Yes, Capital Spicer is no longer in existence.
The current membership of Guaranteed Irish is made up of an enormous variety of companies and not necessarily those we started out with us in 1984. We have a different range of companies now and we will have a different range of companies again in the next 12 months. We are always asked to examine new companies and Ireland has terrific companies. We are positive with regard to the companies we see, including those we saw last week. Ireland has many types of companies including animal nutrition companies and companies making ovens. They are proud of what they do and we are proud to be associated with them.
Our objectives are to increase the number of companies displaying the Guaranteed Irish symbol. The symbol helps to differentiate Irish-made products from similar products on the shelves and which are not Irish. We have a large variety of products in supermarkets, including breads, spreads, cheese and yoghurts, although we do not have products in every category. The symbol is a tipping point for some people. If a product represents the same price, quality and value as an import there is a good chance people will buy Irish.
I am keen to address the fact that we are not a quality control symbol, a standards symbol or a regulatory control symbol. We do not have dealings with the Food Safety Authority, the Irish Medicines Board or Bord Bia. We do not have a departmental role or an assessment of product or services by any Department. We have probably suffered because of this. After the ruling in 1982 successive governments seems to have stayed away from us and shied away from Guaranteed Irish. Our independence is our only way of surviving.
The criteria for Guaranteed Irish have been reviewed in recent years. The review took place because we went to a number of fine companies based in Ireland and asked them why they did not display the Guaranteed Irish symbol and they explained that components of their products were not Irish. We realised they fitted our principle of why we are in existence as they were creating jobs and helping the economy.
When we asked them to explain what was not Irish they stated some of the raw materials were not Irish and not available in Ireland. After visiting a number of companies we re-wrote the rules for Guaranteed Irish, with assistance from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland to ensure we did not do anything inappropriate. A company must add a minimum of 50% to the value of the product in its plant or factory at the point of manufacturing or conversion. For example, we do not make steel in this country. At a show at the RDS, I met a man who uses steel and who employs 45 people. His company did not exist seven years ago. He provides employment and he adds value to the steel.
The costs added to a raw material are production costs, employment costs, packaging costs, promotional material costs and transport charges. Most of these are local add-ons. Whoever makes a product must buy packaging material and have their promotional material printed. They require local transport and they are creating employment.
We are extremely careful. Not everybody qualifies for Guaranteed Irish. If our symbol is seen on a product we can state that we have visited all of the plants. Our symbol is restricted to us. We do not have a view of what other people get up to. We do not entertain anybody else's symbol. If it does not have a Guaranteed Irish symbol on it, we cannot be held responsible for it.
Guaranteed Irish is a highly respected and much sought after emblem which lends credibility to an Irish product and service in the Irish market and overseas. Our symbol is used by a number of companies which want an export symbol from Ireland. This does not exist and a major company has asked us to create our symbol in green, white and gold. The outer part might be green, the centre gold and white in between them or reverse. A number of other companies also want to explore this, which is interesting. Many people who came to work here and have now returned home would like to see Irish products on the shelves in their home countries.
Guaranteed Irish stands for what is good, honest and home-grown in the Irish economy. It has undergone many changes in recent years. Ireland has also seen a number of changes. The Celtic tiger brought prosperity but it was negative for Guaranteed Irish. We had a difficult job to convince people, and we still do, that our symbol is worthy of displaying.
The level of choice available to businesses and consumers is immense. Little differentiation seems to exist between products and services. However, a difference exists if a product or service displays a Guaranteed Irish symbol. It can also help with regard to investing in Ireland. A company saw the symbol on a product and decided it could invest in Ireland because the symbol would help it.
Recently, a company making a fine product in Dún Laoghaire brought its marketing department from London to meet us. The marketing department did not know anything about the Guaranteed Irish symbol. We made a presentation to the marketing people, who decided to test our symbol by visiting two locations in Dublin to find out if people knew their product was made in Ireland and, if so, whether that made a difference. The respondents did not know it was made in Ireland but once they found out, they signed up within three weeks. This was a visiting marketing team but the symbol meant a lot to people locally.
While the world is full of labels on products from handbags to glad rags, the guaranteed Irish symbol is a brand that lends a hand. We are taking advantage of opportunities to include new industries which are interested in social responsibility. Ms Hunt and I recently visited a large company in Cork, the existence of which we were not previously aware of, and I asked its manager why it wanted to use our symbol. He told us that he simply wanted credit for the €25 million his company generates for the Irish economy through its employees. The manager wanted to put the symbol on his newsletters so that people would realise his company employs 500 people. Social obligations are being met in that regard.
The board of Guaranteed Irish has addressed the issue of how we can influence retailers. The board comprises hugely enthusiastic and committed volunteers. For the ten years to the beginning of 2008 our chairman was Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh. Board members are interested in supporting Irish manufacturers and service companies. Over the past 18 months, Ms Hunt and I have visited every major retailer in Ireland. Unfortunately, they have developed their own symbols over the years, such as mountains and hills or variations on shamrocks. We have discussed with them how we might put our symbol on their products and although their intentions were pleasant, we have not always been successful in getting a result. Many years ago, we made a decision not to simply award a symbol to any supermarket or retail organisation because of the risk of losing control, so we only give the symbol to the suppliers of retailers. Some of the new kids on the block, which an acquaintance has described as the "four letter supermarkets", have been proactive in this regard. While in Cork last week, I entered one such supermarket to conduct market research and I am delighted to say that our symbol is present across virtually all supermarkets in a variety of merchandise categories.
However, it will never be the same as it was in the past because our manufacturing environment has changed. Brands such as Erin Foods and Chivers Jams are no longer produced. This is why the Guaranteed Irish scheme has a wider application than the retail sector. It is used in business to business marketing. We are dealing with a major pharmaceutical company which employs 1,300 people in Ireland. We have to work on that canvas. Discounters and competition are evident in every supermarket but we do not give the symbol to everyone. We have been approached by a number of new people in recent weeks because they have been advised by the principals of the companies they supply to carry the symbol. Long may that continue.
Guaranteed Irish has a role in designing packaging for companies. Our symbol is simply a marketing tool. One company decided not to carry the symbol on any of its products other than its business calling cards. The company's name was not particularly Irish but the cards opened doors. Our symbol is now appearing on company stationery, websites and vehicles. We are told that having the symbol on a van stuck on the M50 is as effective as any advertising hoarding.
Retailers stock Irish brands because they are either the right price or the right quality. This is not a low cost country, as members will be aware, but as a former retailer I predict that people will not want to buy containers forward if they have to wonder how long they must commit themselves. People are beginning to buy local, regional and Irish. The lead time will decrease because people will not be willing to make orders six or nine months out if they do not know what is going to happen. I have heard that containers are stacking up in ports around the world because letters of credit are becoming more difficult to obtain. One of our clients told me this week that he is required have the money ready when he places an order for a container. I predict a pull-back in the market which will be of benefit to Ireland. Runs will be shorter, although possibly not in the knitwear and clothing industry. Stock turns, which may not mean much to people outside the retail sector, will be the name of the game.
The power of our story needs to be communicated to our target markets. We need to recruit more members to display our symbol. We have had an up and down career until now but we have remained solvent and our accounts are in order. We need to refresh the memories of people who speak about their old copybooks. The companies that survived did so because they make quality products that can compete.
