There are a handful of logos that are instantly recognisable, and the iconic symbol of Guaranteed Irish is one of those few. Founded in 1974, it has evolved from its roots as a small but energetic campaign to promote locally produced goods to a business membership network of over 2,000 businesses with Irish roots - from homegrown start-ups to multinational firms - serving the global economy.
Brid O’Connell, CEO of Guaranteed Irish, says the iconic symbol has “come of age” and now denotes products and businesses that support local communities, local jobs, and local provenance in a sustainable manner. This strongly aligns with consumer sentiment at the moment, she says. “More than ever there is an enhanced focus on supporting the local community and the local economy, with sustainability at the forefront.”
To become a licensed member, businesses must go through a robust due diligence process to ensure they meet and reach the stringent criteria of providing jobs, supporting the local community, and showing provenance in a sustainable manner that Guaranteed Irish demand. Guaranteed Irish is unlike any other national organisation,” O’Connell says. “It is the only organisation that represents the iconic national symbol of trust.”
And the importance of trust has never been more pronounced. “The trust factor in business has skyrocketed,” O’Connell says. “It is no longer a ‘nice to have’ association, it is now pretty critical in terms of doing business in Ireland and globally. Even if you are exporting, the reality is that people only want to buy from companies and countries that they trust.”
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The pandemic also served to emphasise the importance of buying Irish; indeed, people became hyper aware of buying local, keen to help the economy bounce back, O’Connell notes. Every €20 spent on a Guaranteed Irish brand is worth €100 to the local economy, she adds.
The Guaranteed Irish symbol has a 92 per cent recognition rate and O’Connell says this recognition is evident even in younger age groups. “They know it means this is a brand that shows value and trust associated with it,” she says. “The next generation are really determined to right the wrongs of the older generations and the message of sustainability is really resonating with them, so they know if they buy local they are supporting the local economy and community but are also indirectly reducing their carbon footprint.”
‘Being a member fully endorses us as a genuinely Irish company with a strong interest in the local communities of our 13 stores.’
The inaugural Guaranteed Irish Business Awards took place earlier this year. “The goal of the Awards was to recognise and reward the effort that their members put into meeting the criteria that the organisation requires,” explains O’Connell.
“We wanted to have an awards ceremony that would celebrate businesses who exemplified our three criteria of jobs, community and provenance in a sustainable way, and rewards members in each of our categories, from pharmaceutical to retail to construction and others.”
Kingscourt Brick won the best indigenous company award in the construction, engineering and manufacturing category. “The criteria for achieving the award was pretty robust and we were only new to the process but as we began to put it down in writing we realised how many of those boxes we just naturally ticked,” explains Ray Glennon, their General Manager.
Becoming a member of Guaranteed Irish was extremely important for Kingscourt Brick, he says. “Our business is over 125 years old and has been embedded in the local community in Cavan since its inception. Our membership of Guaranteed Irish gave the team recognition of our drive towards sustainability and the effort that goes into that,” he explains. “The business puts a lot into the region, employment, and our suppliers. The Guaranteed Irish symbol is a familiar stamp that runs through every Irish company that we all know and love, and there is huge pride in seeing our product gain that recognition also.”
Clonakilty Food Co. was awarded best food supplier in the food and beverage category.
Colette Twomey, one of the founding family, notes that while the company has grown and expanded over the years, it remains “uniquely Irish.”
Twomey still mixes the spice for the famous black pudding herself. “People have a certain amount of trust in the ingredients, it hasn’t changed, it hasn’t varied, or we haven’t substituted anything. “The sense of provenance is very important for people, they want to know where their food comes from and they want to see the family behind the food,” she says.
Clonakilty Food Co. has moved on from simply producing black pudding, now offering an entire range of products (a growing number of which are vegetarian). The family have also opened a visitor centre located alongside their manufacturing facility in Clonakilty and in recent years published a cookbook containing recipes from well-known chefs such as Clodagh McKenna.
Becoming a member of Guaranteed Irish was a no-brainer, Twomey says. “It has the same ethos, and we have always been very synchronised with their values. We retain the ethos of a small local family-run company that just happened to get bigger.”
‘Every €20 spent on a Guaranteed Irish brand is worth €100 to the local economy’
Buying local was one of the positives that came out of the pandemic as everyone tried to play their part in getting the economy back on track, says Helen O’Dwyer, retail director of Blarney Woollen Mills, which was awarded best Irish visitor experience attracting a global market in the tourism and hospitality category.
Blarney Woollen Mills was thrilled to become a member of such a unique organisation, she says. “It’s like joining a family. Guaranteed Irish is in business almost as long as the Blarney Woollen group is in business so there is a natural affiliation there.” This organic association has paid dividends for Blarney, who O’Dwyer says benefited from the strong social media push around their membership. “There was great, very strong content and really helped people learn more about us.”
Blarney Woollen Mills are “wearing the symbol with pride”, O’Dwyer says. “It is a privilege to have the symbol in our stores in our windows. It fully endorses us as a business who is genuinely an Irish company with a strong interest in the local communities our 13 stores are in. To have that seal of endorsement is invaluable and winning the award itself was the icing on the proverbial cake.”
Joanna Gardiner is CEO of Gardiner Family Apothecary, which manufactures the Elave and Ovelle skincare brands, and was a winner in the home, beauty, and lifestyle category. Gardiner says she saw their membership of Guaranteed Irish as a “natural fit”. Gardiner Family Apothecary was founded by her grandfather in Dundalk in 1934 and their brands are still manufactured in the town.
“Where we align with Guaranteed Irish is not only with our production, but also that we are very committed to our community in Dundalk. We have a loyal local staff, and we are committed to them too,” Gardiner explains.
The company’s commitment to the environment and sustainability “turned out to be a gift in terms of fighting back margin erosion”, Gardiner adds. She says it is “fantastic” to see Guaranteed Irish evolve. “Everyone is beginning to value the local economy more than they ever did before. It’s a force in how we consume now and the quality of Irish products and the innovation behind them is world class.”
Entries are now open for the Guaranteed Irish Business Awards 2023, proudly supported by Permanent TSB. The event, which will be MCed by popular business broadcaster Anton Savage, will take place at an awards luncheon in The Shelbourne Hotel on Tuesday 14th March 2023. For a full list of categories please visit guaranteedirish.ie/business-awards