A small-scale granola maker is standing out from the pack with the inner bag of her product wrapped in brown paper just as food was in the past.Aoife Corcoran from Ballyrider House, Stradbally, Laois, started making Ballyrider House Super Seed Granola this year and quickly found that people had an appetite for her artisan product. She said the support from both stockists and customers has been extremely encouraging.The granola contains: oats; almonds; coconut; chia seeds; pumpkin seeds; sunflower seeds; hemp seeds; sesame seeds; raisins; rapeseed oil; honey; and cinnamon.

Aoife, who works from the 18th century house 3km from Stradbally, has been busy meeting orders for her product."We had been restoring the house for the last number of years and work is still going on. I started doing B&B as my kids were boarding in Kilkenny College and at University of Limerick (UL) so I wanted to use the space and for the house to pay for its restoration which it had been doing," said Aoife."The B&B brought guests from all over the world and all around the country who were stunned with the beauty of Laois and its unspoilt landscape," she said."I hadn't done any B&B since Covid-19 hit and now the granola business is so busy I'm not sure I'll have time to go back to it."Aoife started making the granola for the family in April and Simpson's Gala in Stradbally became the first stockist in May."John and I were buying lots of granola to find one we loved and I decided then to make one that suited our taste. I had no intention of turning it into a business. I was temporarily laid off work around then and that gave me the time to get stuck into granola making," she said.

First venture

"This is my first venture into the food sector. I had an advertising business called Outhouse Advertising for years so I have some experience in business but I'm on a learning curve still as well as this being a new venture into a new sector for me. Business is changing so quickly. There's always something new and exciting to learn," said Aoife."I didn't apply for any funding yet but I'm planning to in the new year to hopefully fund expansion plans," she said.Setting up and growing a small business is challenging at any stage, not to mention during a pandemic."I was very fortunate to have been one of the silver lining people in that awful time of Covid-19 lockdown. I didn't realise it at the time because I'd lost my job and all of my B&B bookings for the year were cancelled so I was, in work terms, twiddling my thumbs for a few weeks.

I was at home, in the countryside, with loads of space and time on my hands so I started a major garden project and decided to give the granola to a few friends and neighbours to try. It just flew from there.

"Apart from the fact that there was nothing for anyone to do except buy food, people were just so delighted to hear about a new business starting. I almost felt like there were people wanting to hug me when they heard what I was doing," Aoife said."The positivity and genuine delight was overwhelming. I think it gave people a sense that there was still some normality about, the feeling that life does just go on. Businesses close, the economy takes a hammering every now and then but little acorns do appear and from those little acorns, something might just grow," she said.

Financial uncertainty

"One of the business obstacles was probably venturing back into the financial uncertainty that haunts the self-employed and small businesses but after the economic chaos of the last few months, you realise that there is uncertainty in any type of employment and in every industry so you just roll up your sleeves and get on with it.

I also find now that I'm working from home and don't have regular help, I'm conscious of the isolation, particularly when it's a rural business setting. I'm fortunate that I'm now delivering my product around several counties so have the chance to take my head out of the oven and meet the business owners who are buying from me which is really nice.

"It's so lovely when you hear how much their customers are enjoying the granola and that they are coming in for their 'fix' as it's been described to me. That is so rewarding and encouraging.

"Every pack is handmade and hand wrapped. We have as much feedback on the packaging as we do on the granola itself. It doesn't say that it's handmade or packed anywhere on the packaging as it doesn't need to. We have been told that people say it's like unwrapping a little gift when the packaging is being opened."We feel that the packaging is unassuming, polite and understated in contrast to the many shiny bright and loud boxes and plastic packs that our shops are packed with now," said Aoife.

Our plans for 2021 are to convert more space for production. We have outbuildings that would be perfect for renovation and expanding into. This would mean we would have more help and be able to increase our production capacity.

"At the moment we are slowly increasing our number of stockists which we will continue to do but we are taking our time and allowing the business to grow at a manageable pace and self-fund as much as possible. It's baby steps for now."

Rural granola maker has it in the bag

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