Geographical Indication boosting Food and Tourism sectors in Northern areas

Programme 2021 - 2027 Interreg VI-B Northern Periphery and Arctic

Date of latest update: 2025-09-24

Description

Description (EN):

The operating environment is challenging for food and handicraft micro, small and medium sized enterprises in NPA area due to e.g. long distance to customers, low visibility in the markets outside the local area and challenges in obtaining an adequate price for quality products. EU’s quality scheme of geographical indication (GI) could offer some solutions to these problems. It protects the names of specific products (food and non-food), promotes their uniqueness, enables a better price (e.g. the research has shown that the price can be double than similar food products) and links the products to their geographical origin, thus safeguarding the local production. With GI products the local tourism SMEs can also highlight better their local or regional specificity. In addition, GI products bring local traditional knowledge visible. Despite these several advantages of GI recognition found in studies, the GI system, it’s PR value as well as existing marketing support tools (e.g. marketing funds granted by granted by European Research Executive Agency, REA, for developing marketing of GI protected products) are largely underutilized in the NPA area compared to other parts of Europe. For example, in Italy and Spain alone there are 1306 GI products, while in whole NPA area countries there are only 141. This preparatory project contributes to the competitiveness and visibility of local food, handicraft and tourism SMEs in NPA area, promotes their co-operation as well as contributes to wider visibility and recognition of the whole NPA geographical area by developing a main project proposal focusing on enhancing the use of EUs GI system and tools associated to it. The novel approach is to create a cross-border co-operation to support the producers in the NPA region to apply for geographical indication (GI) protection for food and non-food products (such as wool or tweed) and further support them as well as local tourism companies to utilize the GI in their marketing. For several products (e.g. wild bilberry or lingonberry) it is economically and marketing wise sensible to make cross-border GI applications instead of local ones. As only a group of applicants can apply for GI, not an individual company/producer, the application process links together both SMEs and administration at local, regional or cross-border level providing new network approaches. Thus, the idea is to use GI application processes to support cooperation, transfer of knowledge and create and support innovation in and between food, local handicraft production and tourism sectors. In this preparatory project the potential of new GI products in NPA area are identified and the relevant stakeholders related to them engaged to the project planning process. Furthermore, the relevant stakeholders in innovating the utilization of GI-products in tourism and marketing are involved. Thus, the objectives of the preparatory project are: identify additional key partners and associated partners for developing the project idea further; map out the potential future GI products, create a project plan and relevant activities for enhancing the use of GI system in NPA area; create a cost-effective budget and secure the match funding from participating countries and submit a main application at spring 2024. The main beneficiaries of the main project would be SMEs, business support organisations and local administration. As a foreseen outputs from the main project are: new GI applications, new knowledge and networks, which all generate competitive advantage and more visibility to the products and area. This preparatory project brings together 3 partners from different types of actors: University of Helsinki Ruralia Institute, Finland (GI-products, rural tourism and regional/rural development expertise, acts as a lead partner), Icelandic Lamb, Iceland (the viewpoint of SMEs) and Enterprise office of Donegal County Council, Ireland (the viewpoint of local business support organisation). The partnership will be complemented during the preparatory project aiming to have a wide partnership including more partners as well as associate partners from countries already participating in, and from at least Sweden and Norway and possibly from Greenland.

Actual Achievements (EN):

The main aim of the prep proj was the create a main project application for the next NPA call. The prep. proj. partnership has met regularly during the project online approx. once a month (15.12.2024, 11.1.2024, 26.2.2024, 19.4.2024, 16.5.2024 ) and had one face to face meeting in Ireland on 20.-22.3.2024 to develop the application. In addition active e-mail communication has been conducted. During the meetings and between them the following activities have been carried out: 1) Developing the project idea: the partners have discussed on the project, it’s structure, activities and jointly planned the application draft included as an annex 5. The WP leaders (WP1: Ruralia, WP2: LEO-DCC; WP3: ICLA) created the first idea paper of each WP and the whole partnership joined in the detailed planning process. In addition, the activities and project structure has been discussed with new potential partners joining the project in bilateral online meetings as well as by e-mail to find a suitable role for all partners based on their local needs. The whole partnership will also had an online meeting on 1st of July to finalise the plans. In addition, during the planning process, the relevance of the project’s objectives and activities has been discussed with the stakeholders in all countries (see the summary of stakeholder evaluations as an annex 3) and modified based on their recommendations and needs. 2) Expanding the partnership: the partners have contacted all the potential new partners proposed by JPS in the prep proj grant letter and beyond that. A summary of the results of the discussions can be found from the Annex 6. For the main project, the partnership consists of 6 main partners from 6 counries (FIN, ICE, IRE, SWE, NOR, Greenland) and 2 associated partners. 3) GI inventory: The idea of the inventory was to map out potential GI products and stakeholders related to them for the main project. Based on the inventory it seems that there is a lot of potential food and non-food products that could benefit from GI approach, application process and the label. Based on the inventory, a “short list” of potential products for the main project’s pilots was made and the preliminary interest of the stakeholders confirmed. The inventory can be found as an Annex 2.. 4) Project budget: all partners have created their preliminary budgets based on jointly agreed activities and NPA rules. The lack of information on the available match funding from different countries for Interreg NPA programme at the time of creating draft application (e.g. NOR) may still cause some changes to the application, which will be submitted in Sep 2024. However, as the partnership is large enough, potential absence of one partner will not compromise the whole application. 5) Feasibility study: based on the previous activities, the feasibility study on the project and potential risks related to it’s implementation were analysed and potential solutions for the risks considered. The feasibility study can be found as annex 4. 6) Compiling the main project application draft based on the previous tasks in the preparatory project. The project has also been communicated on it’s activities and purpose within stakeholders in several national meetings and online discussions including the combined project/NPA logo in all the materials. An A3 poster has been published on the project and posted in visible place in partner organisations. In addition, information on the project has been published in the web pages of the partners https://www.icelandiclamb.is/blogs/geographical-indication-boosting-food-and-tourism-sectors-in-northern-areas-prepatory-project/ ; https://researchportal.helsinki.fi/fi/projects/geographical-indication-boosting-food-and-tourism-sectors-in-nort and a joint ppt-presentation of the project idea has been made. The project has had it’s own MS Teams workspace for partnership’s use. At the beginning of the prep proj, the partnership contracts were made between the partners (ICLA and LEO-DCC) and the lead partner (Ruralia). The prep. proj has been reported according to the guidance from NPA programme both to Interreg NPA and to the national match funders.

Thematic information

Clustering and economic cooperation Tourism

Priority: (VI-B_NPaA_1) Strengthening the innovation capacity for resilient and attractive NPA communities

Priority specific objective: RSO1.3. Enhancing sustainable growth and competitiveness of SMEs and job creation in SMEs, including by productive investments

Priority policy objective (Interreg specific objective): PO1 A more competitive and smarter Europe by promoting innovative and smart economic transformation and regional ICT connectivity

Type of intervention: 024 Advanced support services for SMEs and groups of SMEs (including management, marketing and design services)

Partners (3)

Lead Partner: Helsingin yliopisto

Partner’s ID if not PIC: FI 03134717 | 999 994 535 | 000 000 000 (EN)

Department: Ruralia Institute

Address: Lönnrotinkatu , 50100 Mikkeli, Finland

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Higher education and research organisations

Website: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/ruralia-institute

Total budget: EUR 23 000.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 14 950.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 65.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 8 050.00

Oifig Fiontair Aitiuil, Comhairle Contae Dhun na nGall

Name: Oifig Fiontair Aitiuil, Comhairle Contae Dhun na nGall

Department: Local Enterprise Office

Partner’s ID if not PIC: IE8F28103W | 000 000 000 (EN)

Address: Ballyraine, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, F92 VP2T Donegal, Ireland

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Business support organisation

Website: https://www.localenterprise.ie/Donegal/

Total budget: EUR 13 000.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 8 450.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 65.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 4 550.00

Íslenskt lambakjöt

Name: Íslenskt lambakjöt

Department: -

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 103750

Address: Borgartun, PO 105 Reykjavik, Iceland

Legal status: private

Organisation type: Business support organisation

Website: https://www.icelandiclamb.is/

Total budget: EUR 12 992.50

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 8 445.12

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 65.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 4 547.38

Partners map

Partners and Projects info

Local Enterprise Office, Donegal County Council

Geographical Indication boosting Food and Tourism sectors in Northern areas

Partners and Projects info

Icelandic Lamb

Geographical Indication boosting Food and Tourism sectors in Northern areas

Partners and Projects info

University of Helsinki

Geographical Indication boosting Food and Tourism sectors in Northern areas

Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): Geographical Indication boosting Food and Tourism sectors in Northern areas

Project acronym: GIFT-Prep

Project ID: NPA0600148

Project start date: 2023-12-01

Project end date: 2024-05-31

Project status: closed

Relevant linked projects:

Regarded as special 2023-2025; funding Finnish Food Authority (EN) | Supporting new application processes of GI product at grass-root level in Finland; best practices obtained from the project can be used in the main project. (EN), #geographicalindication2025 2020-2022; funding Finnish Food Authority (EN) | Creating communication material for consumers concerning the GI products; examples of good communication methods can be disseminated in the main project. (EN), PROMO 2018-2020; funding Finnish Food Authority (EN) | Creating media material for GI products producing companies and using this knowledge for transnational co-operation. (EN), GI products enhancing the competitivity 2015-2016; funding Finnish Food Authority (EN) | Using the experience of food companies about EU PDO/PGI/TSG quality systems at national level for transnational GI application. (EN), Rural Lifestyle - Creating attractive rural lifestyle tourism destinations 2019-2022; funding Interreg Central Baltic 2014-2020 (EN) | Using the knowledge and networks project accumulated on long distance marketing and on creating an image for rural tourism products. (EN), Responsible cross-border history-based tourism. Gustav III – Sprengtporten – Catherina II (South-East Finland - Russia CBC Programme 2014-2020) (EN) | The experiences of development of sustainable local based tourism products can be used for GIFT project’s activities. (EN)

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 48 992.50

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 23 400.00

Total EU funding (co-financing rate): 65.00%

Co-financing sources:

ERDF: Amount, EUR 23 400.00. Co-financing rate, 65.00%.
Others: Amount, EUR 8 445.12.

Investments, deliverables, policy contributions

(bullets are inserted automatically and may be incorrectly placed)

Deliverables:

List of partners and associate partners to the main project application
Inventory of potential future GI products and their connection to tourism products.
Project activity plan
On-line meeting with stakeholders
Feasibility study
Main project budget
Main project application

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2021 - 2027 Interreg VI-B Northern Periphery and Arctic

Last month that data in keep.eu was retrieved from the Programme's website or received from the Programme

2025-09-24

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

65 / 65 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

310 / 310 (100%)

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Geographical Indication boosting Food and Tourism sectors in Northern areas

Description

Thematic information

Partners (3)

Partners map

Summary

Investments, deliverables, policy contributions

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

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