Kildare Brewing Company - Award Winning Local Beer
Business Name: Kildare Brewing Co t/a ProKulture Organic Kombucha
Business Location: Unit W6L Ladytown Business Park, Naas, Co. Kildare
Website: www.kildarebrewing.ie / www.prokulture.com
Established in: 2017
Number of Employees: 7
Famous for: Brewing fresh, local, premium beer & brewing multi award winning organic kombucha
Kildare Brewing Company is a small 1,000L micro brewery based onsite at Lock 13 Brewpub, along the Grand Canal in the picturesque village of Sallins, County Kildare (30 mins from Dublin City Centre.) We produce flavoursome & small batch real beer from local malt & pristine water from a nearby granite lake which lets the hops, yeast & malt shine from in our handcrafted beers. In 2019, we innovated our product offering & with the addition of brewing organic kombucha based on the trends that we had seen in our pub, Lock 13 Brewpub seeing customers ask for non alcoholic, low sugar refreshing alternatives to the sugary soft drinks that flood our marketplace.
What can you tell us about the early days and how it all started?
Having a keen interest in fermentation & healthier alternative drinks we researched in 2019 products that we could brew on our existing Brew-house that would add to our existing range to differentiate our company from other breweries.
What were the high points and low points when you were a start-up?
High points has been creating Kildare’s 1st ever brewpub back in 2017 and continuing that trend by setting up Kildare’s 1st ever Kombucha Brewery in 2019 which we have now since Jan 2023 being brewing in our bespoke Kombucha Brewhouse in Ladytown Business Park. Low points would be personnel being head hunted by other breweries and the instability that caused after investing in our team over a number of years, but we have always reacted well as a team to fill the void left.
What was your big ‘break-through’ moment?
Our big break through moment was in Jan 2020 when Aldi Ireland took us in as one of the 42 companies that would showcase their products in their Grow With Aldi 2 week programme. Our product sold very well and after the two weeks we were awarded a 1 year contract with Aldi Ireland, which we have been with them since June 2020 to date.
Local Enterprise Office Kildare has supported your business. Tell us about these supports and what impact they have had?
We are very greatful to the support of our Local Enterprise Office as without them we wouldn’t have had the finance and skillet to be able to achieve all we have done to date. We have completed Green for Micro & Lean Programs through their help, funding for new employees, finance capital for a canning machine & bottling machine in our new kombucha brewery, but even more important than any of the above it’s the connections made with the team inside in Kildare LEO who are always on hand to pick up he phone and offer advice anytime of the day which we find most valuable to us.
You’re getting ready to represent LEO Kildare at the National Enterprise Awards on June 1st 2023– what does this mean to you and your business?
I am honoured to represent County Kildare in this year’s awards. There is a great abundance of entrepreneurial activity within our county borders and to be selected as this year’s County winner was a complete shock to me. Our business is ready to take the next step into more retailers on the island of Ireland and abroad, by receiving this award further cements that we are on the right track.
What’s next on the business agenda for your company?
Next on our business agenda is to engage with more retailers to stock our product as the new kombucha brewery is ready to launch, also we are working with Glanbia to bring new and innovating products to the marketplace which we are really excited to explore with them
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten about running a business?
There will no doubt failures in your business journey, but it not how hard you fall it’s how quickly you get back up.
