Thursday, 20th July 2017: Bord Bia brought its Thinking House to GLAS today to show visitors at Ireland’s biggest horticulture event how its state-of-the-art consumer research and market insight centre can assist in maximising profitability for the sector. Bord Bia staff were on hand throughout the day showcasing the valuable facilities available to the industry to access the latest global trends, research, consumer insights and industry innovations, on specially formatted touch screens.
Ireland’s biggest business event for horticulture took place at the Citywest Events Centre in Dublin. Now in its seventh year, GLAS attracted over 1,000 industry representatives and 145 exhibitors (including 27 nurseries and 44 new exhibitors participating for the first time), making this year’s show the biggest to date. Fully supported by Bord Bia and organised by Mediateam on behalf of Kildare Growers Group, GLAS is designed to showcase the very best of Irish horticulture and provides a unique networking opportunity for exhibitors and attendees generating business and sales opportunities.
Bord Bia’s Thinking House at GLAS 2017
Speaking at the event, Mike Neary, Bord Bia’s Manager of Horticulture, said:
“GLAS is an ideal event for Bord Bia to introduce The Thinking House to the Irish horticulture industry. It is home to a vast collection of authoritative sources of insight and global market research databases which can help us better understand consumer demands worldwide. Understanding what our customers want is key to building the success of the Irish horticulture industry and Bord Bia’s Thinking House can help producers maximise these opportunities. Our specialised staff are on hand to explain the added value that consumer insight can bring to engagement with customers in the home and export markets and we look forward to future engagement with the amenity horticulture sector and contributing collectively to its further growth”.
The results of the latest Bord Bia Gardening study were presented on the Learning Theatre stage in two sessions throughout the day. Please see the results of this study here, and some highlights include:
- Profiles of four key distinct segments of gardeners in Ireland were identified: Enthusiasts, Actives, Developers & Fledglings.
- 1.3 million Irish people, from almost 1 million households, now garden on a regular basis.
- Ireland’s gardening enthusiasts, those who love to garden on a regular basis, are mainly female (69%), with 4 in 10 over the age of 55.
- Some 75% of all adults surveyed believe that gardening is good for your mental health, while almost all (98%) adults who garden on a regular basis know that it is!
Ireland’s Horticulture Industry
The value of output from the amenity sector was estimated to be over €70m in 2016. The most recent ‘Garden Market Value’ research, carried out by IPSOS MRBI, shows Irish consumers’ gardening spend has increased to reach €729 million in 2016. This is an increase of 16% since it was last measured in 2014 when it was valued at €631 million.
Award Winners
A key highlight of the event since its establishment is the Best in Show Awards. This year’s awards had record advance registrations from first-time entrants with plants and products and highlighted excellence in four categories: Best New Plant, Best New Product, Best Plant Stand and Best Product Stand.
Best New Plant
Kelly’s Nursery based in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath were awarded ‘Best New Plant’ for their Escallonia Laevis: ‘Pink Elle’.
Best New Product
Hygeia from Oranmore, Co. Galway received ‘Best New Product’ at GLAS for their Green Force: Lawn Gold product.
Best Plant Stand
O’ Connor Nurseries from Gorey, Co. Wexford were chosen by the judges as the ‘Best Plant Stand’ for their floral display.
Best Product Stand
Sanctuary Synthetics from Naas, Co. Kildare were awarded ‘Best Product Stand’ at the GLAS.
For more information, visit www.glasireland.ie.
