MEET ANNIE
I help food businesses deliver exceptional new products
that create a meaningful impact in the world of food.
HI, I'M ANNIE
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Founder of the art of GRATE Food, a business dedicated to delivering new products that create a meaningful impact in the world of food. I have an inherent love of food, so much so that I have dedicated my lifelong career to it. Having grown up on a farm in Cavan in Ireland, my heritage is deeply rooted in natural food and I am a big advocate of eating well to live longer. To me, food really is my medicine.
MY HISTORY
I pursued a career in food from an early age. Following a masters degree in food business obtained at University College Cork, I went on to spend 20 years in both food manufacturing and retail, with Kerry Foods and Superquinn and the latter 10 years leading the product development team, for the world-renowned food halls at Harrods in London.
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I have an eye for developing new products and concepts. To me, food has to have meaning and significance, and it is finding a niche in the market for these foods that motivates me and gives me pure joy.
SUSTAINABLE APPROACH
Being as sustainable a business as I can be is very important to me. Every little change can deliver a small difference. and all together it can have a great impact. Here's just some of the things I do for my business to minimise my impact on the climate.
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Remote working means I do much of my meetings on-line, and so I travel much less than I once needed to.
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All packaging used for samples & products are re-used where possible. I throw out nothing!
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My website is cleaner than 59% of web pages tested according to www.websitecarbon.com.
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When travelling to clients, I ensure we are getting the most from those face to face meetings, minimising frequency, and where possible, I use public transport to get there.
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I avoid printing (unless necessary) In actual fact, my printer was out of service for almost three months, and it really refocused me on not printing unless really critical
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I am constantly building my knowledge surronding the topic of Climate change and the impact the food industry is having on this.
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I have a whole section dedicated to "sustainability" in my monthly newsletter, sharing tips & examples of brands & producers that are tackling the issue
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My website is designed to be super efficient to help avoid energy use.
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