A much-admired businesswoman and tireless fundraiser, the managing director of Lily O'Briens chocolates has a lot on her plate, writes Marie-Claire Digby
FOR SOME of us, as we break into a giant, foil-wrapped Easter egg tomorrow, it will be the first glorious taste of chocolate that we've had in while, but for Mary Ann O'Brien, founder and managing director of Lily O'Briens chocolates, giving it up for Lent just wasn't an option. "My eight-year-old, Molly, is making her First Communion, and shedecided I was giving up chocolate and wine for Lent. At about 9.40am on Ash Wednesday, I had my first dark chocolate of the day, that's what I would do every day; it's part of the job, " she says passionately.
Passion is a word that crops up a lot in conversation with O'Brien. The business, which she set up at her kitchen table in 1992 and named after her eldest daughter, now employs more than 100 people in Newbridge, Co Kildare, and has an annual turnover in excess of €20 million. "Created with passion", and "Passionate about chocolate", are its bywords.
O'Brien's slim build belies the quantities of chocolate she has to consume - in the interests of research and quality control, of course - and she puts her physique down to luck, and the physical demands of motherhood. "I was galloping around after a child with a pony half the weekend, and playing golf with my 14-year-old," she says.
The 14-year-old is Clongowes student, Phonsie; Molly is the youngest, and 18-year-old Lily is a sixth-year student at Alexandra College in Dublin. It's Lily who appears, with her mother, in the photographs on the packaging, which sometimes leads to minor confusion. "Every second person who meets me assumes my name is Lily," Mary Ann says, "but it doesn't bother me, as long as they buy a box of Lily O'Briens."
At this stage, with her company's excellent sales figures, strong brand image, a healthy export trade in diverse markets, and a loyal workforce, of whom she is deeply appreciative, O'Brien could afford to step back a bit, but she has no intention of doing so. There have been takeover offers, but she hasn't been tempted. "Not while I still have the energy, and the passion," she says. A move into retail is more likely, "but I would be seeking a suitable partner to do so. I'm only a regular person, I haven't got a clue about retail," she says modestly.
"Regular" might be might be how she describes herself, but the Imagemagazine Business Woman of the Year 2007, and winner of countless other plaudits from her business peers, is far from ordinary. Her business acumen is widely admired, and her company is a model of its kind, but there are other things that set Mary Ann O'Brien apart and make her extraordinary.
Her father, Phonsie O'Brien, and her uncle, Vincent O'Brien, are legendary figures in the Irish thoroughbred racing world, and she comes from a family of high achievers. However, she hasn't had an easy ride. O'Brien has suffered from the debilitating disease ME, which cost her the event-management company she had built up. She lost a baby boy at birth in 1994, then, in 1997, she and her husband, Jonathan Irwin, had to cope with the death of their 22-month-old son, Jack, whose illness, and the difficulties they had caring for him at home, led them to set up the Jack and Jill Children's Foundation. The charity provides respite care and support for families of seriously ill babies who need medical and nursing care in their own homes. Irwin is now CEO of the charity, and O'Brien a tireless fundraiser.
With these hurdles to deal with, in addition to getting her fledgling company up and running in 1992, O'Brien has had it tough, at times, but she hasn't become hardened. She is a warm, engaging person with a personality that's as mellow as the liquid chocolate, made in Belgium to her specific recipe, that arrives twice a week in giant tankers at the company's factory in Newbridge. Some 180 varieties of chocolates are made there, using Irish ingredients, where possible, for the fillings, and catering to the diverse taste preferences of the company's export markets.
"Every chocolate tastes different - it's a bit like saying sauvignon blanc tastes different from chardonnay. Our organic beans are from Equador whereas our normal beans are from Ivory Coast, then we have another dark chocolate, from Costa Rica. It's very much about where the bean is from, and how it was roasted. The Costa Rica is my favourite. It's 64 per cent [ cocoa solids], so it's not very dark. In France, and Italy, they like their chocolate very dark. We like dark, but not too bitter."
It's not just taste profiles that have to be considered when marketing handmade chocolates - presentation is a major consideration. "It's like the fashion business. We never stop innovating, neither the recipes nor the design. We have to grab the customer when they walk into a shop. The things we're selling for Easter, beautiful baskets and eggs, were developed 10 months ago; we're nearly finished selling Christmas 2008 and we're already working on next Easter," O'Brien says.
But it isn't all ribbons and bows. O'Brien feels that her company is now facing "the toughest year we've ever faced. We export a huge amount, so sterling and the dollar would be hugely disadvantageous at the minute." Plus the price of cocoa beans has "gone through the roof", she says.
"We are an international company and it's becoming extremely difficult to be competitive as a manufacturer in Ireland. But I am determined to see it through and try and hold our prices. I am supposed to build a giant new factory, and I am just wondering . . . I would never do anything to the business that would put it at risk." She says that she will "more than probably go ahead" with the expansion, having bought the land.
This is not the first time the company, one of the world's leading suppliers to the airline industry, has faced challenges. "I'll never forget September 11th. The faxes came in one after another, and the e-mails, cancelling contracts. Twenty-two per cent of our business was gone overnight. But we came back and evolved a better value product to see them through their bad times.
"I know it's horrible, but it's very good to be challenged and be put under pressure, it actually makes you step up. It's when things are going very well and you start smoking cigars . . . My eye is definitely on the ball at the moment."