The Bord Bia delegation met with the Liquor Control Board Ontario (LCBO) to renew key partnerships. Headquartered in Toronto, LCBO is the government enterprise responsible for the purchase, distribution, and retail of beverage alcohol in Ontario. LCBO CEO Aaron Campbell was in attendance along with John Summers, Chief Retail Officer, and Alanna Bailey, Senior Director, Spirits.

Bord Bia was delighted to highlight the recent opportunities to promote the Irish drinks category within LCBO, particularly in Toronto and Ottawa, through Bord Bia’s ‘Spirit of Ireland’ programme. LCBO remains the single biggest customer for the Irish drinks industry and Irish drinks exports to Canada continue to grow increasing by 3.2% year-on-year (2024–2025), reaching over €90 million, equivalent to almost CAD $144 million.

One of the leading companies in Agriculture and Food Technology, SGV Ventures, welcomed Bord Bia and Ambassador Concannon to a meeting with John Cassidy, Managing Director of Canada at SVG Ventures. Known for their top-ranked THRIVE Canada Accelerator program, SVG Ventures primarily operates in tandem with technology and agriculture/food, addressing challenges related to climate change and food security. In particular, THRIVE Canada Accelerator supports late Seed to Series A agri-food and climate tech companies developing solutions for a more efficient and sustainable future; they play a major role in delivering support with Farm Credit Canada (FCC/FAC), a founding partner of THRIVE’s Canadian operations.

The delegation met with Sobeys Senior VP Merchandising, Sourcing and Liquor, Liam Sobey, and Promise Gluten Free’s Canada Manager, Mohamed Safieddine. Sobeys is Canada’s second-largest grocery retailer, with an estimated 20–25% market share and generating approximately CAD $30 billion in annual revenue.

Promise Gluten Free is a premium Irish bakery brand manufactured in Ardara, Co. Donegal, with over 50 years of family baking heritage from the Gallagher family. The Promise GF brand was developed in 2018 and launched into the Irish market in April 2019, thereafter expanding to the UK and Canada. Bord Bia was delighted to engage with Sobeys and underline the importance of Ireland’s role in the Canadian market as well as how Food Vision Ireland 2030 aligns well with Sobeys’ sustainability priorities by promoting a climate-smart, transparent, and high-quality food system.

Since its national launch with Sobeys in 2019, Promise Gluten Free has achieved rapid scale across Canada, with a 36% market share and +34% growth in 2025. Now distributed across all major grocery banners, the brand’s success demonstrates the potential for Irish exporters to compete and lead in premium, health-driven categories in North America. Sobeys’ scale, national reach, and experience working with international suppliers have been key to enabling the growth of brands such as Promise Gluten Free in the Canadian market.

As part of their visit, the Delegation went to George Brown College, where they met with Eoghan Banks, the Senior Manager of the Faculty of Business, Creative Industries and Culinary Arts. Eoghan gave the delegation a tour of the College, including the “Chefs’ House” the only student-run, fine dining restaurant in downtown Toronto, employing students from the hospitality and culinary arts programs.

The final element of the market visit was a meeting with CEPE International Ltd, a Canada-based food import and distribution company, operating primarily out of Ontario and servicing the Greater Toronto Area. CEPE International Ltd.’s founder, David Navaratnarajah, was present to continue their partnership and engagement with Irish suppliers, and for their role in supporting Irish beef and lamb in the Canadian market. More specifically, Irish lamb represents approximately 70% of CEPE’s total lamb business, with the remaining 30% sourced from Australia, highlighting the strength and competitiveness of Irish product within CEPE’s portfolio.

CEPE has also recently supported the launch of Irish Wagyu beef in Canada in partnership with Dawn Meats, representing the only Irish Wagyu product currently available in the North America. Introduced this year, the product is positioned at the premium end, competing with established Wagyu offerings in the market.

A huge thank you to the Bord Bia team for the successful visit, consisting of Shane Hamill, Director of GBD, Henry Horkan, North America Director and Christine Farrell, Market Specialist North America, for coming out to Canada, as well as to Grainne Roughan, Agriculture Attaché at the Irish Embassy in Washington, for all her hard work on the programme.