Rí na Mara - Sending Irish Seaweed far beyond our native shores

What, you have a 26-year-old daughter?” Irish Country Living exclaims. Deirdre Uí Chathmhaoil laughs animatedly and replies: “Thanks for the compliment but it must be the seaweed.”

With flawless skin, Deirdre is certainly a walking advertisement for her family cosmetic company Rí na Mara. Using seaweed that is hand harvested close to their home in Spidéal, Co Galway, this boutique Irish cosmetic brand is all about nourishing your skin using organic and natural ingredients.

In fact, they have a very strong following among the Irish farming community.

“We must do about 30 trade shows a year from Galway to Germany, but there’s nothing quite like the Ploughing. Myself and my husband Seamus get the same men coming to the stand every year buying gifts for their wives – their loyalty is incredible. And then you have all the ladies stocking up. Because many are working outdoors amid the elements, the hand and body creams are a real hit. However, it’s our face moisturiser that is always the number one seller.”

Young love

Full of vitamins, proteins, amino acids and minerals such as iron, calcium and iodine, these little tubs are packing a big punch.

“We’ve come on some journey to get here,” says Deirdre. And that journey started in their home of Co Tyrone on the shores of Lough Ree where Deirdre and Seamus met.

“Gosh, I’d say we were only about 20. Shortly after, I moved to London where I was nursing and Seamus was coming back and forth to see me. I’m a registered nurse, both general and psychiatric, but I always had a real interest in dermatology, natural applications and treatments that really benefitted the skin. I had a few ideas buzzing around my head at the time but when we moved to Galway a few years later that really set the ball in motion.

“Seamus was a mechanic welding trellises that fishermen used for oysters and decided to do a course with Bord Iascaigh Mhara. I was looking into the area of thalassotherapy baths, basically seaweed therapy baths, and being on the west coast of Ireland was definitely the right place to be.”

Galway bound

The move to Galway wasn’t coincidental though.

“That was definitely planned,” insists Deirdre. “Our family had started at that stage. We have four children Mairead (26), Brian (21), Seamus (20) and Padraic (17) and we just loved Galway.

“Even though it’s quite a long way from home, we really wanted our children to grow up in a Gaeltacht area. Spidéal was a very obvious but beautiful spot.”

While the idea of the seaweed baths was being played around with for a few years, in 2002 Deirdre and Seamus decided to put the wheels in motion.

“Being so close to the sea with this underutilised natural resource on our doorstep, we just had to give it a shot. So we started research and development. But the more work we did, the more the idea of seaweed baths seemed to slip away. We realised that a tangible product would work better. We could bring the natural Irish seaweed to our customers rather than waiting for them to come to us in the west of Ireland.”

Giving it 100%

“At the time, we were both working away, but as a product became more and more of a realistic idea, Seamus went to part-time work, then I did. Within a year, we were both full-time on the project. Look, it was hard. We had four small kids and we were pumping our savings into the company. But it was a natural progression, we were utterly passionate about it and we felt we had to give it 100%.”

It might have been a hard time but Deirdre says they have some fond memories.

“We needed to do research in Europe, particularly in France where the seaweed industry is huge. So one summer when the kids were young and on their summer holidays, we rented out our house, hired a camper van and set off for three months around Europe meeting with different formulators and manufacturers to see how their whole production facilities worked. It was certainly a unique holiday.

“Now the kids are all grown up and they have really seen the business grow from inception.

“We launched in January 2004 having developed a very Irish product. We even commissioned a Galway artist to do the unique painting that is on all our packaging. We love the look and feel of it which is so important for cosmetics.”

Product range

To begin, we had four products. Now we have seven with another four this year. We’re also looking into developing a men’s range, which hopefully might go down well with the farmers at the Ploughing,” laughs Deirdre.

And it seems their idea to bring the product to the customer and not the other way round was definitely the way to go. While Rí na Mara is stocked in pharmacies and health shops across the country, as well as some spas, the seaweed products have travelled far beyond Irish shores. Australia, America, Canada and recently the United Arab Emirates all have stockists.

“Exporting this natural product has certainly been a challenge. When it comes to cosmetics, the regulations are extremely strict and it’s not a global regulation. Every country has their barriers to overcome and there is a lot of bureaucracy and form filling but it’s worth it when you see your product thousands of miles from home.”

Family values

Deirdre and Seamus are still very much determined to keep a face to the boutique brand with their presence at trade shows, and it has definitely turned out to be a family effort.

“Our kids were keen sellers from an early age. When Padraic was about eight or nine, he came home from school saying he needed to bring a moisturiser into school the next day for Sister Maura, one of the nuns teaching him. He said: ‘Mam, I told her about it today. She really loves it and wants to buy one.’ I’m not joking Sister Maura has been a customer ever since.

“The experience has really helped build their confidence. When it comes to heading off to a trade show, they know exactly how many products to pack, what banners to bring and how to set up the stands. Mairead and Brian have both done business degrees and I think all of them want to do their own thing first, which is important. But they aren’t shy about telling myself and Seamus what we should and shouldn’t be doing with the business and when it comes to social media and the likes, they really know what they are talking about. We really do value their opinion and you never know, it might really come in handy in the future. After all, I have this idea about seaweed baths that still hasn’t been put to bed.”