By Gordon Deegan
Keogh’s Crisps used around nine million potatoes over a 12-month period, making it a record-sales year for the gourmet-crisp maker, according to the company’s CEO, Tom Keogh.
The company enjoyed the record-sales year for the 12 months to the end of March 2021.
And, as sales continue to rise, the company looks set to top last year’s record revenues in the current year.
The CEO confirmed that the north-county Dublin, farm-family-owned business is to extend its production capacity by 50% in response to the surge in demand.
He said he hopes the extension to production capacity will be live by September and will lead, initially, to the creation of an additional 10 to 12 jobs.
“We have just passed the 100 mark in terms of numbers employed, which is fantastic,” he said.
Record sales of Keogh’s Crisps
Keogh’s record-sales year came about due to “massive growth” in sales of its 125g share bag during the Covid-19-hit year.
“Our export business and airline business [it supplies crisps to Emirates Airlines] vanished overnight due to Covid-19 but the Irish consumer really supported Irish brands during the pandemic and we are still enjoying that increase in popularity today,” the CEO said.
And he added that, in the current financial year to the end of March, the firm’s export market and airline business has made a very strong recovery after Covid-19 shutdowns.
Mr Keogh said that exports currently account for 25% of all sales and he can see that growing to 33% over the next couple of years.
Keogh’s Crisps supplies the likes of Waitrose in the UK; Costco in the US; and supermarket chain, Spinneys in Dubai.
Keogh was commenting on new accounts for Keogh’s Crisps Ltd, which show that profits during the pandemic-hit 12 months to the end of March 2021 increased by 14% to €113,408.
At the end of March 2021, the firm was sitting on accumulated profits of €1.34 million while cash funds totalled €849,772.
The profit for fiscal 2021 takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €545,647.
Keogh described last year’s profits as “modest” and said in the current year, due to rising costs “we are not forecasting an increase in profit, it anything it may be a decline”.
Transport costs are a considerable now, the Keogh’s Crisps CEO explained:
“The price of a container going into America has increased from €3,000 to €7,500 – €8,000 – €9,000 in space of nine months.”
Due to the high costs of exporting to far-flung locations, he said: “We are doubling down on efforts on export markets close to home like the UK and Europe.”
Favourites
Keogh’s, with 11% of the crisp market here, “is the only Irish-owned brand at mass-market level”.
In April, it is aiming to launch a Cashel Blue cheese and caramelised-onion-flavoured crisp, although cheese and Onion remains the best-selling Keogh’s crisp here in Ireland.
Each market has its own favourite Keogh’s crisp but its popcorn range outsells crisps in the Middle East, and a new popcorn-production line is in place to keep up with demand, the CEO said.