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Profile
Title: managing director.
Location: Co Cavan.
Founded: 2013.
Exports: Dubai, Singapore.
Where is the company based?
We are based in Killygarry, Co Cavan, but will be moving to a new facility in Killeshandra within the coming weeks. The new facility will allow production to keep growing. We are aiming to double turnover in the next two years.
Do you manufacture your own products?
We make all of our own products. In 2013 we identified a gap in the market, worked with Musgrave and then launched our first product. We supply our products to over 200 stores across Ireland, as well as exporting to several other markets. We won a World Dairy Innovation Award in 2017 and the National Enterprise Awards Innovation Award in May of this year.
Where do you source your ingredients?
We get most of our dairy products from Lakeland Dairies, with over half a million litres of milk coming from them annually. Irish Yoghurts are another supplier. We stick with Irish suppliers where possible. Our flavours come from flavour houses in Italy.
There was a certain amount of volatility in dairy prices over the last few years but it isn’t an issue at the minute as prices have stabilised. Vanilla also became quite expensive last year so we had to take a hit on it but we didn’t change anything in terms of the ingredients we use.
How many people do you employ?
We currently have a workforce of 10 people. Due to our location in rural Ireland, hiring people with particular qualifications and skills can be an issue. Because of this, retaining skilled staff within the business all year round is important to us.
How seasonal is the ice cream and frozen yoghurt business?
It is a fairly seasonal business. In order to boost sales at slower times of the year we came up with the concept of limited-edition flavours and products. For example, we sell a black vanilla flavour at Halloween, and various other unique products at Christmas, St Patrick’s Day and Easter.
Do you export product?
We started exporting last year. We are currently exporting to Dubai, and Singapore. We will be supplying our Moo’d range of products to a supermarket in Northern Ireland for the first time in July, and we are also planning to export to the mainland UK in the near future. At the moment, Ireland remains our most important market.
What is the biggest challenge facing your business today?
The biggest challenge we are facing at the minute is Brexit. We have a lot of boxes ticked in preparation for Brexit in terms of things like organising European suppliers to replace UK-based suppliers. This year, we are also facing challenges due to the growth of the business.
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