Aidan Connolly

I have worked with more than over a dozen start-ups and have evaluated hundreds more. From sticky sales to fishing expeditions, here are nine things I have learned along the way.

Technological change in agriculture and food may have to adapt to shifting consumer priorities after Covid-19, but the pace of innovation remains unabated. Here is a look at six big ideas – and one possible spoiler.

The Covid-19 virus has challenged orthodoxy in the most brutal way possible – and agri-business has been heavily impacted. However, one of Ireland’s indigenous business success stories, the Kerry Group, has provided a masterclass in running a food business in a time of crisis.

The Covid-19 shutdown has opened up a lot of new possibilities for the way companies operate and engage with both customers and staff. After all, humans can and do respond to crises by building new mental muscles that they didn’t know they had.

From trade wards to the "starbuckification" of food retail, Aidan Connolly foresees disruption and opportunities in the year(s) ahead – with Irish farmers and food processors showing disparate levels of readiness in the face of upcoming challenges.

Ag-tech entrepreneur Aidan Connolly looks to the Irish start-up scene for answers to the questions facing cattle farming and beef processing.