A ram loiters outside Angela Carney’s home near Westport most days, hopefully waiting for a few leftovers. It doesn’t take long to understand why he’s so keen.

This secluded location in rural Mayo is the home of Harvest Moon Foods, where Angela produces pesto, hummus and soups using healthy, natural ingredients. The ram isn’t her only fan. Harvest Moon is stocked in 27 stores nationwide, with around 1,000 units leaving Westport each week.

Angela, who is a vegetarian and a trained nutritional therapist, wants to create palatable food without using additives. Since starting out almost two years ago, the range has expanded to include roasted red pepper hummus, sun-dried tomato and apricot pesto and broccoli and wheatgrass soup.

All products are free from salt, sugar, wheat and dairy (except the fresh pesto which contains parmesan).

“No one wants to eat food that is healthy, but tasteless,” she says.

“Hummus is promoted as a health food, but many on the market are very unhealthy and full of E-numbers, additives and cheap oil. I wanted to make something that was actually good for you and it tasted great.”

She started toying with different recipes and ingredients during her time as co-owner of an organic deli and café in Westport town.

“My first creation was basil hummus, which I sold as a takeaway food. I started getting amazing feedback and that launched something in my mind,” she says. “I was busy battling to keep the shop open, but kept it in the back of my mind as a way forward, even though I thought it was a bit far-fetched.”

The café closed in early 2012, after four years in business. Angela took it very personally.

“It seemed like everything had fallen apart,” she says. “My confidence was really at a low ebb.”

Like Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love Angela took off to India (“my trip was nowhere near as glamorous!”) to come to terms with what had happened. After returning home to Ireland, she decided to throw herself into the new business.

“I had confidence in the fact that I had a good product. In a rational way, I knew it had to work. But then there was the fear,” she says.

Armed with the hummus she created while still working in the café, Angela approached her local Supervalu.

“I went to the manager Noel Kavanagh and told him I had this product,” she says. “He said I needed more than one, so I created the sundried tomato and apricot pesto and a fresh pesto and put 15 of them in Supervalu. Half of them came back in returns.”

Undeterred, Angela returned to the shop to arrange a food tasting.

“I knew if I could get people to taste it they would buy it,” she says.

“Once people in Westport became aware of the product, the business took off. I can’t keep it on the shelf now. It didn’t take long before other Supervalu stores in the west started stocking us.

“Then I started sending samples to shops around the country, even if they refused me on the phone. I wouldn’t take no for an answer. My next store outside of Supervalu was McCambridge’s in Galway.”

Angela worked on her own up until a few months ago, when she hired staff. She still delivers stock to Galway and was making the labels herself up until nine months ago.

“I spent my nights out in that shed until 11pm making labels. Even going into town to meet someone was difficult when I had to brand hundreds of pots. At times I felt so burned out, but the customers kept me going,” she says. “As long as I saw results every week I didn’t care. I became very focused.

“I find it quite natural to email people back at 10 or 11 at night,” she continues. “I am somewhat obsessed, but I think I need that to keep going. I was doing up to 80 hours per week up until a few months ago.”

Despite being a victim of the recession a few years ago, Angela believes the downturn has helped the growth of her new business.

“I brought out a high-end product in the middle of a recession, but there was nothing on the market like it,” she explains. “People are more aware of their bodies now and that what we eat affects our health. I always had faith in the fact my product is good and I have the confidence to push it.”