CHIA BIA

Waterford based Chia Bia won the award for Best Export Business. Established by Ray Owens and Barrie Rogers in 2009, the company produce health food products using chia seeds. Ray explains how they reached success.

What do you sell?

“We sell chia seeds and mixes that can be added to smoothies, yogurts and cereals. They can also be used in baking and cooking, as chia can withstand temperatures of up to 180 degrees Celsius. We have recently added energy bars to our range.”

How did you start out?

“Barrie suffered a back injury in America and was recommended chia seeds for their anti-inflammatory properties. They gave him great relief and he wanted to bring them back to Europe.

Barrie was based in the financial industry and didn’t have any experience with food. He approached me as I have worked in the industry for 20 years. He asked me to have a look at chia and see what it can do.

After a bit of research I found out that it is the highest plant source of Omega 3 in the world. It is high in fibre, protein, antioxidants and all the amino acids you require. Once we were able to get it into health food shops the company took off from there.”

When did you know you were onto a good thing?

“As part of our research we gave chia to 30 people with ailments, in Tramore, and the results were really positive. In some cases, we saw a 20% reduction in cholesterol. We were the first company to bring chia to Europe, so I knew we had something very special.”

Where can we find your products?

“We’re in 1,250 outlets in Ireland. You can find us in health food shops, Dunnes Stores, Supervalu, Superquinn and Tesco. We also export to Britain, the Middle East, Canada, America and some parts of Europe.

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What’s next?

“We have developed chia biscuits that are going to be stocked in Tesco from January.

Solaris Botanicals

Solaris Botanicals produce tea and herbal products from its base in Galway. The company, which is run by Jörg Müller and Karin Müller, started trading in 2008 and claimed the prize for Best Start-Up Business. Joerg tells Irish Country Living more about the company.

How did you start out?

“While practising as a medical herbalist I started blending teas, selling them to local coffee shops in Galway, and worked on branding and marketing the company. A lot of work had gone into the business before we officially started trading in 2008.

However, the market wasn’t ready for us and we realised we had to sell outside of Galway and went nationwide. Then we started to export. In the last year, the market has caught up with us and people are becoming more aware of the quality of tea.

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“It was difficult in the beginning because we didn’t get much support from banks and we spent the first few years reinvesting all the money we earned back into the business. The sacrifices were worth it as we now export to Britain, Sweden, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Finland, as well as trading in Ireland.”

What makes you different?

“We are quite innovative in the way we develop blends. We let people personalise their tea, so we can blend according to their needs, and we’ve recently developed a takeaway tea cup for whole leaf tea. Everything is about customisation and personalisation.

At the moment we are working on ready-to-drink green tea with seaweed extract. It’s a product for the Japanese and American markets. We want to add other Irish plants to our products, like elderflower and hawthorn.

Highlight so far?

“Next month we have a meeting with a Chinese group who want to introduce Western style herbal teas into some of their luxury stores. I would be very proud to be able to say we’re selling tea to China!”

Do you have any advice for start-ups?

“Set goals and work towards them. Don’t be discouraged by knockdowns. I think a realistic viewpoint is important, but don’t give up too early. There were several moments when I wondered if it was all worth it, but I believed in the product.

“Use all the mentoring support you can get. The skills development the Enterprise Board provide will help you cope in a tough environment.”

Haven Bay Care Food Ltd

Haven Bay Care Food Ltd was one of eight nominees at the National Enterprise Awards. Established in 2012 by Owen O’Brien, the company sells high quality frozen ready meals under the Kinsale Gourmet brand. Seaweed is used in all their products for its health benefits.

How did you start out?

“The business was an offshoot of my care facility in Kinsale. We were making healthy meals for the elderly residents and decided to make the leap into retail. I did some research in the functional food market, and found out that Benecol put a drop of plant extract into their drink.

“I realised that seaweed would be a good ingredient to incorporate into our products. Sea vegetables have been around for thousands of years, but the consumption of them has skipped a generation, despite the fact they have so many nutrients and antioxidants. It’s our unique selling point.”

How did you make it work?

“We had 108 staff in the care facility and we were already making food for four years, so bringing the business to the next level wasn’t that hard. I just knew we could do it. The one thing we needed to develop was a production unit, so that was built by August 2012. The fish and meat is sourced locally and produced in Kinsale.

What was the response like?

“It was really good. We started last August and are now listed with the multinational companies and export to Britain. We’ll be in Northern Ireland after Christmas and France in February. We are stocked in all Supervalu and Eurospar stores, and just got listed in Tesco.

What advice do you have for start-ups?

“Every person might think they have the best product out there, but it takes research to build a company. Don’t jump into anything straight away.”