Making the switch from software engineering to starting Bake It Easy might seem like a bit of a leap, but for Maria Brosnan it makes perfect sense.

“You’re just essentially skilled to problem solve,” explains the entrepreneur, who lives on a dairy farm in Knocknagoshel, Co Kerry, with her husband Ben and two children, Ben (nearly 4) and Emma (2).

“There’s just so much commonality between that and starting a business, because every day is problem solving,” she says.

And indeed, it was the search for a quick – but quality – cookie mix she could bake at home with her own children that first planted the idea for Bake It Easy, which is currently stocked in 32 SuperValu stores in Kerry, Cork, Limerick and Castlebar through the Food Academy programme, or to buy online, with delivery nationwide.

Psychology

Maria, who grew up on a beef farm in Brosna in north Kerry, originally studied computer engineering in Limerick and also has a degree in psychology. Baking, however, has always been her passion, but with a full-time job in Fexco in Killorglin and two children under three, time was the one ingredient that was in short supply.

When she went searching in the supermarket for a baking mix she could make with the kids, though, everything seemed over-processed. This got her thinking that there must be other time-pressed parents who felt the same way.

Experimenting in her kitchen, she came up with a pre-weighed and layered cookie mix jar that could bake a batch of 15 cookies in just 12 minutes, by simply adding in an egg and 100g of butter. Making up some prototypes, she invited other parents to her home to test her idea.

The feedback about the idea and the concept was so overwhelming that I thought: ‘There’s something here'

“I stood back and watched to see how they got on,” she says. “The feedback about the idea and the concept was so overwhelming that I thought: ‘There’s something here.’”

Buoyed by the reaction, Maria decided to approach the manager of Garvey’s SuperValu in Dingle for his advice on what it would take to get her product on a supermarket shelf and talked her way into getting a trial run. Launching the weekend of the Blás na hÉireann Dingle Food Festival last October meant several weeks of weighing, filling and labelling jars by hand with the help of her husband, every night after the kids had gone to bed.

However, the long hours paid off when it caught the eye of head of SuperValu’s Food Academy programme, Ken O’Connor, who was also at the festival.

“He saw there was tweaking to be done, but he loved what the concept was and what we were trying to bring to parents,” says Maria. “He said: ‘You have to come in through Food Academy.’”

Maria credits the mentorship that she received through Food Academy for helping to bring Bake It Easy to retail level, from changing her branding to – crucially – dropping the RRP from €4.99 to €3.99 a jar through negotiations with her suppliers without compromising on quality.

There was cocoa on the ceiling

“That was tackling everything; and I still held on to the same ingredients supplier,” says Maria, who explains that one of her fundamental principles was that it would be affordable for families.

“Any small child, any parent should be able to go in and buy one of these and bake,” she says.

As the burgeoning business began to outgrow the home (“there was cocoa on the ceiling!”), Maria found an industrial, stainless steel kitchen in a former restaurant in Castleisland to rent at an affordable rate. She also set up an online shop with payment facilities by using the website Shopify, for just €30 a month.

She continued to approach SuperValu stores in Kerry and Cork as well as independent retailers like Ballyseedy Garden Centre, but in the run-up to the roll-out in 32 SuperValus through Food Academy in May, Maria employed her first member of staff to help her in the kitchen. She also made the decision to take leave from her job to focus on her business full-time.

“I think everyone around me found it more scary than I did,” she says. “I think they still do: ‘Why is she doing that?’ ‘Why in the name of God with that wonderful job would she be leaving it? ‘Is she insane?’ Because in fairness, from an outside view, this is complete gruelling grind.”

Indeed, Maria acknowledges that getting on the shelf is probably just part of the process; that it’s making the connection with customers – and crucially, getting repeat sales – that is vital. In-store tastings are key, as is the message that this is a stress-free way to introduce children to baking and where food comes from, rather than just buying them treats.

“The emphasis is on making something and sharing it. With people and being involved in the experience, it’s totally different,” says Maria.

At present, Maria has four varieties of Bake It Easy cookie mix: “Choca Block” with double Belgian chocolate; “Choca Berry” with real Madagascan vanilla, sweet cranberries and white Belgian chocolate; “Oately Dotely” with vanilla, coconut, oats and strawberry; and “Smart Cookie” with chocolate beans.

But she has further product ideas in the pipeline and recently received a seed grant of €6,000 from Kerry Enterprise Board.

As for her recipe for success for other would-be food entrepreneurs? Two ingredients: passion and persistence. “If you don’t have that, forget about it; walk away from any thought of starting a new business,” she says.

“It will be harder than you think it’s going to be ... but it will also be more rewarding than you think it’s going to be.”