Located in Raphoe, Co Donegal, Donegal Rapeseed Oil has cemented itself as one of the leading rapeseed oil producers in the country. I recently met the company’s founder and managing director, Austin Duignan, to learn more about the business and its history.
The business employs 18 full-time staff between its headquarters in Raphoe and its processing plant in Tyrone.
Its headquarters are located in Raphoe, Co Donegal, while its processing plant is located in Castlederg, Co Tyrone.
Running a food business such as this in Donegal is not without its challenges and he explains, with logistics, an inadequate road network into the county and poor telecommunications infrastructure leading to increased costs.
History
A Roscommon native, Austin moved to Donegal in 1983 and had a pivotal role in the development of the Farm Relief Service in the county and across Northern Ireland. He describes seeing oilseed rape crops being gown in An Grianán Estate when he first moved up.
Fast-forward 23 years and Austin’s business began after reading an article in the Irish Farmers Journal about the need for quality rapeseed oil in the Irish market. After discovering that the majority of the cooking oil in Ireland was being met with imports, and having experience in the biofuels sector with oilseed rape, Donegal Rapeseed Oil was born.
From there, Austin teamed up with local farmer and businessman Stephen Allen, to develop the plant, processing technique, crop agronomy and marketing of the products.
Austin Duignan and Stephen Allen of Donegal Rapeseed Oil.
Growers
Austin explains that growers in the northwest were up for the challenge of incorporating oilseed rape into their rotations. Growing the crop in this region presents many challenges, however, given the higher rainfall levels and shorter growing season. But the climatic conditions of the northwest have also developed into a strength for the brand, as will be outlined later.
Austin explains the importance of having a local, fully traceable supply chain and currently has around 50 growers supplying oilseed from Donegal, Tyrone and Derry for his Donegal brand and growers nationwide for the Irish Rapeseed brand.
Properties
Austin says that rapeseed oil has just 6% saturated fat content compared with most olive oils at 14% and sunflower oil at 10%. It is also high in omega 3, 6, and 9 and is a rich source of vitamin E.
The Donegal Rapeseed Oil brand is one of the top brands in the country.
Oilseed grown in the northwest of Ireland with its cooler, damper climate gives the oil a unique taste he explains, a point noted by the chefs using the product. Work is currently ongoing in Waterford IT and in Scotland to determine the other unique properties of oilseeds grown in northern climates.
Growth
The company was one of the first to bring Irish cold-pressed rapeseed oil to the market and sales initially began through local shops and businesses in the northwest. The company started to get real traction from 2010 onwards.
Austin explains how endorsements from chefs such as Neven Maguire, Martin Shanahan, Donal Skehan and Brian McDermott helped to drive sales both at home and abroad. This was an advantage for the brand and helped to solidify its position as a high-quality product.
The oilseed rape is grown locally and throughout the country.
From 2010 onwards, the company saw year-on-year sales growth of 25% to 30%, with sales even doubling in some years. In 2012, they began expanding the product lines to include a number of flavours and in the years that followed, developed their restaurant and industrial trade.
Today, the company has over 24 product lines.
Carbon-neutral plant
All of the oilseed rape is delivered to the processing plant in Castlederg where it is dried to 8% and stored. Most of the pressing is now automated. He has also installed a 500kWh anaerobic digestion (AD) plant on site, which has been operating over the past five years. The plant is run with a number of feedstocks including manure and grass silage. By the end of 2019, electricity generated from the AD plant will power the processing and bottling facilities making it entirely carbon neutral in terms of energy consumption. The heat generated from the plant will eventually power the grain dryer.
Innovation
“If you’re not moving forward you’re going backwards and will be overtaken,” explains Austin, on the company’s attitude towards innovation.
He is working rigorously with food businesses from Donegal and nationwide to understand their needs and develop his oilseed product range.
Austin is also working closely with Waterford-based Seedtech to improve the variety selection that is available to his growers.
On Brexit, he says that it will most likely lead to higher costs but they are prepared for this.
Located in Raphoe, Co Donegal, Donegal Rapeseed Oil has cemented itself as one of the leading rapeseed oil producers in the country. I recently met the company’s founder and managing director, Austin Duignan, to learn more about the business and its history.
The business employs 18 full-time staff between its headquarters in Raphoe and its processing plant in Tyrone.
Its headquarters are located in Raphoe, Co Donegal, while its processing plant is located in Castlederg, Co Tyrone.
Running a food business such as this in Donegal is not without its challenges and he explains, with logistics, an inadequate road network into the county and poor telecommunications infrastructure leading to increased costs.
History
A Roscommon native, Austin moved to Donegal in 1983 and had a pivotal role in the development of the Farm Relief Service in the county and across Northern Ireland. He describes seeing oilseed rape crops being gown in An Grianán Estate when he first moved up.
Fast-forward 23 years and Austin’s business began after reading an article in the Irish Farmers Journal about the need for quality rapeseed oil in the Irish market. After discovering that the majority of the cooking oil in Ireland was being met with imports, and having experience in the biofuels sector with oilseed rape, Donegal Rapeseed Oil was born.
From there, Austin teamed up with local farmer and businessman Stephen Allen, to develop the plant, processing technique, crop agronomy and marketing of the products.
Austin Duignan and Stephen Allen of Donegal Rapeseed Oil.
Growers
Austin explains that growers in the northwest were up for the challenge of incorporating oilseed rape into their rotations. Growing the crop in this region presents many challenges, however, given the higher rainfall levels and shorter growing season. But the climatic conditions of the northwest have also developed into a strength for the brand, as will be outlined later.
Austin explains the importance of having a local, fully traceable supply chain and currently has around 50 growers supplying oilseed from Donegal, Tyrone and Derry for his Donegal brand and growers nationwide for the Irish Rapeseed brand.
Properties
Austin says that rapeseed oil has just 6% saturated fat content compared with most olive oils at 14% and sunflower oil at 10%. It is also high in omega 3, 6, and 9 and is a rich source of vitamin E.
The Donegal Rapeseed Oil brand is one of the top brands in the country.
Oilseed grown in the northwest of Ireland with its cooler, damper climate gives the oil a unique taste he explains, a point noted by the chefs using the product. Work is currently ongoing in Waterford IT and in Scotland to determine the other unique properties of oilseeds grown in northern climates.
Growth
The company was one of the first to bring Irish cold-pressed rapeseed oil to the market and sales initially began through local shops and businesses in the northwest. The company started to get real traction from 2010 onwards.
Austin explains how endorsements from chefs such as Neven Maguire, Martin Shanahan, Donal Skehan and Brian McDermott helped to drive sales both at home and abroad. This was an advantage for the brand and helped to solidify its position as a high-quality product.
The oilseed rape is grown locally and throughout the country.
From 2010 onwards, the company saw year-on-year sales growth of 25% to 30%, with sales even doubling in some years. In 2012, they began expanding the product lines to include a number of flavours and in the years that followed, developed their restaurant and industrial trade.
Today, the company has over 24 product lines.
Carbon-neutral plant
All of the oilseed rape is delivered to the processing plant in Castlederg where it is dried to 8% and stored. Most of the pressing is now automated. He has also installed a 500kWh anaerobic digestion (AD) plant on site, which has been operating over the past five years. The plant is run with a number of feedstocks including manure and grass silage. By the end of 2019, electricity generated from the AD plant will power the processing and bottling facilities making it entirely carbon neutral in terms of energy consumption. The heat generated from the plant will eventually power the grain dryer.
Innovation
“If you’re not moving forward you’re going backwards and will be overtaken,” explains Austin, on the company’s attitude towards innovation.
He is working rigorously with food businesses from Donegal and nationwide to understand their needs and develop his oilseed product range.
Austin is also working closely with Waterford-based Seedtech to improve the variety selection that is available to his growers.
On Brexit, he says that it will most likely lead to higher costs but they are prepared for this.
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