Artie Clifford: ‘Blas is a symbol of trust’

Podcast Ep 226: Having founded Blas na hÉireann 17 years ago, Artie Clifford talks about the future of Irish food and the importance of educating food entrepreneurs about running sustainable businesses.

Artie Clifford’s voice catches as he gestures towards an award. It’s not a Blas Award, it’s an award that Blas na hÉireann itself has won recently for its Blas Backyard mentoring programme which won the inaugural Best Sharing & Learning Community at the Learning & Development Institute Excellence in Learning Awards.

It says something about the man who has for the past 17 years helped thousands of food and drinks businesses gain recognition for their goods through prestigious Blas awards that he can be humbled by a little recognition himself.

“I’m very proud of Blas. I’m more proud of the producers and the community we’ve created than I am of what we’ve done. The team here are extraordinary, a lot of them come in and give their own time for Blas because they believe in it. But one of the nicest things that’s been said to me in the past six months is the symbol is seen as honest. Honest means trust. Both the producers and consumers trust Blas. That sticker will increase sales overnight.”

The business of trust

Last week in the Kerry town of Dingle a small church yard became home to key figures in the Irish food industry almost in its entirety, from the artisans and the manufacturers to the buyers from retail giants.

Now in its 17th year, Blas na hÉireann saw another strong year from across all categories along with many new producers entering the awards for the first time this year.

During the judging, which took place over June and July, over 3,000 entries were judged. Products from every county in Ireland were entered to win bronze, silver or gold awards in over 170 food and drink categories, as well as key awards like Supreme Champion and Best Artisan Producer.

Rívesci was crowned as Supreme Champion for their Smoked Chilli Oil and Valentia Island Vermouth was announced as Best Artisan Producer. Killadoon Milk from Kildare won ‘Best Start Up’, among a variety of accolades including Gold for Whole Milk, Best in Kildare and Best in Leinster. The full list of winners can be accessed here

Shannon Forrest and Declan Malone, founders of Tipperary-based Rívesci which was crowned as Supreme Champion for its Smoked Chilli Oil. Photo: Allen Kiely Photography

The 3,000 entries across 170 categories dwarfs the first year where in 2007 there were 400 entries. “The fact that it’s a non-profit organisation we are seen as the most honest in terms of the system of judging that we use which was developed by the University of Cork and the University of Copenhagen using blind sensory analysis. In 2010 it was recognised as the global standard and published as a paper. And we’ve always stuck with that.”

A former fisherman, Clifford’s decision to set up Blas came from actual business disappointment. A seafood business he had built up collapsed following the financial crisis and he has always felt that if he had known more about how to run a business it might have survived or things might have turned out differently.

“I sold the business and ended up with nothing. And the reason I ended up with nothing was because I waited too long to sell the business. I thought I could trade out of it. My lack of knowledge of the industry is what closed my business.”

It was this realisation that inspired the Backyard at Blas where producers share their knowledge so they can all thrive.

“It’s fine to be bringing the producers together and educating them, but the responsibility we have is to ensure that the business is sustainable. And that’s where the idea for Backyard came from.”

The name ‘Backyard’ comes from someone in Artie’s circle spotting an open gate in Dingle town and it became the space for the event. “That was our very first one and that was supported by Bank of Ireland and has been ever since.”

He has stuck with his principle that Blas nah Eireann should be a non-profit. “We have a responsibility towards these people; to educate them, to get them ready, to show them out to negotiate with customers, to show them the advantages of social media for promoting their product.”

A key facet of the 2024 Backyard was new product development and bringing in mentors to help educate producers.

“When you get producers into a room they all realise they have similar problems. But more importantly they become a network and they exchange phone numbers and emails. One will say they have a problem and other producers will have been there before and show how they solved it. The solution is always there. And the village here in Dingle where Backyard happens is a hugely important part of what we do to educate them.

“As I said at the beginning, if I had the education that I have now, I probably wouldn’t have failed in business.”

The climate challenge is a major theme for food producers given the increase in raw materials and the increase in energy requirements. “The consumer is looking for a sustainable product and to adapt to that is difficult, challenging and can be pricey which means they have to charge more for their products. You see supermarket prices going up.”

One example of the hike in cost of raw materials that that perhaps TikTok sensation Garran Noone could appreciate is cocoa which has gone from €6 a unit to €13 per unit in six months. “That’s why you see the downsizing of bar sizes, but the increase in the cost.”

Another challenge for the sector is people and staffing. Clifford said that the industry is losing food science graduates to other, more lucratively rewarded industries because of the tight margins.

“But the beauty of working in the industry is the community and lifestyle. I see it here every year in terms of the community and how they support one another. You don’t see that in other industries.”

A silver lining is that often the people that leave the industry end up returning for that community spirit.

The future of Blas he says is all about supporting the producers. “The industry is always growing. The one thing that we as humans have always had to do is eat and drink every day. We’ve been eating three meals a day for thousands of years. We need suppliers for that. We are an agricultural country of farmers, fishermen and growers. They are the core of what our economy is. We need to support the farmers, the fishers, the growers and the producers who buy and use their ingredients.

“So the future in my opinion is extremely bright because of the population on the island. They will always want to by Irish and they will always want to trust where they came from. They see it in their trust in the supplier and their trust is in the accreditation.”

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