Food Entrepreneurs Invited To Join TRADEIT Marketplace With More Than 1,100 Small And Medium Sized (SME) Food Producers And Technology Providers Across Europe

Tralee, Ireland /PRNewswire/ -- TRADEIT, the food producer support network, is inviting food entrepreneurs to join more than 1,100 small and medium sized food producers and technology providers across 20 countries in the TRADEIT Marketplace marketplace.tradeitnetwork.eu. The TRADEIT Marketplace is an online hub created to facilitate collaboration and communication among small and medium sized food producers addressing the need for access to new developments, technologies and markets for a core group in the food sector.

The TRADEIT Marketplace has to date facilitated real progress and innovation. Success stories include traditional bakeries in Portugal and Germany sourcing equipment and linking with researchers to develop new food products, Irish meat producers sourcing best practice from Spain on technologies for raw-cured meat processing and in Poland, shepherds are making huge advances implementing new generation technology components in the production of Oscypek cheese, traditionally manufactured in huts in the Polish Tatra Mountains.

Although the food sector is the largest manufacturing sector and employer in Europe, it is also highly fragmented. More than 70 per cent of 400,000 plus food producing SMEs in Europe have less than 10 employees, responsible for 49.6 per cent of total turnover and 63.3 per cent of employment in the food and drinks industry. TRADEIT identified the need among SME food producers for a network providing access to innovations, technologies and markets.

Dr. Helena McMahon, TRADEIT Co-ordinator comments, "TRADEIT has created an online food business innovation community that provides access to technologies, processes, partnerships and new markets across Europe, generating up to 500 live business opportunities every week. The geographical spread is a huge benefit as it removes the inhibitor of competition to create an open marketplace enabling businesses to grow."

The TRADEIT Marketplace is an initiative of the EU funded TRADEIT Network led by the Institute of Technology Tralee via 9 European hubs. For further information email: info@tradeitnetwork.eu or tweet @TRADEITFoodNet

About TRADEIT

TRADEIT is a multidisciplinary, multi-sectorial collaborative project supporting a network of stakeholders in Small and Medium Sized (SME) and Traditional Food Production in the areas of Collaboration, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Knowledge and Technology with the aim to increase the competiveness and inter-regional advantage of participating Traditional and Artisan Food Producing SMEs.