The Primary Planet, Winners of the National Enterprise Awards Final in Co. Leitrim pictured L to R Joe Lowe, Local Enterprise Office Leitrim, Cllr Paddy O'Rourke, Cathaoirleach, Leitrim County Council, Gerry Hickey, Padraig Fitzsimons, The Primary Planet and Frank Curran, Chief Executive, Leitrim County Council.
The County Final of the National Enterprise Awards took place recently in The Bush Hotel. An annual event, previously run by the County and City Enterprise Boards, the event is currently being rolled out by the Local Enterprise Offices around the country.
The National Enterprise Awards acknowledge the achievements of micro-enterprises and their valuable contribution to communities around the country. Previous winners have found that the coverage gained as a result of the awards has benefited their businesses in many ways.
Open to businesses who have received financial support from the Local Enterprise Office (or previously from Leitrim County Enterprise Board), the awards serve to promote local businesses and their value to their local communities.
The Co. Leitrim 2014 finalists showcase a flavour of the wide variety of businesses operating in Co. Leitrim today. They include Chef Sham Sauces, Event Insure, Barbelo Chocolates, Carrig Brewing Company, Aliceway Productions and The Primary Planet.
With such a high calibre of entrants, the judging process was thorough and indepth and the successful businesses on the day included;
Emerging Food Business - Barbelo Chocolates
Based in Manorhamilton, Barbelo Chocolates produce a range of luxury hand-made chocolates. Established by Teresa Mc Morrow in 2013, Barbelo Chocolates is sold through Supervalu, Kate’s Kitchen and private orders. Barbelo Chocolate is marketed through product tastings at present and a website is currently in development.
New Product Development - Chef Sham’s Sauces
Chef Shamzuri Hanifa has operated The Cottage Restaurant in Jamestown since 2008, and found that customers to both the restaurant and the cookery demonstrations were interested in buying the sauces. The outcome was that Chef Sham’s Sauces was born and Sham now supplies a range of sauces and condiments which are produced locally and bottled and labelled by hand.
Sham has been promoting the sauces locally, and has a video clip on Youtube on how to use the sauce, he also developed a calendar for 2014 with recipes using his sauces. He has also attended the Craft Fair with Good Food Ireland, got a review in the Mc Kenna guide, and attended Holiday Expo and Electric Picnic. To find out more about these mouth watering sauces check out www.cottagerestaurant.ie
Creative Category - Aliceway Ltd. T/A Bandit Films
A film production company firmly rooted in Dromahair, Aliceway Productions generates original product ideas for the film and tv market. With national customers including TG4, RTE, Tesco, Xtravision and International customers in Belgium and the UK, Aliceway Productions market their business through social media, youtube and through a presence at international markets. With an impressive filmography that includes The Making of Jimmy’s Hall, Black Ice, Astray, Homeland, Mapmaker and Last Bus Home to name but a few, Aliceway Productions are over 20 years established and use local crew, local expertise and local locations as much as possible. To find out more on this exciting company check out www.banditfilms.ie.
ICT - EventInsure.ie
Established in late 2013 as part of Joseph G. Brady Insurance Ltd, eventinsure.ie was set up to wholesale and retail insurance products in the leisure, sports and events sector. Their products include liability, property and cancellation insurances. Seeing a gap in the market, eventinsure.ie created a solution to the problem of difficulty in insuring events.
Operating on a national level at the minute, they have plans for expansion into the UK markets in the short term. Eventinsure.ie is primarily marketed to their brokers via newsletters, face to face meetings, PR, merchandising and broker conferences and to the public through social media, attendance at events and trade associations. For all you event insurance needs check out www.eventinsure.ie
Best New Start Up - Carrig Brewing Company
A Micro Craft Brewery, based in the Food Hub, Drumshanbo, Carrig Brewing Company produces a range of six beers. Established in 2011, the beer making was initially contracted out, but manufacturing locally began in January 2014. With a national customer base, Carrig Brewing Company hopes to export in the near future. Carrig Brewing Company market themselves through social media, which has assisted with brand awareness, as well as running tasting events on the premises of their customers. For more information on this local brewery check out www.carrigbrewing.com
Overall Winner- The Primary Planet Ltd
Primary Planet is a monthly publication and website producing a 40 page glossy full colour news magazine for primary school children. Publishing children’s writing, opinion and comments as well as providing reading, activities etc, the publication also contains a dedicated teachers section for planning, lesson plans and activities. As the first and only children’s newspaper in Ireland, the Primary Planet has grown and developed over its three years in existence with over 12,000 customers and a readership of over 60,000 children a month. The Primary Planet markets itself through social media, direct advertising, mailshot campaigns, cold calling, school visits, educational conferences as well as word of mouth. To check out this interesting publication see www.theprimaryplanet.ie
Presenting the awards, Frank Curran, CEO of Leitrim County Council commended the finalists on their achievements and outlined that they represent the diverse range of businesses in operation in Co. Leitrim today.
Speaking at the event, Joe Lowe, Head of Local Enterprise congratulated the finalists on their successes to date adding that they are representative of the sector that are creating and sustaining jobs in the Irish economy at present.
As the County winner, The Primary Planet Ltd are being interviewed at a regional heat where eight businesses from all over Ireland will be shortlisted for the overall National Enterprise Awards Final which will be held in Dublin in early 2015.
