Ireland has a thriving agricultural sector but increasingly there are opportunities to add value to produce by turning ingredients into branded, commercially successful food products. What does it take to turn this into a reality?
For Builín Blasta, the answer has been a combination of a good product, determination, resilience, hard work and knowing when to seek help.
Builín Blasta, a busy bilingual café in the heart of Spiddal, Co Galway, employs 30 people at peak times. The Irish words Builín Blasta translate to ‘tasty loaf’ and over the years, the café built its reputation due to its quality home produce and warm atmosphere.
The café was set up in 2015 by Heather Connolly, a Canadian-born chef, who went on to create Builín Blasta’s award-winning mayonnaise. The smoked onion flavour soon became one of the most talked about condiments on shop shelves – and has now won six Blas na hÉireann awards. Heather further added to the mayo range, with a spiced smoked onion mayo and a light smoked onion mayo.
Many other products have been developed too, such as the smoked onion salsa, smoked onion salad cream and a range of salad dressings, including Caesar dressing, raspberry balsamic, honey and mustard, and basil and lime dressing.
Eimear Killian who has a background in hospitality joined the business in 2021 and is now co-owner – before that she was a customer who used stop by on her cycles during the pandemic. Eimear manages the café and the brand portfolio and discusses the importance of good products, good people, and the resilience needed to keep the show on the road.
“A lot of hard work goes into it [running the business], a lot of blood, sweat and tears, and yeah, it’s challenging. Nothing in this country, as you know, is easy. There’s a lot of red tape, but there’s a lot of good people out there to support you as well,” says Eimear.
Self-belief
For Eimear, having a good product is only part of the equation. Entrepreneurs also need to have confidence in what they are selling and be prepared to deal with rejection and setbacks. She says good sales techniques and self-belief are vital when developing a product: “You have to be able to sell hard” and “you also have to be able to come back from being knocked.”
Maintaining self-belief is also crucial: “You just have to have determination and confidence in your own ability, to bring it. And that’s what Heather did. She brought it from an idea in the kitchen one day to putting it [the product] into jars and getting it out onto the shelves across the country.”
For anyone thinking of developing their own food product, Eimear advises them to be patient and keep working hard.
“I would just say, go for it, but make sure you’ve done your homework. Start small and just believe in yourself and in what you’re going to do. Be prepared for a lot of hard work and some knocks along the way. It doesn’t happen overnight.”
You can’t do everything yourself and this has been one of the biggest lessons for Eimear. “It’s getting advice from the right people at the right time. Don’t be afraid to ask for help because people want to give their support, I certainly found that.”
Being an entrepreneur can sometimes mean you’re expected to be a jack-of-all-trades which isn’t always possible. There may be skills gaps that a small business owner is lacking and this can be challenging: “There are certain skillsets which are necessary but you can’t be an expert in everything. For example, with a team, you need to have a certain level of HR skills, with finance there’s accounting and tax, even designing a website.”
This can feel overwhelming for small business owners but Eimear says there are plenty of supports available to anyone who is thinking of developing a food product, especially in the start-up and growth stages.
Relevant advice
“You really do have to utilise the likes of your LEOs, Bord Bia. The people in these organisations have helped plenty of other businesses along the way and really have the relevant advice and the know-how,” she says.
Alongside professional advice, relationships and networking can also play an important role. “Being a business owner can be a lonely place” but she says: “It’s really, about connection. Connection with others, connection with people in the industry. You support each other.”
For Builín Blasta, building those relationships and remaining persistent was particularly important when it came to getting the product into major retailers:
“It took us a year to get into Tesco. That’s how long it took, back and forth. There’s quite a lot of work involved in all that,” she says.
The story of Builín Blasta is not one of overnight success, but one of innovation, perseverance and hard work.
What began as a simple food product has since developed into a wider brand portfolio, driven by customer demand.
“It was because of demand really that we extended some of the ranges and they took off.” And the team haven’t looked back since.
For anyone considering developing a food product, the experience of Builín Blasta highlights the importance of having confidence in an idea, understanding the market, developing the necessary skills and being prepared to seek support when it is needed.
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