Christmas market at LIT
Students at Limerick Institute of Technology showed their entrepreneurial flair.
NewsFood start-ups achieve recognition at SFA awards
Food start-ups achieve recognition at SFA awards
08.03.2010
Three of the five emerging new businesses profiled at the SFA National Small Business Awards on 4 March are in the food and drink sector – Holycross Good Food, Poulet Bonne Femme and Truly Irish Country Foods.
The other two companies are in the area of marketing – Creative Impressions – and field asset management – Vellow Field Asset Management.
How Poulet Bonne Femme came about
When Sara Mitchell’s husband Gavin, was made redundant in 2008, the couple took the opportunity to follow their dream to set up Ireland’s first rotisserie chicken business.
In May 2009, Poulet Bonne Femme opened its first market stall in Dun Laoghaire and has become a regular in markets around Dublin ever since.
“The idea for the business came when we were on holiday in Spain and bought chicken straight from a spit at a local farmers’ market,” says Sara Mitchell.
In under a year, the company had quickly become a full-time job for the pair and they’ve taken on one employee. They have extended the company to include Poulet Catering, which caters for everything from christenings to corporate events.
In recent months, the Mitchell's have been approached by cafés and restaurants about providing their products to them. “At the moment we’re looking at various things we can do, from setting up in markets around the country to increasing our product offering,” says Mitchell.
Holycross Good Food
Looking towards national distribution with their Belgian chocolate biscuit cake, Brian and Ann Marie Walsh started their business, Holycross Good Food, by opening a shop in Tipperary in December 2005. In 2006, they set about extending it in an investment worth €40,000.
Equipped with hotel and catering management experience the pair spotted a niche in the local market which fitted in with their plans for a food business. They decided to make good-quality food, including freshly baked breads, apple tarts and cakes.
A further €25,000 was invested in 2008 to extend the bakery kitchen and to purchase equipment such as a three-deck commercial oven. In 2009 Holycross Good Food was registered as a business name.
“Last summer we started to research which product would be ideal to sell nationally. Going to the Dingle Food Fair we were advised to bring another product to benchmark against. We took our Belgian Chocolate Biscuit Cake and it sold out on the first day,” says Ann Marie Walsh. The cake uses the best of Tipperary butter as well as Callebaut Finest Belgian chocolate.
Photo: Sara and Gavin Mitchell, Poulet Bonne Femme
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