Kildare strikes five golds at national food awards

Bord Bia has recognised 136 Irish food and drink companies for their sustainability performance in 2025 with Origin Green Gold Membership in the Kilashee Hotel this week, five of which came from Kildare.

These are Rye River Brewing Company in Celbridge, Coghlans Bakery and Ashbourne Meat Processors in Naas, Ballymooney Foods and Wild Irish Game in Clane, and O'Brien Fine Foods in Timahoe.

Gold Membership is awarded to Origin Green verified companies if they make significant improvements in their sustainability target areas. Target areas can include raw material sourcing, water and energy efficiency, emissions, waste reductions, packaging, and social sustainability.

This year’s 136 Gold Membership companies come from 26 counties across Ireland and represent sectors including dairy, meat, seafood and aquaculture, grocery, bakery and confectionary, beverages, and horticulture.

Just over three-quarters of the overall Gold Member companies are small or medium-sized enterprises, while one quarter are large firms, and this year, 17 per cent of the companies were first time recipients of Gold Membership.

“Every year, Origin Green raises the threshold to meet Gold Membership status in order to help drive continuous change and improvement across the Irish food sector,” said Martin Hofler, Senior Sustainability Manager, Origin Green at Bord Bia.

“By formally acknowledging the efforts and performance of these 136 outstanding food and drink companies, we are not just rewarding sustainability, but also fundamental business changes and improvements that will be a key driver to their long-term success. 

"We’re also very conscious that these annual awards inspire other companies to make their own changes".