No Buts It's Got To Be Butter

Ireland has a long and successful tradition of making butter and worldwide, Irish butter is known for its distinctive rich and salty flavour. Butter has stood the test of time because of its skill in striking up a flirtatious relationship with anything from the humble spud to a cheeky risotto. Many of our top restaurants serve home-made flavoured butters but for most of us cooking at home, we don't have the time for chopping up fresh herbs to make our own from scratch.

An Improper Approach

Featured on last night's show, Improper Butter is a range of delicious, Irish flavoured butters that inspire creativity at mealtimes. Created by Hannah O'Reilly and Elaine Lavery, a business duo that met on a choral scholarship in UCD, Improper Butter create products that are perfect for the time-pressed cook who could do with some help preparing quick and tasty meals.

Bursting With Personality

Already retailing in over sixty gourmet foodstores throughout Ireland, Improper Butter is now setting its sights on some of the bigger supermarkets. Improper Butter has already made a strong start with a superb product, a great website and a very clever name but must continue to push the bold, cheeky element to their product and let the personality piece drive their brand.

Over To You

What can Hannah and Elaine do to bring out that playful and cheeky element to their product? Listen back to last night's show on Kickstart Your Business and let us know what you think.

We'd love to hear from you.

(Kickstart Your Business is broadcast live on The Right Hook on Newstalk106 in Ireland every Thursday at 6.40pm)

Furnished For Success

As anyone who has bought a house or apartment for the first time knows, it can be very expensive to fill a new living space with furniture and for those of us on a modest budget, a trip out the M50  would seem to be the only option. Though a novelty when the giant Swedish company arrived first, there are a growing number of consumers who are looking for quality Irish design that can be tailored to suit their needs, without having the pay a king's ransom for it. There is a gap in the market between the very expensive  high-end furniture and the mass-produced items that often don't stand the test of time.

Bridging The Gap

When cabinet-maker Conor Kelly and his partner Nell were furnishing their new home, they too found it difficult to source well designed furniture on a modest budget. They decided to make their own and, in the process, founded Snug Furniture, our latest Kickstart Your Business feature, creating simple and beautiful Irish designed furniture that does not cost the earth. All the furniture is made by Conor in his small workshop in Snugboro and along with their range of products for the home, they offer a bespoke service.

Keeping It Simple

As Gerard pointed out, the real trick is to get the organisational piece right as the business grows, keeping it simple with as much automation as possible, so that all the artisan and hand-made features are invested in the product itself. The website is a great example of that simplicity, with a clear navigational path for the customer to follow, making a purchase easy and straight forward. That simplicity needs to continue right up to the moment the furniture is delivered to your door.

Over To You

How can Conor and Nell keep it simple, even as their business grows? Listen back to the show on Kickstart Your Business and let us know what you think.

We'd love to hear from you.

(Kickstart Your Business is broadcast live on The Right Hook on Newstalk106 in Ireland every Thursday at 6.40pm)

Backpacked For Adventure

For those engaged in the outdoors, the Irish landscape is perfect for exploration, with mountains and valleys and long winding roads just calling out for adventure. We've always had a tradition of hillwalking and hiking and there are a wide range of products on the market to cater for our needs. What has been missing however, are products inspired by the very landscape we are exploring. But all that is about to change.

The Landscape Maketh The Bag

This week's featured business, The Atlantic Equipment Project, was born and bred by the Atlantic Coast. Product Designer Ashleigh Smith grew up on Benbulbin and following her studies at the Dutch Design University TU Delft, decided to develop a business creating durable, functional and beautiful backpacks. All about craftsmanship and attention to detail, the bags are manufactured on Ireland's west coast, a decision Ashleigh made to give something back to the place which inspired her. An inspired choice as this is likely to appeal hugely to the adventurers and explorers she's targeting.

It's All In The Detail

Aisleigh has designed a small collection of products so that she can guarantee the production quality and attention to detail of all her products. Her website reflects that same thinking with a small selection of stunning images and simple messages that will really make her product stand apart. It takes great self -confidence and poise to say just enough and no more but the result is a simple, immediate website that sells her wares effectively and well.

Over To You

What feedback would you give Ashleigh on her fantastic product? Listen back to the show on Kickstart Your Business and tell us what you think. 

We'd love to hear from you.

(Kickstart Your Business is broadcast live on The Right Hook on Newstalk106 in Ireland every Thursday at 6.40pm)

A Handy Way To Tackle Food Waste

Most households are reluctant to recycle food waste because it is typically a time consuming, confusing and messy task (and don't get us started on those pesky fruit flies!). Even the threat of increased bin charges and penalties is not enough to persuade households to avail of the brown bin and help save the environment.

Straight From Box To Bin

This week's featured business Obeo, is the brainchild of Kate Cronin. Having completed her Masters in food disposal, Kate decided to design an easy-to-use food waste box that can go straight into the brown bin. Perfect for modern urban living, the box is made from wet-strength-treated paper with an open and close tab that can be put straight into the brown bin when full.

A Boxful Of Personality

As Gerard said on the show last night, the product itself and the website are impressively designed and, with Dunnes Stores agreeing to stock the product from the beginning of July, Kate and her business partner Elizabeth have a real opportunity to make a success of the business. However, great design is not always enough of a selling point so introducing a little more personality to the product will help encourage those reluctant recyclers (yes George, we're talking about you!) to try out this fantastic product for themselves.

Over To You

How can Kate introduce a little more personality to her product and packaging? Listen back to the show on Kickstart Your Business and tell us what you think.

We'd love to hear from you.

(Kickstart Your Business is broadcast live on The Right Hook on Newstalk106 in Ireland every Thursday at 6.40pm)

Feeling Good About Food

As many will agree, feeling out of control around food is not a good place to be. The evidence all around us suggests that many struggle to re-establish a healthy relationship with food, and health practioners in particular warn of the devastating impact of over-eating on our health. The irony of course is that the more we worry and stress about over-eating, the more likely we are to reach for that second bar of chocolate to deal with the anxious feeling.

A Healthy Start

Our featured business this week Heyday, was founded by Dr. Bernadette Rock who herself struggled with over eating, chronic dieting and negative body image for years. Her studies in Sociology prompted her to set up Heyday, a business that promotes a healthy relationship with food and offers Ireland's first 'non-diet' solution to weight management. Heyday is based on a practical and proven approach that focuses on the 'why' in overeating, guiding the participant to overcome their weight and food challenges in a safe, supportive and confidential environment.

Someone Like You

Bernadette has wisely chosen to include images of real people on her website to effectively convey that this is a programme for someone ' just like you'. What the visitor to the site will want to see next is that the programe works so Gerard recommended that the success stories already on the site need to be introduced earlier in the narrative. It is also important to remind prospective clients that Heyday enjoys the approval of qualified health care practioners.

Over To You

What other ways can Bernadette show the programme is for 'someone like me' on the website? Listen back to the show on Kickstart Your Business and let us know what you think.

We'd love to hear from you.

(Kickstart Your Business in broadcast live on The Right Hook on Newstalk106 in Ireland every Thursday at 6.40pm)