Ireland’s artisan food and condiment sector is thriving and one of Ireland’s fast-expanding consumer sectors, writes Barry Walsh.
Driven by strong consumer demand, award recognition, and a growing culture of local, sustainable production, a Bord Bia-cited Mintel report estimated the specialist food market on the island of Ireland at €632 million, with 7 in 10 Irish adults saying it is important to buy local produce and 47% believing artisan produce to be of higher quality than ordinary food. The broader Irish condiments and sauces market report is projected to reach $733.8 million by 2031, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 3.8%, sitting within a food and drink export sector that recently reached a record €19 billion in value.
In terms of awards Blas na hÉireann, now in its 19th year, received more than 3,000 entries in 2025 from every county in Ireland, with categories expanding from 170 to over 200, while the majority of winners report increased sales after displaying the award badge, with many crediting it with opening new retail listings and strengthening market visibility.
To that end, after a blazing hot summer making it busiest periods of the year for food condiment brands during outdoor BBQs, I thought I’d take a look at some of Ireland’s best indigenous condiment brands in this sector.
Achill Island Sea Salt
Achill Island Sea Salt is an award-winning artisan condiment brand based on Achill Island. Founded in 2013 by Kieran and Marjorie O’Malley, the family-run business was inspired by a long-forgotten tradition of salt production on the island dating back centuries, including a documentary about salt-making.
Operating from a custom-modified production facility in Bunacurry, the company hand-harvests pure white salt flakes from the Grade-A wild Atlantic waters surrounding the island. Using a combination of modern and traditional techniques, the salt retains naturally occurring trace minerals with no anti-caking agents or chemical preservatives. The core product range includes Pure Sea Salt Flakes, Smoked Sea Salt, Seaweed Sea Salt blended with Atlantic Wakame sourced from the Connemara Seaweed Company, and Salted Caramel Fudge.
From humble beginnings in a family kitchen, Achill Island Sea Salt has grown into a nationally recognised premium brand, distributed across Ireland through SuperValu, Dunnes Stores, and independent artisan retailers. The company holds verified membership in Bord Bia’s Origin Green sustainability programme and uses recyclable glass jar packaging. They operate a visitor centre and gift shop in Bunacurry, with refreshments available from The Salt Dock, an on-site coffee truck. The brand secured Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status from the European Commission in 2023, and took home a prestigious three-star rating at the 2024 Guild of Fine Food Great Taste Awards for its Smoked Sea Salt.
Builín Blasta
Builín Blasta is an award-winning Irish-language café, bakery, and gourmet food producer operating out of the Ceardlann Craft Village in coastal Spiddal, County Galway.
Led by Canadian-born chef-owner Heather Connolly alongside co-owners Eimear Killian and Jenya Hardziyuk, this female-led business has evolved from a beloved local café into a highly successful food manufacturing brand that bridges West of Ireland hospitality with modern food innovation.
Their retail success stemmed from an in-house creation that customers couldn’t get enough of: a signature, small-batch gourmet condiment range. Grounded in a chef-tested philosophy, the brand focuses on crafting premium, clean-label products designed to elevate everyday home dining, with their slow-smoked onion technique delivering an unmistakable depth of flavour across their savoury range.
This dedication to quality and flavour has won Builín Blasta widespread industry acclaim and a permanent spot in Ireland’s premium condiment market. Their flagship Smoked Onion Mayo, along with its Spicy and Light variants, has secured an impressive four Blas na hÉireann Irish Food Awards, including two gold medals. Beyond flavour, the company is equally celebrated for its progressive stance on sustainability. Having achieved Origin Green Gold Membership from Bord Bia, the business actively champions circular economy initiatives. In 2024, it will surpass its waste reduction milestone target by 24% and develop new value-added products by repurposing food production by-products.
Chimac Sauces
Chimac was founded by Dublin-based couple Sofie Rooney and Garret FitzGerald, who became passionate about a Korean cultural phenomenon called “chimaek” (meaning fried chicken and beer), first encountering it while living in San Francisco, with a trip to Seoul in 2016 cementing their obsession.
Sofie brings a background in communications and an MSc in marketing from UCD Smurfit School, while Garret is a chef and former brewer at Wicklow Wolf craft brewery. The pair opened their flagship restaurant on Aungier Street in Dublin in 2019, before developing a retail sauce range that uses traditional Korean condiments in fusion recipes to create bold flavours from hot and tangy to sweet and umami. The current range includes Korean Hot Sauce, K-BBQ Sauce, Sriracha Caramel, and Kimchi Ketchup.
What began with frying chicken in a tiny galley kitchen has grown into an internationally recognised brand now sold in 12 countries and over 700 retailers. Chimac sauces are available throughout the UK and Ireland in retailers including Selfridges, Tesco Ireland, Avoca, and Donnybrook Fair. The brand has been featured in the Irish Times and the Irish Examiner, and has earned awards at Blas na hÉireann. Chimac has also been featured in Image Magazine.
CRAIC Foods
Based in Craigavon, Northern Ireland, CRAIC Foods is an innovative food development and production business co-founded in 2017 by experienced chef Paul Clarke and Peter Hannan of the award-winning Hannan Meats.
The company focuses on pushing culinary boundaries through the exploration of unique ingredients, textures, and flavours, balancing creative experimentation with a deep understanding of traditional foundations. In addition to creating its own signature lines, CRAIC Foods acts as a collaborative hub, partnering with and supporting inspiring brand owners and artisan start-ups to help bring new culinary concepts to market.
This dedication to flavour innovation has earned the company a highly decorated reputation. Their achievements include a Three-Star Great Taste Award and the Northern Ireland Golden Fork in 2020 for their Black Garlic & Porcini Sea Salt, a Blas na hÉireann Gold for the Meat Merchant M1 Steak Sauce, a Regional Winner for Northern Ireland award at the Great British Food Awards 2022 for their Kitchen 3 Chilli Furikake, and the Grand Champion title at the Great British Food Awards 2021 for their Pickled Gooseberries in Apple & Elderflower Vinegar.
Dingle Sea Salt
Dingle Sea Salt is an eco-conscious artisan food brand based in Dún Chaoin on the edge of the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. The business was founded by two friends, Tom Leach and Moe McKeown (a horticulturalist and a scientist, respectively, who moved to the Dingle Peninsula around 2015 and bonded over a shared love of surfing and the natural environment.
The company’s entire production methodology revolves around low-carbon principles, making it uniquely distinct in the artisan seasoning sector. Seawater is carefully collected from the pristine Atlantic waters surrounding the Dingle Peninsula and transferred to custom-designed evaporation tunnels powered entirely by the sun and wind. Here, the water undergoes a slow, natural evaporation process over several weeks, allowing the salt to crystallise gently without fire, fossil fuels, or chemical bleaching agents. The resulting premium product consists of unrefined, mineral-rich, crisp white salt flakes prized for their delicate texture and clean, sweet finish.
The business has successfully translated its green ideals into a highly regarded retail presence across Ireland. Dingle Sea Salt has targeted premium, independent distribution networks, securing shelf space in artisan spaces, luxury food halls, independent delis, and boutique craft shops nationwide. Their sustainably packaged products are also stocked through the SuperValu Food Academy programme and direct-to-consumer online channels. The brand’s commitment to environmental sustainability and pure flavour has earned significant industry recognition, including a Gold medal at the Blas na hÉireann Irish Food Awards in 2022 and a Euro-Toques Ireland Food Award in 2025.
Flavour Safari
Flavour Safari is based in Mountmellick, County Laois, and produces a unique range of African-inspired condiments. The business was established in September 2015 by Michael Onalimi under his parent enterprise, The Jungle Food Company.
Michael, who grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, surrounded by rich culinary traditions and a family deep in food culture, combined his heritage with high-quality Irish produce to create the brand. Flavour Safari specialises in small-batch, versatile sauces that are certified gluten-free and suitable for vegetarians. The primary product line focuses on fusion tomato-based recipes, featuring a Mild Tomato and Herb sauce, a Spicy Tomato option, a Spicy Olive and Tomato sauce, and a Pesto sauce, all designed to be enjoyed hot with pasta or cold as a salsa dip.
The business has built a solid domestic retail footprint through its participation in the SuperValu Food Academy development programme. Flavour Safari products are distributed across the Republic of Ireland through SuperValu stores, alongside regional listings with Laois Taste and local farmers’ markets. Michael has consistently targeted international growth, showcasing the brand at the BBC Good Food Show in Belfast, Birmingham, and London to facilitate future export distribution into the United Kingdom. The brand has accumulated significant recognition within the enterprise sector, winning the Best Food Provider title at the Irish Micro Business Awards in 2017 and the Business of the Year title at the same awards in 2022, and has been featured as a Grow with Google success story in Ireland.
Irish Atlantic Sea Salt
Irish Atlantic Sea Salt is based in Cahermore on the remote Beara Peninsula in West Cork. The family-owned enterprise was officially launched in 2010 by Michael and Aileen O’Neill, heavily inspired by Michael’s late father, Bernie, who encouraged the couple to explore the potential of the pristine coastal waters right at the family’s back door and helped them throughout the lengthy process of finding the right production technique.
Sadly, Bernie passed away in December 2010 and did not live to see the company’s success. Michael, drawing from over 15 years of professional experience in the seafood and commercial fishing industries, spent years collaborating with Aileen to research and perfect an optimal production process. Their bespoke method blends traditional, age-old salt-making methods with modern, energy-efficient techniques to harvest clean flakes. By evaporating high-salinity Atlantic seawater slowly and naturally, the company produces unrefined, gourmet flakes that retain over 50 essential natural trace minerals, entirely free from anti-caking agents or chemical bleaching.
The company holds a legacy as the first natural sea salt to be commercially produced in Ireland, successfully establishing a premium domestic alternative to mass imports. The brand’s signature flakes and creative seasoned blends have secured a widespread national footprint, distributed across major Irish grocery groups and premium food halls, including select Dunnes Stores, Tesco, SuperValu, Fallon & Byrne, and various independent health stores nationwide. The company has achieved significant industry recognition since its launch, winning the West Cork Enterprise Board’s Company of the Year Award in 2012, picking up multiple blind-tasting accolades at the Guild of Fine Food Great Taste Awards, and earning Aileen a runner-up spot for the Agribusiness & Innovation title at the Women in Agriculture Awards.
Lakeshore
Lakeshore is a premium food brand owned by the Boyne Valley Group, an organisation established in 1960 by Malachy McCloskey in Drogheda, Ireland, originally as a honey business. Lakeshore itself was founded in 1982 and has grown into one of Ireland’s most trusted food brands, highly regarded for crafting speciality staples designed to elevate everyday cooking.
The brand’s primary product range focuses on mustards, featuring Wholegrain, Dijon, Wholegrain with Honey, and its iconic Wholegrain Mustard with Irish Whiskey. In addition to these condiments, Lakeshore produces extra virgin cold-pressed Irish rapeseed oils in classic and flavoured varieties, including garlic, chilli, basil, and lemon. They also manufacture a seasonal range of gourmet items, including goose fat, duck fat, a golden honey and mustard ham glaze, luxury mincemeat, and a rich cranberry sauce.
As part of the wider Boyne Valley Group network, Lakeshore products are available at major grocery retailers across Ireland, including Dunnes Stores and SuperValu, as well as convenience stores and wholesale channels nationwide.
Little Red’s Sauces
Little Red’s Sauces creates an award-winning premium range of handmade hot sauces and seasonings. The company was founded in 2020 by Shane Doherty, who turned his personal passion for hot sauce into a dedicated business project after losing his job during the pandemic.
Shane named the venture Little Red’s in honour of his father, affectionately known as Big Red, making Shane himself the “Little Red” of the name. Carefully handcrafted from start to finish, the entire product line focuses on all-natural, locally sourced ingredients without any added chemicals, additives, or thickening agents. The current core product range features the Everyday Hot Sauce, a Chipotle BBQ Sauce, and a Roasted Pepper and Garlic Salsa, all of which are entirely gluten-free and vegan-friendly.
The company has grown significantly since its start and is now actively distributing through SuperValu locations via the Food Academy programme, alongside a variety of independent Irish retailers, and ships directly to customers via its online platform. The brand has achieved impressive industry recognition, most notably securing a Gold award at the Blas na hÉireann Irish Food Awards in 2022 for its Everyday Hot Sauce, which topped its category in blind tasting to be recognised as one of Ireland’s finest hot sauces.
Mama Bear Foods
Mama Bear Foods is a Cork-based Irish food brand founded in 2018 by Loretta Kennedy, a mother of three who began making a healthier ketchup from her kitchen in Glanmire.
Frustrated by the high sugar content in mainstream condiments, she developed a reduced-sugar, gut-friendly alternative using only natural ingredients that her children would actually enjoy. What started as a kitchen experiment quickly gained commercial traction, with the brand earning early national exposure through the Grow with Aldi supplier development programme and securing listings across Ireland.
The company specialises in a range of family-friendly ketchups and condiments, including a classic Tomato Ketchup, Smoky BBQ Ketchup, Roasted Garlic Ketchup, Hidden Veggies Ketchup, and a pasta sauce. The full range is naturally gluten-free, vegan-friendly, and free from artificial additives.
In November 2022, Mama Bear Foods reached a significant milestone when it was acquired by Ballymaloe Foods, the acquisition marking the first in that company’s 30-year history. Loretta joined the Ballymaloe team to continue developing the brand. Products are now widely available in SuperValu, Dunnes Stores, and Aldi stores across the Republic of Ireland.
Meltdown Hot Stuff
Meltdown Hot Stuff is a Dublin-born artisan hot sauce that grew out of Meltdown, the much-loved gourmet grilled cheese café founded by Maeve O’Malley. Maeve launched Meltdown in April 2018 as a three-month pop-up on Stephen Street Lower, before moving to a residency at the Button Factory, where the café grew in popularity and became the go-to destination for the ultimate toastie.
The Hot Stuff sauce began life as a key ingredient in some of the café’s grilled cheese sandwiches, before Maeve started bottling it for the café tables. Daily customer requests to purchase it prompted her to produce small batches for wider retail.
The sauce is made from tomatoes and fresh habanero peppers, along with Irish apples and other natural Irish ingredients. Focusing on flavour over fire, the fruity habanero sauce utilises simple ingredients in a not-too-hot style that brings fruity notes to the foreground. It is low-fat and plant-based, pairing well with everything from toasties and eggs to soups and stews.
The sauce launched in Lidl stores across Ireland and Northern Ireland through the Lidl Kickstart Supplier Development Programme and is also stocked by independent retailers, including Mimi+Martha. Maeve has since expanded the Meltdown business, opening a second café location on Leeson Street in Dublin.
Mezze
Mezze is a specialist Middle Eastern food brand, deli, and café operating out of the seaside town of Tramore in County Waterford. The business was founded by Nicola Crowley and her husband Dvir Nusery, who first met while backpacking, before living together in the Middle East for eight years. The couple moved to Tramore 11 years ago, and after 3 years of having a food stall at markets, food festivals and doing pop-up events, we opened Mezze in Tramore, where they now live. They wanted to have a space to not only run their deli but also for events such as our supper clubs and summer nights as well as catering and cooking workshops and demos.
It’s a versatile small space and we love the community in Tramore who have supported us throughout the years. Combining locally sourced Irish produce with the Middle Eastern flavours they had come to love. The brand’s signature Lavosh Flatbreads are produced in West Cork using Irish extra virgin rapeseed oil, and come in varieties including Za’atar and Seaweed. The retail range also includes tahini chocolate chip cookies, sold as ambient grocery items alongside other Middle Eastern pantry staples. The couple have also published a hardback cookbook titled Middle Eastern Food Made to Share.
Nicola reached out to us and said: “Although not widely available in supermarkets, we also have a range of housemade spice blends which we sell in Mezze and online on mezze.ie and at Ardkeen Quality Food Store. Our most popular one is ras el hanout, which I see as a blend which works on everything – my favourite thing to use it on is pan-fried hake or in a Moroccan soup called harira which has tomatoes, lentils, veg and chickpeas. Ras el Hanout means ‘head of the shop’ or ‘top shelf’ and traditionally is the spice shop’s best and favourite spices blended. Our blend has two types of paprika (Dvir’s favourite), rose petals, cumin, coriander, and 10 other spices!”
Mic’s Chilli
Mic’s Chilli is a multi-award-winning artisan hot sauce brand handmade in Kilcoole, County Wicklow, founded in 2010 by Michael Wejchert. Michael was just 16 when he first discovered hot sauce on a family trip to Belize in 1994, where every table he sat at had a bottle of sauce on it. On returning home, he spent years in the kitchen perfecting his own recipes to recreate those intense flavours, eventually launching his first commercial product, Inferno Original, in 2010. The brand’s hot sauces are lovingly handmade in Wicklow from the finest chillies and contain no artificial flavourings, colourings, or preservatives. The core Inferno range spans four heat levels: Junior, Lite, Original, and Extreme, alongside a Sweet Chilli Sauce, Chilli BBQ Sauce, and the intensely fiery Voodoo Reaper. The Voodoo Reaper is one of three ultra-hot sauces made with the world’s hottest chillies in serious quantities, all over 50% chillies, with Trouble in Trinidad and Naga Knockdown completing the trio.
Mic’s Chilli produces over 14 distinct hot sauces at its Kilcoole production plant, with the brand instantly recognisable for its Day of the Dead-inspired label artwork by leading Irish illustrator Steve Simpson. Products are stocked across a wide network of premium Irish retailers, including Avoca, Fallon & Byrne, Cavistons Glasthule, and Lotts & Co, alongside independent butchers, delis, and the brand’s own online store. Beyond Ireland, Mic’s Chilli is exported across Europe and to the United States, with the brand continuing to grow its international presence from its Wicklow base.
North Coast Smokehouse
North Coast Smokehouse is a family-run micro-smokery based in the coastal town of Ballycastle, County Antrim. The business was founded by Ruairidh Morrison, originally from the Scottish Hebridean Isle of Islay, and Melanie Brown, a Ballycastle native, who met each other in New Zealand, where they lived, worked, and played Irish music together.
The Morrisons set up in Ballycastle, Melanie’s hometown, in 2009 and established the smokehouse three years later. Ruairidh had spent years managing salmon farms in Scotland and New Zealand and working in fish health, and had always harboured the idea of running his own salmon-smoking business. The smokehouse specialises in producing smoked foods naturally, with a product range including award-winning smoke-roasted organic salmon, smoked trout, smoked sea salt, smoked black pepper, smoked rapeseed oil, and smoked dulse seaweed.
North Coast Smokehouse produces a distinctive range of naturally smoked artisan condiments that stand firmly on their own merits as a pantry essential. The condiment range is handcrafted in small batches in Ballycastle, County Antrim, and includes smoked sea salt, smoked cracked black pepper, smoked rapeseed oil, and smoked dulse seaweed flakes.
All their products were made using traditional smoking techniques with absolutely no artificial additives, colourings, or preservatives. The range draws on locally sourced Irish ingredients and smoking methods learned in New Zealand, where food smoking is deeply embedded in culinary culture, giving each product a genuinely distinctive depth of flavour. Lightweight and shelf-stable, the pouched products are well-suited to both domestic retail and online distribution, allowing the brand to reach customers well beyond the north Antrim coast. The range has won multiple prestigious industry awards, including UK Great Taste Awards in 2016 and 2018, as well as medals at the Blas na hÉireann Awards, cementing North Coast Smokehouse as one of Ireland’s most respected artisan condiment producers.
Oriel Sea Salt
Oriel Sea Salt was established in 2010 by Brian Fitzpatrick and John Delany at Port Oriel, Clogherhead, County Louth, with a mission to completely rethink how sea salt is harvested. What sets the brand apart is its unique sealed pressurised harvesting system: seawater is pumped directly from the seabed without ever being exposed to air, sand, soil, or human hands until it emerges as a finished product, a process described as producing the only non-oxidised sea salt on the planet.
The result is a fine, powder-like grain that dissolves and disperses 80% faster than conventional sea salt, with a powerful intensity of flavour that allows consumers and food producers to use significantly less. The retail range includes a Natural sea salt, a Kiln-Dried variety, and a selection of smoked infusions, including Teeling Whiskey, Guinness, and Roe & Co Whiskey Smoked Sea Salt.
Oriel is the only company in Europe to hold two EU Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) designations, one for its Mineral Sea Salt and one for its Deep Ocean Magnesium, a status granted by the EU Commission in August 2016. The brand also holds Organic Certification and Gold Standard Origin Green status for sustainability, and its salt is used by major Irish and international food brands, including Coca-Cola, Ballymaloe, East Coast Bakehouse, Waterford Blaa, and O’Donnells Crisps. The company has since expanded into the health sector under the Oriel Marine Extracts brand, developing the world’s first deep-sea liquid magnesium health supplement, with the product available online and in health stores across Ireland, Northern Ireland, the USA, Canada, and the Middle East.
The Real Olive Co
The Real Olive Company was established in 1993 by Toby Simmonds as Ireland’s first official olive stall. Toby was only twenty years old when he set up a small stall at the Princes Street end of Cork’s historic English Market, beginning with ten varieties of olives and a few other Mediterranean foods. He later grew the business alongside partner Jenny-Rose Clarke into a comprehensive importer and maker of fine Mediterranean produce. Central to their range are premium extra virgin olive oils, sourced from traditional cooperatives, and aged balsamic vinegars, reflecting the company’s long-standing commitment to authentic, additive-free Mediterranean ingredients. Their broader selection also includes more than 20 varieties of olives, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh pesto, hummus, tapenade, pickles, dried fruits, and Iberico-cured meats.
In 2011, the couple established Toons Bridge Dairy as a sister company, producing Ireland’s first buffalo mozzarella from an old creamery building in Toonsbridge, West Cork, with a range extending to caciocavallo, ricotta, smoked scamorza, halloumi, and burrata. The Real Olive Company has participated in over 35 markets nationwide and delivers through an online shop. In 2013, Toby received an Irish Food Writers’ Guild Good Food Award for their Toons Bridge Dairy Buffalo Mozzarella.
Scarlet for Yer Ma / Dublin Hot Sauce Company
The Dublin Hot Sauce Company, trading commercially as The Scarlet Chilli Company, is based in Mulhuddart, Co. Dublin. The business was founded by Brian O’Neill, who spent 2018 researching and setting up the venture after living in California for twenty years, where he developed a passion for hot sauce. The first bottle of Scarlet for Yer Ma was produced in 2019. The company specialises in clean, small-batch hot sauces made without artificial fillers or preservatives, with the brand identity rooted in playful Dublin phrases, most famously captured in the signature product name, Scarlet for Yer Ma. Rather than harsh distilled vinegar, O’Neill uses red wine vinegar, which he says rounds the flavour off. The core range includes Scarlet Original, Scarlet Chipotle, Molly’s Mango and Pineapple, Scarlet Raspberry Chipotle, and a Whiskey Hot Sauce.
The company distributes through a curated network of independent Irish stockists. Key Dublin retail partners include Cavistons Food Emporium, Lotts & Co, Lilliput Stores, Lennox Street Grocer, and Corrigan’s Butchers of Drumcondra, alongside Eleven Deli in Greystones, Co. Wicklow. The company is also committed to growing the brand internationally, with an online shop serving customers beyond Ireland.
West of Dingle Sea Salt
West of Dingle Sea Salt is based in Ballyferriter on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry. The business was founded in early 2021 by husband-and-wife team Brian and Marie Farrell. Brian is a chef with an extensive culinary career, and together they hand-harvest sea salt from the Wild Atlantic Ocean surrounding the Dingle Peninsula. Marie is also a talented potter, and the pair carry out the entire process by hand; collecting, filtering, evaporating, sifting, infusing, blending, packing and labelling their products along the coast of the Peninsula. Their range includes Pure Natural Sea Salt alongside flavoured varieties such as Lemon & Rosemary, Whiskey Smoked, and a Smokehouse Rub, with a small-batch Black Garlic salt also available.
Key stockists include Fallon & Byrne, all Avoca food stores, The Fumbally Café, and Sheridan’s Cheesemongers, as well as Ardkeen Quality Food Store, The Bakery by The Cup Cake Bloke. With an online shop shipping across Ireland and internationally. The company achieved a remarkable milestone at the 2021 Blás na hÉireann Awards, where all three of their original flavours won Gold, a first for a first time any producer to have their entire range win gold in the competition. Their innovative flavours have also earned recommendations from celebrity chef Donal Skehan and a place in John and Sally McKenna’s Best in Ireland 2022 guide.
Wild About
Wild About is a family-run, multi-award-winning artisan food company handmaking products on their biodiversity farm in County Wexford, founded by Fiona and Malcolm Falconer. The couple gave up a London lifestyle and, after settling in rural Wexford, built their organic permaculture business from the ground up. Their product philosophy is rooted in low-intervention, land-to-bottle production, making artisan foods from Ireland’s native, seasonal and wild ingredients. All grown in their own permaculture gardens, foraged from the wild, or sourced locally.
Fiona and Malcolm purposely grow crops of young nettles, fennel and other wild plants to produce an extensive range of sparkling drinks, syrups, jellies and chutneys, alongside seasonal wild garlic pesto and infused oils using ingredients like wild garlic, chilli, nasturtium, thyme and parsley. For gifting, the company uses carbon-neutral packaging, and its entire operation reflects a commitment to championing biodiversity at Tús Nua Farm. The innovative flavours and sustainable ethos have earned the company widespread recognition and a celebrated reputation within the Irish artisan food community.
Wild Irish Seaweeds
Wild Irish Seaweeds is an organic food and wellness brand based in Quilty in County Clare. Founded in 2009 by Gerard and Eileen Talty, it’s a family company, with the Talty children and grandchildren regularly involved in the harvest.
The family has been hand harvesting wild organic seaweed from the west of Ireland for over 100 years, keeping the same techniques passed down across four generations, while innovating to build a state-of-the-art drying and processing facility. Their premium culinary portfolio includes certified organic whole and milled sea vegetables such as Dillisk (Dulse), Kelp, and Carrageen Irish Moss, alongside mineral-rich seaweed sprinkles designed as healthy alternatives to traditional table seasoning. The wider range spans over 23 products across edible, skincare, and pet and land care lines.
The business has scaled from local markets into an extensive domestic and international operation. The company exports to over 60 countries globally, supplying the retail, food ingredient, and nutraceutical industries. This growth has earned the brand significant recognition: Wild Irish Seaweeds won the Best Export Award at the National Enterprise Awards, cited as one of the only hand-picked wild seaweed companies in Europe. The company was also shortlisted in two categories at Bord Bia’s 2024 National Organic Awards, for Best Irish Organic Export Product and Best New & Innovative Irish Organic Product.
White Mausu
White Mausu was founded by Katie Sanderson and Jasper O’Connor, who met while working at Dublin’s Fumbally Café and later ran a summer boat shed restaurant in the west of Ireland, where their homemade rāyu became a staff favourite. After a buzzing run at Dublin’s weekly flea markets, their jars began lining the shelves of indie shops, supermarkets, and cafés across the country. The range comprises Peanut Rāyu, Black Bean Rāyu, and Cashew Crunch, a mash-up of the bold flavours of Korea and China with the more delicate ones of Japan.
Based in coastal Spiddal, Builín Blasta was launched in 2015 by Canadian-born chef Heather Connolly. Her Smoked Onion Mayo, developed in 2018, won Gold at the 2021 Blas na hÉireann Awards and is now stocked in over 400 stores nationwide, including select Dunnes Stores, SuperValu, and Tesco. The onions are slow-smoked until sweet and smoky before being folded into creamy mayonnaise, with a spicy variant also available and are both celebrated as bold, flavour-packed alternatives to everyday condiments.
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