Minister Peter Burke announced the winners, with businesses recognised across a range of categories, including Innovation, Sustainability, Start-Up and Exporting.
A self-styled “Irish Willy Wonka” business that boosted revenue by 815% in a single year through bold innovation and trendsetting has taken the top prize at this year’s National Enterprise Awards. Sugar Plum Sweetery, based in Mullingar, was established in 2022 by Denise Buckley and David Quirke, who bring extensive experience in retail and marketing, having previously founded the Wholesome Kitchen restaurant in the town.
The couple have established an experience led sweet and chocolate destination store in Mullingar, while also operating an impressive online business for their products. Their ability to spot and adapt to trends such as the Dubai Chocolate bar and kids Labubu toys, saw them create trendsetting unique sweet treats in a matter of weeks that similar companies were taking months to turn around. Their top selling products in 2025, were created by them from scratch and did not exist in 2024.
This saw them increase their revenue from €480K in 2024 to €4.3million in 2025 and scale their team from 10 to 40 employees, supported by their Local Enterprise Office in Westmeath. Their sales success has made them the number one retailer on the TikTok Shop in Ireland. With two spectacular stores in Mullingar and Kildare Village they aim to expand across Ireland and internationally in the next 18 months and bring that Willy Wonka style experience to more consumers.
The Awards, which are an initiative of the Local Enterprise Offices to celebrate the best small businesses in Ireland, were held at the Round Room in the Mansion House in Dublin in what is their 26th year. Peter Burke,T.D., Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, announced this year’s winners in front of representatives from the Local Enterprise Offices, Enterprise Ireland, the Local Authorities and small businesses from across the country at the event.
Announcing the award winners at the Mansion House Minister Burke said; “The National Enterprise Awards are the highlight of the small business and enterprise calendar, with a growing diversity of businesses and an increasingly high standard among the companies progressing through the process year on year. We have some exceptional winners, but the finalists overall have been outstanding, reflecting the remarkable quality of small businesses right across the country.
Kieran Comerford, Chair of the Local Enterprise Offices, said; “Yet again this year we have seen outstanding finalists and exceptional winners for the National Enterprise Awards. They are the very best of the start-up and small business community across the country and it’s an honour for the Local Enterprise Offices to get the chance to work with them and support them. They are already showing that amazing businesses can start and grow in any part of this island and in turn they can help to support local economies and job creation.
“We have had some amazing winners here tonight, many of whom will go on to become internationally recognised companies. That shows the level that these finalists are at and the footsteps that they follow in from previous Awards. To make it to this point shows that you are one of the country’s very best and I want to congratulate all the Finalists and the winners but there is plenty more to come from all these businesses in the coming months and years.”
There were several other category winners announced on the night.
The Best Export Award
The winner of the Best Export Business was the The Smooth Company supported by Local Enterprise Office South Dublin. The company, set up by EY Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year in 2025 Aine Kennedy, has taken the beauty world by storm with their range of hair products aimed at taking the stress out of hair care, including their record-breaking launch product The Smooth Stick now exporting to over 90 countries.
Innovation Award
The winner of the Innovation Award was I/O Agri, supported by Local Enterprise Office Cavan. As pressure increases on the agriculture industry to reduce emissions, I/O Agri founders Sandra Thompson and Shane O’Reilly have created a system for trapping emissions for farmers and converting these emissions into by-products that can be used for renewable energy production, lowering emissions and creating a new income stream.
Best Start Up Award
The winner of the Best Start-Up Award was RYSE Chocolate supported by Local Enterprise Office Meath. The company set up by brothers in-law Ian O’Rourke and David Stone put a new twist on the energy market creating Europe’s first caffeinated chocolate bar and will soon be launching into the UK and US.
Green Award
The winner of the Green Award was Accelerating Change Together (ACT) supported by Local Enterprise Office Mayo. Founded by James McConville, ACT brings together architects, urban designers and policy specialists to help reimage how Ireland designs its towns, buildings and communities for a more sustainable future.
Digital Award
The winner of the Digital Award was Photo Experience supported by Local Enterprise Office Offaly. Dean Kelly, founder of Photo Experience, works with theme parks, zoos, museums and visitor attractions to captures guests experiences and deliver photos straight to their phones.
Female Entrepreneur Award
The winner of the Female Entrepreneur Award was Therese Murphy from Equi-Ed supported by Local Enterprise Office Kildare. Based at the National Equine Innovation Centre at the National Stud, Equi-Ed provides professional equine therapy training, certifications and specialist courses for horse owners and equine professionals.
This year’s winners share a €80,000 investment fund and nine regional winners were also announced on the night and the overall winner was chosen from these regional awards.
Those winners are –
• ExamRevision in the Dublin Region (backed by LEO Dublin City)
• The Cultured Food Company in the South West Region (backed by LEO Cork North & West)
• SiSu Juice Company in the Mid East Region (backed by LEO Wicklow)
• Sugar Plum Sweetery in the Midlands Region (backed by LEO Westmeath)
• Huwmo in the South East Region (backed by LEO Kilkenny)
• Niche Specialist Staffing Partners in the North West Region (backed by LEO Donegal)
• The Rug Rack in the North East Region (backed by LEO Monaghan)
• Eventmaster in the Mid West Region (backed by LEO Limerick)
• Celtic Dynamics Engineering in the West Region (backed by LEO Galway)
Also honoured on the night were EngDoc who won the Outstanding Achievement Award. An example of a company who began with their Local Enterprise Office and then accessed support from Enterprise Ireland to grow their business globally. The company, established in 2006 by David Mullen and Tim King, originally began by producing operation and maintenance manuals and drawings for mechanical and electrical contractors.
As construction became more digital, the business evolved too, embracing new technologies and becoming a specialist in Building Information Modelling (BIM). Now employing 35 people at their headquarters in Sligo, they are involved in some of the most complex international construction projects from schools and hospitals to pharmaceutical facilities and major international data centres.
Previous winners of the National Enterprise Awards include Irish Yoghurts (1998), Obelisk (2000), Simtech Aviation (2008), Digiweb (2004) and Design Pro (2013), Terra NutriTech (2018), Pestle & Mortar (2019), Bevcraft (2021), Aqualicence in 2022, Advanced Cosmetics in 2023 and DreamDev Technologies in 2024.
Last year’s winners were SPRYT, supported by Local Enterprise Office Monaghan. The Irish health tech startup uses AI to improve how patients access and attend medical appointments and since their win in 2025 have gone on to secure significant international investment which has helped them expand with new partnerships in the UK and the US.
The National Enterprise Awards are one of a number of initiatives that the Local Enterprise Offices run, to foster entrepreneurship across the country. Others include Local Enterprise Week, the Student Enterprise Programme, National Women’s Enterprise Day and Local Enterprise Showcase. The Local Enterprise Offices in Local Authorities are funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland.
Established in 2014, the Local Enterprise Offices are the essential resource for any entrepreneur looking to start a business or any small business that is looking for support or advice to help them grow. Since their inception eight years ago, the Local Enterprise Offices have helped create over 80,000 jobs across the country. The LEOs work with thousands of client companies across Ireland in a diverse range of sectors offering mentoring, training, expert advice and financial supports to small businesses. For more information see www.LocalEnterprise.ie
