TRADEIT has been specifically designed to address the key technological needs of the traditional Dairy, Meat & Bakery producing SMEs. Technology transfer activities will be driven by both an SME technology pull and a push from sector specific technology experts out to the TRADEIT Network.

This technology pull will be facilitated by an extensive “Needs and Barriers Analysis” which will determine technology needs, business issues and the barriers to solution implementation at a local level. Whilst much research has been done on the needs and barriers to technology transfer, however there is little information on issues specifically encountered on a regional and sub-sector level, by small and micro scale SMEs engaged in Traditional Food Production.

The TRADEIT project is currently addressing this knowledge gap through a structured workshop forum.  The first step is wide scale roll out of an electronic needs and barriers analysis survey (click here to complete the survey) a series of workshops will also take place (register here for events at your regional Hub).

Establishing the technological needs of the TFP SMEs will ensure that the appropriate technologies are selected to showcase at the various TRADEIT events. 

These technologies will lead to improvements in capacity, efficiency, compliance, product quality and product innovation enabling traditional food producing SMEs to expand into previously untapped European markets, increasing market share and revenues.

Technologies will be profiled on the TRADEIT electronic marketplace and showcased at future TRADEIT technology transfer events such as the brokerage events and SME Missions that will take place over the next 3 years – all of which will be promoted via the Newsletter and the TRADEIT website.

Traditional Foods are a significant element of the cultural heritage of each member state and are critical economic inputs to many regions.  To meet growing consumer demands, a significant increase in innovation is required from Traditional Food Producing SMEs to generate food products that are authentic, yet meet 21st century standards in food safety, consumer demands in the area of nutritional content, sensory value, convenience, traceability, environmental impact and sustainability.

Europe’s future economic growth and jobs will increasingly come from innovations in products, services and business models.  Furthermore, in order for traditional food producers to compete in the increasingly global European food market issues such as supply chain, marketing and business models will have to be addressed by SMEs. This is a particularly challenging task for Traditional, Craft and Artisan Food producing SMEs as few have the resources or capability for research and innovation and seldom possess the financial and human resources needed to participate in collaborative projects with universities or research centres.

This issue has been recognised as an area that requires significant investment and support on an EU level, this has been delivered through the funding of two projects by the European Commission specifically designed to support the Traditional Food Producers across Europe, TRADEIT (www.tradeitnetwork.eu) and a second project TRAFOON (www.trafoon.eu) .  


Objectives of the TRADEIT Project

The key outcomes will be the development of a sustainable network for the upgrading and up skilling Traditional Food Producing SMEs, innovation promotion and the delivery of a research agenda for the traditional food sector thereby increasing the competiveness of the traditional food producing SMEs and regional economies.

The TRADEIT Kick-off Meeting was held on 6th of November 2013 at the Institute of Technology Tralee (ITT), the coordinating partner of TRADEIT. After a welcome address from the project coordinator Dr. Helena McMahon (ITT) Dr. Oliver Murphy, President of the Institute of Technology Tralee, officially opened the TRADEIT project. In his speech, Dr. Murphy highlighted the importance of this project for the Traditional, Craft and Artisan Food producing SMEs.

Marian Byrne from the Irish Government Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, provided the keynote address a wonderful insight in to the need for this type of project and its potential impact on regional development across European which is of particular relevance for SMEs in the traditional food sector whom are typically located in rural locations.

Dr. Helena McMahon outlined the mandate and aims of the project, participants introduced themselves, and outlined their role in the TRADEIT Project. Input was given from the Traditional Food Producers at the meeting in terms of typical problems encountered in their business or sector, and the benefit of the TRADEIT Project. Mr Reiner Erich Stolzenberger from Stolzenberger Bakery, a family owned bakery with 25 employees in the South of German, highlighted the need of support through networks.  One of his greatest challenges in running a traditional food company is that his bread has a relatively short shelf life compared with other types of bread as he uses sour dough and does not use chemical ingredients. This project will be a great help to him to increase the knowhow in his business.  

Kate Carmody from Beal Organic Cheese outlined the barriers for traditional and artisan food producers in the dairy sector. One issue highlighted was the expectations and requests of the large multiples, an example of an issue encountered was a request for Beal Chees products to conform to a more standardised size and presentation in line with the merchandising requirements. This homogeneity in product size is extremely difficult with achieve with this particular hand cut cheese   Kate also highlighted the challenges presented by requests for below cost selling and  ‘special offer’ promotional pricing which presents a challenge for small producers whom do not have the benefit of the economies of scale.


Detailed presentations on each of the TRADEIT work packages, in which the objectives, tasks and deliverables of each work package was outlined.

Detailed constructive discussions took place, effectively initiating the collaborative process, identifying and building links and synergies between work-packages, tasks and activities.  Professor Paul Coughlan and the work package 5 team held a number of break-out sessions applying an action learning approach enabling partners to highlight areas of ambiguity for further discussion and exploration. The final session of the day addressed the financial aspects of the project and with a close out on with key action points per work package. The event was a great success and partners very much departed having in-depth knowledge of the project and the project team.

The first action of the TRADEIT Project was to establish the Knowledge and Technology transfer centers dedicated to the support of the traditional food producers (TRADEIT Hubs) and we now have nine operational Hubs in place. The TRADEIT Hub network will deliver a range of Technology Transfer Events and support that collectively will foster technology transfer via identification, showcasing and dissemination of available and emerging technologies, commercialisation of publically funded Research & Development and Innovation outputs, and stimulation of technological innovation through development of Traditional Food Producing (TFP) SME innovation collaborations.

The Hubs will host the knowledge transfer events delivering training and knowledge in topics key to the competiveness of traditional food producers such as food safety and quality, plant design, cost models, marketing, geographical labelling and product development.

Each Hub will form and host a TRADEIT sub-network, defined by region and language with an associated network of local and regional traditional food producers, linked to the relevant National national food and drink and policy organisations.
The nine hubs are illustrated on the map – who is your regional Hubs Advisor?

In the TRADEIT network we are collaborating with the aim of developing the traditional food sector but what does collaboration mean? Collaboration can describe a range of different types of relationships between organisations such as alliances, joint ventures, partnerships and networks and such relationships can be difficult to define due to the uniqueness of the context and individuals involved in each. Broadly speaking however, collaboration can be viewed as a co-operative and coordinated on-going relationship between two or more individuals or organisations attempting to solve problems or take advantage of opportunities. The TRADEIT network will be supported in its collaborative efforts through action learning.

What is action learning and how does it help people learn and solve problems?

Cycles of Action and Reflection

Action learning starts with a challenge or tricky problem you are facing as an individual or company
 
It is about …

Action learning is just as the words suggest: take action; learn from the action – plan further action – learn from that.  However, it is not a simplistic “learning by doing” as sometimes mis-characterised. It is a way of learning with and from others in the course of tackling difficult issues, typically involving a small group of people meeting together to tackle difficult issues through questioning one another, experimentation and reflection.

Action Learning has been shown to be effective in fostering network development. In effective network members learn from each other to their mutual benefit but simply bringing people together and naming the group a ‘network’ does not guarantee that this learning will occur. Yet, learning from each other is key to network members as improvement is fundamental to the competitiveness of networks and requires the participating members to collaborate in identifying and introducing changes. Collaborative strategic improvement may be seen as a cycle of activities in which members of a network can engage together. Linking this cycle with disciplined action learning enables the network to build upon experience generated through collaborative action.  In this way, a network can learn from experience and deploy that learning in the marketplace.

The focus of the AL support within the TRADEIT project is at three specific levels: Level 1) the Project Management Board (PMB), Level 2) the Regional TRADEIT Knowledge and Technology Transfer Hubs and Level 3) the Traditional Food Producing SMEs. Hub advisers are already experts in their field and experienced in working with SMEs, but action learning (AL) can be used by them to enhance their support for the capacity-building of Traditional Food Producing SMEs to incorporate change (new technologies, products and processes) and to develop external relationships with TRADEIT network SMEs and partners. AL will also develop the capacity of the Project Management Board (PMB) to support SME innovation and learning.

The TRADEIT Tools for Collaboration Resource Pack developed by WP5 [Institute of Technology Tralee (ITT) and Trinity College Dublin] will provide a set of resources which will guide members through various aspects of developing and supporting collaboration through action learning. The resource pack will be available on the project website to all members of the TRADEIT network, and will be updated regularly during the project based on feedback from project partners. ITT will be responsible for any updating, but all partners are encouraged to contribute recommendations and changes.

For a detailed example of the use of action learning within pan-European networks see:-
David Coghlan, Paul Coughlan, (2006) "Designing and implementing collaborative improvement in the extended manufacturing enterprise: Action learning and action research (ALAR) in CO-IMPROVE", Learning Organization, The, Vol. 13 Iss: 2, pp.152 – 165
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1545873&show=abstract

The TRADEIT Entrepreneurship Summer Academy Cultivating Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The 2014 TRADEIT Entrepreneurship Summer Academy will be hosted by the Institute of Technology, Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland on June 16th, 17th and 18th 2014.  It will provide an interactive real time forum for the food researcher to investigate the commercial potential and feasibility of his/her research.

The Academy will offer a three way model of engagement between the food researcher, the research centre manager and the traditional food SME.

Participants will receive training on the core skills required to set up a business and the associated templates and support. The structure of the 3 day Summer Academy will facilitate the sharing of intellectual and social capital between food researchers, the business community and research centre managers.  The value of mentorship and acknowledgement of role models will be promoted both as part of the formal programme but also informally through the networking and social engagements.  It will enable food researchers to meet the practitioners in an environment conducive to networking and information sharing, optimise experiential and peer learning, real time interactions and feedback from the business community.


The most innovative researcher will be awarded with the TRADEIT Innovation award as evaluated by a panel of food related businesses, research centre managers and representatives from participating TRADEIT partners.  

Calls for Application will be posted on the TRADEIT Website
Register here for more information

Irish artisan food producer Béal Organic Cheese joins TRADEIT (Traditional Food, Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology Transfer) to support small agri-food production in a peripheral region of Ireland on the western sea-board

Béal Organic Cheese was founded in 1987 by Kate Carmody at the family-run dairy farm in County Kerry by the mouth of the river Shannon in a peripheral region on the western sea-board. When Kate married into the traditional dairy farm at Beal in 1984 her mother gave her a cheese press saying: ‘All dairy farmers should make their own cheese.’

The original Béal Organic Cheese is traditional handmade cheese made from local organic raw milk ingredients. The cheeses have a creamy, cheddar style, crumbly texture and a uniquely piquant explosion of flavour that set them apart. North Kerry is a traditional dairy farming area, with a long history of cheddar cheese production, continued at Béal Organic Cheese. Many of the cheddars particular to this region have a unique characteristic of developing a blue vein in the maturation process attributed to a combination of the production process and climatic impact. This unique regional trait presents in many of Béal Organic Cheeses.

Kate Carmody has grown production at Béal Organic Cheese to a level to satisfy the local market. Over time, operations moved from a converted out-house on the farm to a local co-operative facility. The company gained organic status in 2000. In addition, Béal Organic Cheese has developed pasteurised versions of the cheese to satisfy market demand.

The next step is to further build production levels and address challenges such as production facilities, cheese cutting and packaging for the international market.

In Autumn 2012, Kate Carmody put Béal Organic Cheese forward for the TRADEIT EU initiative and was selected to take part. Following the launch of TRADEIT in November 2013, Béal Organic Cheese is fully engaged in the initiative to avail of knowledge sharing, entrepreneurial training and technology transfer, supporting innovation both at the artisan food company and significantly, in relation to small agri-food production in peripheral regions.

According to Kate Carmody: “TRADEIT has huge relevance. At its core is the traditional food producing sector and our right as consumers to eat proper food with the highest nutritional value. TRADEIT looks at ways of overcoming the hurdles that small food producers have encountered, to get to a stage of production that gives economic viability and sustainable jobs and communities.”

She continues: “We need balance in the Agri-food sector whereby small agri-food SME’s are as well resourced as larger companies, securing access for consumers to good food Europe-wide. Access to labour for small businesses or farms through dedicated jobs programmes and cooperatives are key areas to explore.”

Challenges facing small artisan food producers

A big challenge for small food producers is the move from farm production to SME level and the associated costs for day-to-day operations, transport, packaging etc. Increased production through the contracting of services has brought its own challenges for Béal Organic Cheese whereby it becomes difficult for the small food producer to maintain control of the process.

Waste is also an issue. In negotiating deals with cheese-cutting facilities, the problem of waste arose. Kate highlights the difficulties faced dealing with handmade cheese without the availability of resources to innovate and identify process upgrades.

Capital investment brings another challenge. In order to attract capital investment, access to innovation and resources are required.

“Many small food producers are peripheral in nature, far away from main markets, and distribution systems. A community support framework is crucial in this sector,” comments Kate.

She continues: “Ireland must define its food culture and highlight what are our traditional foods and how do we help them grow. Traditional food producers are a good starting point, embracing the diversity that is at the heart of the sector.”

Kate Carmody experienced a setback in 2011 when she became ill. Cash flow became an issue and two investors, secured through Irish television series Dragon’s Den, pulled back from Béal Organic Cheese. The company also lost its co-operative production facility. A new agreement is now in place with a local co-operative, on the back of an updated business plan. Once again on track, more traditional Béal Organic Cheese cheeses are coming to market next month.

Kate’s advice to artisan food producers is two-fold. Perseverance is essential in terms of overcoming obstacles. In one case, following her decision to make raw milk cheese, Kate took on the license request directly herself and the situation was resolved within three hours. She made the raw milk cheese the following day.

Secondly, and specifically to such small agri-food producers in peripheral areas, Kate advises: “To develop the sector, it has to be about cooperation, creating a synergy among traditional food producers and generating new opportunities. We have to support our rural communities.”

TRADEIT is determined to open up opportunities in the traditional food sector by addressing the very unique challenges faced.

Collaboration, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Knowledge and Technology

The collaborative approach of TRADEIT with the establishment of a Pan-European network of agri-food SME’s and 9 TRADEIT hubs, resonates very much with Kate. She is looking forward to sharing her experiences with other traditional food producers, from the failures typical on any entrepreneurial journey to the specific obstacles faced as an artisan food producer and ideas generation. She will share with a network of producers and key stakeholders from the UK, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Poland and Finland, particularly those in peripheral regions, ultimately to drive her business and grow the sector.

One of the ideas that Kate would like to explore as part of the TRADEIT initiative, echoing TRADEIT’s regional hub structure, is the creation of traditional food hubs to facilitate and grow both small artisan businesses and larger scale ones.

Traditional food produce holds an important place in the cultural heritage of each EU member state and represents critical economic input to many regions as a growing segment in the EU food market, making a strong case for supporting the traditional food sector. TRADEIT aims to enable traditional food producers, supporting rural communities and creating sustainable jobs with a positive socio-economic impact.

Kate Carmody concludes: “TRADEIT allows the creation of a middle agricultural model. This is a sustainable model where access to technological innovations, food research, process upgrading and research co-operation helps to keep small food producers in the market-place and drives growth. From a socio-economic point of view, this is crucial.”

Dr Helena McMahon, TRADEIT lead, Shannon ABC, IT Tralee, comments: “We value the participation of Kate Carmody of Béal Organic Cheese in the TRADEIT programme. Kate is a true entrepreneur and an artisan food producer faced with the kind of issues that TRADEIT aims to tackle and help overcome. Many Traditional, Craft and Artisan Food producing SMEs do not have the resources or capability for research and innovation, absorption of emerging technologies or opportunities to participate in collaborative projects with universities or research centres.”