Galway-based Jörg and Karen Müller, originally from Stuttgart in Germany, are qualified medical herbalists. Together they created a company called Solaris, based on the rugged west coast of Ireland. It specialises in the blending and preparation of international award-winning whole-leaf organic teas.

Their first footsteps to success were in their early 20s during their medicine degree when they blended their first cup of herbal tea. Their local coffee shop in Galway decided to sell their produce, which soon outsold the coffee shop’s morning coffees.

Their business was established in 2003. Since then, they have been creating delicious, homemade, organic tea free from artificial flavours and colouring.

In 2008, the couple began supplying their tea to independent health stores and coffee shops.

The demand for their homemade tea increased quickly and the pair decided to take their business from their home to a warehouse and blending room, where they are still busy at work today. However, it hasn’t been easy for the couple along their journey.

“It was difficult in the beginning because we didn’t get much support from the banks and we spent a few years reinvesting all the money we earned back into the business,” explains Jörg.

The sacrifices were worth it in the end as the company now exports to Britain, Sweden, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Finland.

“We also sell products to the Irish coffee company Insomnia, but our strongest market is high-end premium food services and corporate catering companies. The five-star Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin is another major client of ours.

“Large corporate companies, such as Google and Apple, have also recently taken on our products. The high-end food service market is definitely the strongest market for us,” explains Jörg.

The unique point about the company is the fact that they let customers personalise their tea, so they can blend according to their needs. A recent development in the company is the takeaway cup for whole leaf tea. Everything is about customisation and satisfying the customer.

“At the moment, we’re looking at our next big project, which we have put a lot of time and effort into over the last couple of years. We’re working on a ready-to-drink green tea with seaweed extract.

“The ideal markets we’re aiming to target are the Japanese and American. We’re also looking at adding Irish plants to the products, including elderflower.

“We have finally passed the hardest hurdle that will allow these products into China. Chinese laws are extremely strict; they don’t accept EU organic standards, so we had to go through the Chinese regulations to guarantee our products as organic. We have plans to work with Cofco, a food-buying Chinese group with online channels that focuses on premium products. It is the perfect match,” explains Jörg.

Not only has Solaris nabbed 13 Great Taste awards, it as also secured the best Irish organic grocery award twice and won the Eurotoque 2010 awards for an outstanding contribution to Irish cuisine. These Galway-based entrepreneurs were also semi-finalists in the worldwide young entrepreneur award.

As the business has grown, so has their highly skilled and motivated team, which has become the backbone of the company’s success. The company continues to work hard with plans to release another range of blends within the next six weeks.

“If I could give advice to anyone starting up a business, I would say set goals and work towards them. Don’t be discouraged by knockdowns – they happen to any successful business,” adds Jörg.