Labelled with love – Claire’s enjoying sweet smell of success
WHEN Claire Molloy takes the call around noon about her business ‘Sweet Living Kilkenny’, which specialises in personalised and customised chocolate bars, it turns out she already has half a day’s work done.
Claire, who spent ten years working in California as a graphic designer, photographer and stylist before settling back home in Kilkenny, has found a brilliantly clever way to keep her business going online, despite the restrictions caused by the pandemic and the loss of much of her normal trade, including to 11 American states.
She explains why she has been up since 6.30am, hard at work.
‘Just after St Patrick’s Day, all the retail orders were cancelled; things that were due to be shipped out to the States... all of that stopped. All my events and promotional bars stopped. It went dead for a week.
‘I also look after my mother, so I made her a bar that said, “Hang in there Nana”, put it from my boys, dropped it down through her letter box, and posted up a picture of it.
‘Things went mental after that. And it has been mental ever since.’
It turns out that a choc bar with a personalised message is exactly what is needed to give so many people a lift right now.
The Shop Ireland Mail campaign, which Claire has availed of, is all about spreading the message and supporting local business ventures like hers.
‘I came out with a “We miss you this much” bar – to Nana, or grandad or uncle or whoever. Shipping is in letter box-size packages so there is no problem with people cocooning.
‘Once that bar took off, I started coming up with new designs – like for teachers who are celebrating students finishing the year by sending one out saying, “Well done on student of the week for your online learning”. I also have a cancelled Junior Cert bar – “you jammy fecker”,’ Claire adds.
‘Every wrapper is printed and hand-cut. Each one is an individual piece. That’s why you can change it to whatever you like.
‘Then it goes into a box that is literally the size of a chocolate bar which fits through a letter box. It’s protected enough to not break so I’ve had no issue with damages.’
To chocolate loversr, it’s proving to be the perfect pick-up. If you want to send a bar, check out www.sweetliving.ie.