Ready to Grow Beyond Ireland

The Export Sales and Technical Development Programme for Food & Drink Companies helps ambitious food & drink companies to generate more leads, sales, and revenue through structured export training, expert mentoring, and direct access to international buyers.

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1+
Years Trading

€100,000
Minimum Turnover

Open to All LEO Food
& Drink Clients

10+
Countries

Overview

The Export Sales and Technical Development Programme for Food & Drink Companies is tailored for Food and Drink SMEs that are already trading successfully and have the resources and ambition to scale into international markets. It takes participants on a structured, market-led journey — from assessing export readiness and carrying out market research, to developing Export Development Plans and securing their first international leads.

Through a mix of workshops, one-to-one mentoring, and access to qualified leads, the programme builds the skills and strategies needed for exporting while addressing challenges such as compliance, logistics, pricing, and distribution. Participants are also connected to state supports and funding. Ultimately, the programme enables businesses to diversify beyond the domestic market and strengthen their competitiveness through export-led growth.

Programme Objectives

Export Readiness

Assess export readiness, market potential, and capability gaps using structured diagnostics.

Market Research

Teach effective market research techniques, including competitor mapping, pricing,distribution, and compliance.

Growth Planning

Develop tailored Export Development Plans with route-to-market strategy, sales,marketing, and projections.

Funding Guidance

Provide guidance on funding options and state supports. Strengthen sales, digital marketing, and lead generation skills.

Sales Boost

Deliver 10–15 qualified leads per participant during one-to-one mentoring.

Export Growth

Teach effective market research techniques, including competitor mapping, pricing, distribution, regulatory and customs compliance.

Tonstix founders

Programme Format

Workshops

3 interactive half-day workshops covering export readiness, market research & strategy,sales development, funding, guest speakers and lead generation best practices.

Mentoring sessions

3 individual mentoring sessions (3 hours each), tailored to company sector and target markets. Includes personalised lead delivery and finalisation of the Export Development Plan.

Practical resources

Practical resources after each workshop: readiness checklists, market research guides,templates, and funding reference materials.

Follow-up

Follow-up touchpoint 2–3 weeks post-programme to review progress and agree next steps.

In order to qualify for the LEO Market Explorer Grant, companies must

  • Have completed Export Accelerator OR
  • Similar LEO Exporter Programme OR
  • Have developed an internationalisation plan

The amount of the grant is to a maximum of €10,000 or 50% of eligible costs

Please note this is for LEO Client Food & Drink SMEs

At the information seminar, the Yvonne Scully & Associates team will tell you more about how the Programme works and answer any questions that you may have.

Meet Our Presenters

Portrait of Yvonne Scully

Yvonne Scully

Lead Consultant

Yvonne Scully is a Business Consultant and Food Entrepreneur based in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin. With a background in Finance and Investment Banking, she supports high-potential food and drink start-ups and SMEs, specialising in export development and internationalisation.

She has delivered Export Development Plans, international strategies, and trade missions across Ireland and Northern Ireland, linking producers with global retail and foodservice buyers. As a member of Enterprise Ireland’s Strategic Consultancy and Mentoring Panels, she has helped over 40 companies scale, secure funding, and enter new markets.

Yvonne also works with InterTradeIreland and Local Enterprise Offices, delivering cross-border export programmes and workshops. As founder of Bia Kid Ltd an Enterprise Ireland HPSU. she brings valuable first-hand entrepreneurial experience.

Her expertise covers export strategy, sales and marketing, investor readiness, and financial forecasting. Passionate about international growth, Yvonne helps food businesses scale with confidence and impact.

Portrait of Alison Cummins

Alison Cummins

Lead Consultant

Alison Cummins is a Business Consultant, Food Entrepreneur, and Process Engineer with deep expertise in food innovation, export growth, and strategic business development. She holds a B.Eng. (Hons) in Process Engineering, a BSc (Hons) in Food Science and Technology, and an MSc (Hons) in Food Business and Technology.

Alison built and scaled her own globally exporting food business as a High Potential Start-Up (HPSU) client of Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia. She now supports companies across the food and manufacturing sectors to improve performance, implement systems, achieve regulatory compliance, and access new markets.

With a client base ranging from local SMEs to multinational foodservice companies, Alison has equipped factories to world-class standards and helped numerous businesses scale, export, and innovate. She is a trusted advisor to Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland, and Local Enterprise Offices nationwide.

Alison also lectures on TU Dublin’s Food Business MSc (Level 9) and delivers advanced training with the Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre of Excellence (AMTCE). Passionate about innovation-led growth, she brings a strong results focus and proven commercial insight to every client engagement.

Our Customer Feedback

Don’t take our word for it. Trust our customers.

Snugabugz logo

Dervla Arthurs

CEO Snugabugz

Working with Alison Cummins on developing the Snugabugz export plan was an invaluable experience. She is extremely knowledgeable and brought a wealth of insight to the process. Having run her own business, Alison really understands the challenges small businesses face and this made her guidance both practical and relevant. She provided a clear, concise and actionable export plan that has given us real direction and confidence moving forward. I would highly recommend Alison to any business looking to grow internationally’

Spear & Arrow

Lynette McHendry

Founder and Director

We had the privilege of working with Alison Cummings on the development of Spear & Arrow’s Export Marketing Strategy. Alison brought exceptional expertise, structure, and clarity to the process, delivering a comprehensive strategy that was both visionary and practical. Her ability to analyse complex market opportunities—across Ireland, the UK, the EU and translate them into actionable sales, marketing, and operational plans has given us a clear roadmap for sustainable international growth. The strategy she produced not only reflects a deep understanding of our brand values and industry trends, but also provides measurable KPIs and export-focused solutions that will support us for years to come. Alison’s professionalism, attention to detail, and commitment to delivering excellence made her a pleasure to work with. We would highly recommend her to any business seeking to expand into new markets with confidence and clarity

Cloud Picker Coffee

Dustin Khan

Founder and Director, Cloud Picker Coffee

Before working with Yvonne, we had an ambition to expand our international footprint and become more strategic in our actions, but lacked a clear roadmap and structure for how to do it effectively and efficiently. After the Export Development Plan, we had a well-defined strategy that broke down the opportunities by market, gave us confidence in our priorities, and highlighted the practical steps we needed to take to grow in a stable fashion. As a result, we’re now moving forward with clarity, targeting the right markets with a much stronger chance of success in the near future

Honestly

Joe Gould

CEO Honestly t/a 6 Pack Snacks 

Working with Alison Cummins at AC Insights has been a huge help for Honestly.ie. Her expertise and guidance were invaluable in getting our shelf life and processes right. This was a very complicated and stressful part of the business for us to navigate but thanks to Alison’s support, we now have full confidence in our products reaching customers at their best quality and with a longer shelf life without compromising our natural ingredients list. I’d highly recommend her to any food business looking for clear, professional insights and reliable results.

Register Your Interest

Don’t miss the chance to join Ireland’s leading export programme for food companies. Limited spaces available!