Niamh O'Dwyer

Organic Little One

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Niamh O’Dwyer runs baby food company Organic Little One, which launched in 76 SuperValu stores in April 2014 and is now in talks with a major UK retailer. She lives in Bansha, Co Tipperary, with her husband Michael and their sons Gavin (six) and Paul (four).

“Four weeks before I had Gavin, I finished my job as a key account manager where I had been managing a portfolio worth €400 million per annum. Looking back now, I realise how lonely and difficult that was. We had just moved to the countryside and Michael was working 12 hours a day minimum, so I went from being out and about to being at home with a newborn. Then it came to cooking for a small baby – I thought I’d never get outside again.

“I remember the public health nurse saying: ‘Don’t mind buying baby food, cook it yourself. There has to be something in it if it lasts that long on the shelf.’ When Gavin was little we had a few frights with him, so I felt every morsel of food had to count. I used to make the stock from scratch. I was always on the lookout for fresh baby food in the shops for when time was tight, but never found anything.

Developing a plan

“In 2012 I heard a radio ad for Bord Bia’s Foodworks’ programme, which started me on this journey. After Foodworks, I applied for the New Frontiers programme, where I was provided with office space, mentoring, workshops and a bursary of €15,000 that allowed me to cover childcare costs. Childcare is a big barrier for mums, but that support is what brought my idea from paper to developing properly into a plan – making chilled organic fruit and vegetable purees for stage-one weaning.

“I don’t have a food science background, so I travelled the country to see people who would make it. Manufacturers in west Cork and Dublin agreed to take it on but then pulled out. It was through South Tipperary Development Company that I was introduced to Tipperary Co-Op. Even though they are just five miles away from me, I never thought of them as a possible match, but they had the equipment I needed.

“One of the biggest challenges with chilled baby food is a commercially viable shelf life. I came across a process called high pressure pasteurisation and applied for a €5,000 innovation voucher from Enterprise Ireland to test it out in UCC. As it happened, a company in Dublin was bringing the first commercial-scale HPP unit to Ireland, so, after production in Tipperary, the pots are sent to Dublin.

An influential blogger in the US has tipped HPP baby food as one of the top five organic food trends for 2015. From what we know, we are the first in the world to do it.

“Through New Frontiers, I had a mentor from Enterprise Ireland who helped secure a meeting with SuperValu and we launched in 76 stores in April 2014. We’re now in advanced discussions with two other multiples, have a distributor for the speciality/fine food stores, have been listed to supply a grocery retailer in Dubai and have promising meetings with key UK, French, Dutch and German retailers after exhibiting with Bord Bia at Biofach in February.

Turning point

“A major turning point was the decision of Maurice Healy (a significant player in food ingredients) to invest in Organic Little One. His investment and expertise will allow us to develop a market entry strategy into the UK, where a major retailer has shown significant interest. We estimate that in the next five years, 25% of the baby food market will be in the chilled sector and we hope to be one of the big players. In Ireland and the UK alone, the wet baby food market is worth roughly £180 million.

“We are currently developing a range of seven months + and 10 months + meals and I am very excited about having sourced a local organic beef producer, The Good Herdsman, in Cahir. In the beginning, my vision was to use only Irish ingredients, but, unfortunately, this hasn’t been possible yet. I currently source our fruit and veg from mainland Europe to ensure continuity of supply and to get the baby-grade specification we require. Of course, I recognise that not all our ingredients can be Irish going forward, like butternut squash, for example, but I started this journey with the vision that the carrots and apples would be Irish and that is still the plan.

“Gavin is now in first class and Paul is in pre-school. We have a childminder in the afternoons but I try to collect them at three o’clock one day a week. One thing I would recommend to anybody working from home is to setup an office separate from the living area. It means that if Mike is with the boys, it doesn’t interfere with what I’m doing, and vice-versa.

“Setting up a business is not easy, but I found the four years I spent at home possibly even more difficult as there is that sense of isolation when there’s no adult company – that can erode your skills and confidence. But I don’t regret the years I got to be at home with my boys. I always wanted to do something for myself, I just never thought it would be baby food.

Visit www.organiclittleone.com.

Jenny Whelan

Bubs Nest

Jenny Whelan lives near Borrisokane, Co Tipperary, with her husband, tillage farmer and agri-contractor Shay O’Meara, and children Tommy (seven), Jack (five) and Harry (two). A part-time woodwork, construction and technical drawing support teacher, Jenny runs Bubs Nest, selling baby-friendly shopping trolley seat covers.

“When I was on maternity leave with Harry in 2013, I got completely frustrated with how cold and dirty the baby seats were on shopping trolleys. My three boys were never happy in the seats, nor would they sit contentedly in their car seat in the trolley, so I decided to borrow my mother’s sewing machine and make my own cover.

“It took nine attempts to get the measurements right. I kept thinking that somebody at the supermarket was going to ask: ‘Why are you loitering in the car park?’ I even had my sister in England sending me photographs from Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer. But when I started using the cover, I couldn’t believe how comfortable and happy Harry was in it. So, I decided to do a start-your-own-business course.

“I used savings of €2,500 to €3,000 to get the prototype right. Bubs Nest fits both three-point and five-point harness seats, is padded for comfort, allows for a rattle or soother to be clipped on and is machine washable, with all materials conforming to EN71-3. But it has been a learning curve. For example, while I put in my order with a manufacturer in China on New Year’s Eve 2013, I didn’t get my stock until July.

“I set up a website and took out Facebook advertising, which allows you to set a limit each week, so it’s really manageable. Some of the covers have gone as far as Australia and I had my first order to Scotland last week, but the challenge is to get the word out. Because Shay is a tillage farmer, there are times we might not set eyes on each other all day. With three small boys, I have no option but to be at home every night and that can be isolating. The business has given me a focus. Before this, I knew nothing about Facebook, VAT, packaging, how to get a product made or what European directives it needed to conform to. I can now say: ‘This is how far I’ve come.’”

Bubs Nest retails online for €24.90. Visit www.bubsnest.ie.

Maria Ryan

Lollypops & Daydreams

Maria Ryan lives near Tullow, Co Carlow, with her husband Andrew O’Gorman and their children, Aisling (eight), Cillian (six) and Darragh (two). Maria runs Lollipops & Daydreams, selling handmade vintage-inspired clothes for kids.

“I worked in treasury for 10 years – a fast-paced world with long hours. My husband is a chef, so when Aisling was born we decided that I would stop working and we would move to the country because we would never see each other otherwise.

“It was a big adjustment and a lot of financial sacrifices were made. I wanted some things for the children’s rooms but I couldn’t afford what was online, so, I thought, okay, I’ll make it myself, and bought a sewing machine in Argos. Once I started, I couldn’t stop.

“When another Carlow designer, Clare Jordan, saw a dress I made for my daughter, she said: ‘That’s what you should be doing.’ I put some pictures on Facebook and the orders came in from there. I also got involved in some pop-up shops and markets and would advise anybody starting a business to do the same – you’ll learn very quickly what items sell and what people are interested in.

“I make clothes for children from three months to 10 years. I’m very influenced by vintage children’s illustrations and try to buy as much of the fabrics locally as I can. Last December, however, I started selling dresses I made from fabric I designed myself and ordered through a website called Spoonflower. In April I will be introducing boys’ clothes. I also have my own website and Etsy shop and hope to grow sales internationally in 2015.

“Time management is a challenge. I do most of my sewing in the morning, collect the children in the afternoon and start work again at 9pm. It’s a slow burner, but since September I think you could say that it has become a business as opposed to a hobby. I can now pay for little luxuries that I would have had to think about before, like ballet classes or extra books for the children.

“And I am lucky that I have three children at different ages – they can model everything.”

Visit www.lollipopsdaydreams.com.