They say it takes a village to raise a child, and if you’re a rural dweller, chances are you wholeheartedly agree with this statement. Whether through a small national school or the local GAA club, our communities have a huge role to play in the lives of our young people.
You could say the same thing for rural food businesses – especially when you consider the amount of support needed to keep them not just “up and running” but thriving.
There are plenty of ways for communities to support their local food businesses. The most obvious is financially, as a customer, but small businesses need their communities for other things, too. They need positive reviews, social media posts, word-of-mouth recommendations and they need to feel like they are making a local impact.
These businesses aren’t just cafés and restaurants – there are many rural producers working within the realm of export; or they’re manufacturing at a large scale and partnering with retailers. The 2025 Food & Beverage Industry Barometer (conducted by Love Irish Food and Bank of Ireland) surveyed 120 Irish food producers operating at various scales.
One common thread among the businesses surveyed was the desire to build a stronger brand presence and grow their operations within Ireland, in their own backyards.
Eoin Doyle is chief executive of Cavan County Council.
Local bodies
Local government bodies have a role to play in helping producers achieve their goals and grow their communities. Over the past decade, we have seen Local Enterprise Offices, county councils and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) not just helping entrepreneurs develop business ideas but also providing a network of support for existing businesses.
Eoin Doyle, chief executive of Cavan County Council, says local government has a responsibility in supporting producers for a variety of reasons.
“Food businesses are central to rural development,” he says. “They bring vitality to our villages and towns, offer employment in areas that often have limited job opportunities and act as a catalyst for tourism and regional branding. For example, when a customer buys a locally made cheese or craft drink, they are not only supporting a producer but also contributing to the wider local supply chain – farmers, logistics providers, retailers, and even local tourism operators. This multiplier effect helps sustain rural populations and preserves the unique identity of regions like Cavan.”
Dermot Gallagher is the food strategy coordinator for Cavan County Council.
In Cavan, the county council employs a food strategy coordinator whose work comprises of building networks among local food businesses and helping create opportunities for producers. Dermot Gallagher says his role is to ensure the aims of the county’s Food Action Plan (2024-27) are being met.
“A big part of this is linked to the Created in Cavan food network,” he tells Irish Country Living.
Created in Cavan currently has 70 members, comprising of food producers, restaurants and pubs. It is supported by Cavan County Council and the Local Enterprise Office and they also avail of DAFM funding.
“Small producers face a unique set of challenges that can often limit their growth and sustainability,” Eoin says. “These include access to finance, regulatory compliance, lack of visibility in wider markets, rising input costs, and the struggle to scale while maintaining product quality. In rural settings, challenges are often amplified by infrastructure gaps and limited access to specialist services. That’s why initiatives like Created in Cavan are so vital.”
“For our non-producer members in the hospitality industry [like bars and restaurants], they have to show that they are supporting local producers in their menus,” Dermot adds. “They need to name what they’re using, so if it’s Corleggy Cheese, they need to specify that they are using that ingredient.
“We’re hoping to get more business within the county for the producers. We also run local campaigns; we’ve recently done a consumer awareness campaign linking in the local radio station and newspaper. We’ve included producer interviews and made a Created in Cavan hamper as a prize, to encourage the local community to visit our website and engage with the network via social media.”
The Created in Cavan network also provides education and training sessions for producers through the Local Enterprise Office. These include workshops for those thinking of starting a food business, social media and food photography workshops.
“It’s important to be as supportive as possible and we’re proud of all our food businesses,” Dermot reflects. “It’s sometimes hard for small producers to get to chefs or hospitality managers. Using our producer directory, we can showcase them and this can open doors for the producers and help rural development.”
Gerry Sheridan operates the Co Cavan business Ice Cream Treats.
Ice Cream Treats
Ice Cream Treats is a Cavan business benefitting from being a part of the Created in Cavan network. The business features a line of premium, award-winning ice cream products which they manufacture for retail and hospitality. Founder Gerry Sheridan launched the business in 2013 and says he can’t believe how it has grown over the years.
“We currently employ 20 people – from a start-up with just three of us,” he says. “We are a single-source provider for a range of ice creams and we supply retail markets in Ireland and within the United Kingdom. We develop concepts for retail – for example, the Moo’d range for Musgraves. They own that brand, but we supply everything that goes into it.”
Ice Cream Treats is an example of a scalable rural Irish business doing good things within their community. They use locally sourced dairy products and are an active member of Bord Bia Origin Green. Gerry says they have made large investments to help reduce their carbon footprint; including installing solar panels and ensuring their packaging is eco-friendly.
Ice Cream Treats have won numerous awards, as well, including Blas na h’Éireann awards, Great Taste awards and the World Dairy Innovation awards.
“Just recently, we won an award for our new dairy-free ice cream,” Gerry says, smiling. “From such humble beginnings we have achieved a lot, but we’ve also faced a lot of challenges. We started off in a recession, and then Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic – and now facing into another recession.”
For our non-producer members in the hospitality industry [like bars and restaurants], they have to show that they are supporting local producers in their menus
Gerry says they have found a great deal of support through the Created in Cavan network.
“The Local Enterprise Office have also been extremely good to us since we started out,” he says. “With networks like Created in Cavan, it’s so important for small businesses to be able to lean on them. They do good work in helping get the message out around the quality of our food and they provide a lot of advice along the way.
“They have cluster groups every month,” he continues. “Last month, they brought in a retail buyer from Tesco who sat down with the group and advised on how to get listings in the retail sector. They had another one where a larger manufacturer gave smaller manufacturers advice.
“Those small businesses might just pick up on one piece of advice from these sessions, but it might be important information which affects their business.
“We’re constantly innovating and bringing new products to market all the time – you have to stay relevant to your customer base and innovation is key. These networks and local Government supports have been good for us – without them, we wouldn’t have been able to expand in the ways we have.”
See createdincavan.ie
They say it takes a village to raise a child, and if you’re a rural dweller, chances are you wholeheartedly agree with this statement. Whether through a small national school or the local GAA club, our communities have a huge role to play in the lives of our young people.
You could say the same thing for rural food businesses – especially when you consider the amount of support needed to keep them not just “up and running” but thriving.
There are plenty of ways for communities to support their local food businesses. The most obvious is financially, as a customer, but small businesses need their communities for other things, too. They need positive reviews, social media posts, word-of-mouth recommendations and they need to feel like they are making a local impact.
These businesses aren’t just cafés and restaurants – there are many rural producers working within the realm of export; or they’re manufacturing at a large scale and partnering with retailers. The 2025 Food & Beverage Industry Barometer (conducted by Love Irish Food and Bank of Ireland) surveyed 120 Irish food producers operating at various scales.
One common thread among the businesses surveyed was the desire to build a stronger brand presence and grow their operations within Ireland, in their own backyards.
Eoin Doyle is chief executive of Cavan County Council.
Local bodies
Local government bodies have a role to play in helping producers achieve their goals and grow their communities. Over the past decade, we have seen Local Enterprise Offices, county councils and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) not just helping entrepreneurs develop business ideas but also providing a network of support for existing businesses.
Eoin Doyle, chief executive of Cavan County Council, says local government has a responsibility in supporting producers for a variety of reasons.
“Food businesses are central to rural development,” he says. “They bring vitality to our villages and towns, offer employment in areas that often have limited job opportunities and act as a catalyst for tourism and regional branding. For example, when a customer buys a locally made cheese or craft drink, they are not only supporting a producer but also contributing to the wider local supply chain – farmers, logistics providers, retailers, and even local tourism operators. This multiplier effect helps sustain rural populations and preserves the unique identity of regions like Cavan.”
Dermot Gallagher is the food strategy coordinator for Cavan County Council.
In Cavan, the county council employs a food strategy coordinator whose work comprises of building networks among local food businesses and helping create opportunities for producers. Dermot Gallagher says his role is to ensure the aims of the county’s Food Action Plan (2024-27) are being met.
“A big part of this is linked to the Created in Cavan food network,” he tells Irish Country Living.
Created in Cavan currently has 70 members, comprising of food producers, restaurants and pubs. It is supported by Cavan County Council and the Local Enterprise Office and they also avail of DAFM funding.
“Small producers face a unique set of challenges that can often limit their growth and sustainability,” Eoin says. “These include access to finance, regulatory compliance, lack of visibility in wider markets, rising input costs, and the struggle to scale while maintaining product quality. In rural settings, challenges are often amplified by infrastructure gaps and limited access to specialist services. That’s why initiatives like Created in Cavan are so vital.”
“For our non-producer members in the hospitality industry [like bars and restaurants], they have to show that they are supporting local producers in their menus,” Dermot adds. “They need to name what they’re using, so if it’s Corleggy Cheese, they need to specify that they are using that ingredient.
“We’re hoping to get more business within the county for the producers. We also run local campaigns; we’ve recently done a consumer awareness campaign linking in the local radio station and newspaper. We’ve included producer interviews and made a Created in Cavan hamper as a prize, to encourage the local community to visit our website and engage with the network via social media.”
The Created in Cavan network also provides education and training sessions for producers through the Local Enterprise Office. These include workshops for those thinking of starting a food business, social media and food photography workshops.
“It’s important to be as supportive as possible and we’re proud of all our food businesses,” Dermot reflects. “It’s sometimes hard for small producers to get to chefs or hospitality managers. Using our producer directory, we can showcase them and this can open doors for the producers and help rural development.”
Gerry Sheridan operates the Co Cavan business Ice Cream Treats.
Ice Cream Treats
Ice Cream Treats is a Cavan business benefitting from being a part of the Created in Cavan network. The business features a line of premium, award-winning ice cream products which they manufacture for retail and hospitality. Founder Gerry Sheridan launched the business in 2013 and says he can’t believe how it has grown over the years.
“We currently employ 20 people – from a start-up with just three of us,” he says. “We are a single-source provider for a range of ice creams and we supply retail markets in Ireland and within the United Kingdom. We develop concepts for retail – for example, the Moo’d range for Musgraves. They own that brand, but we supply everything that goes into it.”
Ice Cream Treats is an example of a scalable rural Irish business doing good things within their community. They use locally sourced dairy products and are an active member of Bord Bia Origin Green. Gerry says they have made large investments to help reduce their carbon footprint; including installing solar panels and ensuring their packaging is eco-friendly.
Ice Cream Treats have won numerous awards, as well, including Blas na h’Éireann awards, Great Taste awards and the World Dairy Innovation awards.
“Just recently, we won an award for our new dairy-free ice cream,” Gerry says, smiling. “From such humble beginnings we have achieved a lot, but we’ve also faced a lot of challenges. We started off in a recession, and then Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic – and now facing into another recession.”
For our non-producer members in the hospitality industry [like bars and restaurants], they have to show that they are supporting local producers in their menus
Gerry says they have found a great deal of support through the Created in Cavan network.
“The Local Enterprise Office have also been extremely good to us since we started out,” he says. “With networks like Created in Cavan, it’s so important for small businesses to be able to lean on them. They do good work in helping get the message out around the quality of our food and they provide a lot of advice along the way.
“They have cluster groups every month,” he continues. “Last month, they brought in a retail buyer from Tesco who sat down with the group and advised on how to get listings in the retail sector. They had another one where a larger manufacturer gave smaller manufacturers advice.
“Those small businesses might just pick up on one piece of advice from these sessions, but it might be important information which affects their business.
“We’re constantly innovating and bringing new products to market all the time – you have to stay relevant to your customer base and innovation is key. These networks and local Government supports have been good for us – without them, we wouldn’t have been able to expand in the ways we have.”
See createdincavan.ie
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