry, and through placement and Erasmus opportunities. To find out more visit https://www.ucc.ie/en/ck213/
You can contact programme director Dr Emma Beacom by mailing [email protected]
About Origin Green
Origin Green is Ireland’s pioneering food and drink sustainability programme, operating on a national scale, uniting government, the private sector and the full supply chain from farmers to food producers and right through to the foodservice and retail sectors. The programme enables the industry to set and achieve measurable sustainability targets that respect the environment and serve local communities more effectively. To learn more visit www.origingreen.ie