Food focus: Simplee

I worked in banking and was in my mid 20s when I was made redundant after Halifax left the country. Years ago I discovered herb salts completely by accident. I had put fresh herbs from the garden in salt to see if that would preserve them and discovered a product that no one else, as far as I am aware, had ever made – herb salts.

I’d been giving them out to friends and family in little jars and, when I got the redundancy package I decided ‘it’s now or never’. I had a perfect opportunity to see if I could do something with my discovery, and a few bob to fund it.

I invested my redundancy money in packaging and design, and imported a number of little grinders. I filled them up and, having no background in either food or business, just got in the car and started calling in to local butchers to see if they’d stock it for me. Out of 40 butchers I approached only one said no. I think they really wanted to back anyone trying to do something. Afterall, it was 2011 and the IMF was just in, and so many people were telling me I was mad to be trying to start a business at all.

I think I was lucky in not knowing what I didn’t know. I knew nothing about pallets, or cases, for example. I went in completely blind and I learned about the food business from going in and out the back door of supermarkets.

By May 2012 I had taken on a distributor and today am stocked nationwide in 32 Dunnes and am about to launch in 65 SuperValus. The business is profitable, just, and the big aim now is to start exporting.

It’s been 12 hour days, seven days a week but I absolutely love it. And, I admit, I have lurked in stores just to see people buy my product. It’s a great feeling.