Overview
Two native Irish food and drink brands, Harrys Nut Butter and Sugar Plum Sweetery, have been announced as the joint winners of the 2026 Taste of TV fund, a partnership between Sky Media and industry body Love Irish Food. Each company will receive an advertising package valued at €50,000 that covers the production of a television commercial and a fully funded TV campaign across Sky Media inventory. The campaigns are scheduled to run later in 2026. (Source: AdWorld, https://www.adworld.ie/2026/09/11/harrys-nut-butter-and-sugar-plum-sweetery-win-e50k-sky-media-taste-of-tv-fund/)
What the package delivers
Each winner receives a turn-key advertising solution: creative development and production of a professional 30 or 40 second TV commercial, plus paid airtime on Sky Media channels. For emerging SMEs that typically depend on social and in-store marketing, access to broadcast-quality production and premium television distribution represents a material uplift in scale and polish – advantages that can accelerate brand-awareness in domestic and cross-border markets.
The initiative is run by Sky Media (https://www.skymedia.ie) in collaboration with Love Irish Food (https://www.loveirishfood.ie), the membership organisation that advocates for and promotes homegrown food and drink producers. This is the second annual Taste of TV fund and it has been doubled in size from year one by selecting two winners in 2026.
Profiles of the winners
Harrys Nut Butter, founded by Harry Colley, specialises in artisanal nut butter products that have built traction in grocery and specialist retail channels. Sugar Plum Sweetery, co-founded by Denise Buckley and David Quirke, operates in the confectionery and bakeware space with a focus on premium small-batch goods. Both businesses are members of Love Irish Food and represent the sort of grassroots Irish producers the fund aims to support.
Why this matters for Irish SMEs
Television remains one of the most efficient channels for mass reach and trust-building. For small brands, the combination of creative production and guaranteed airtime can deliver immediate increases in reach that are hard to replicate with modest digital budgets alone. The scheme recognises that craft producers often lack the capital or expertise to produce broadcast-standard creative and to buy premium media slots.
That said, public and private stakeholders should insist on accountability. Sky Media and Love Irish Food must publish post-campaign performance metrics – reach, frequency, uplift in sales or distribution listings – so that the sector learns what works and the fund can be refined. If €50,000 per brand yields a demonstrable, scalable return, this model could be copied or expanded; if it delivers little long-term lift, organisers should revisit targeting and measurement.
A critical, practical view
This kind of private-sector support is welcome, but it is not a substitute for systematic investment in scaling capabilities across the sector. The right-leaning view is that the market should reward effective brands, but smaller producers need better access to commercial mentorship, export channels and retail partnerships in addition to single-shot media boosts. Transparency about selection criteria would also be valuable – clarity on how winners are chosen will reduce the appearance of favouritism and help other firms decide whether to invest in similar campaigns.
What to watch for next
– Creative execution: will the commercials lean into Irish provenance or play to broader lifestyle and health trends?
– Media effectiveness: expect Sky Media and Love Irish Food to report reach and engagement numbers; these will determine whether the model is repeated or scaled.
– Follow-on support: whether winners receive retail activation, PR or digital amplification alongside TV will be decisive for long-term impact.
Conclusion
The Taste of TV fund is a pragmatic example of how media owners and sector bodies can partner to give homegrown brands access to resources they rarely afford. If Sky Media and Love Irish Food deliver transparent post-campaign results and winners translate awareness into distribution and sales, the initiative could become a valuable template for private-sector led growth in the Irish food and drink sector. For further details, see the original coverage on AdWorld. (Source: AdWorld, https://www.adworld.ie/2026/09/11/harrys-nut-butter-and-sugar-plum-sweetery-win-e50k-sky-media-taste-of-tv-fund/)
