The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Lollipops going down a treat for students
CASTLEGREGORY SECONDARY SCHOOL FRIENDS SELLING ORGANIC LOLLIPOPS FOR TRANSITION YEAR PROJECT
TWO Transition Year students in Mean Scoil Nua an Leith Truigh, Castlegregroy are hoping their Bee & Sea Lollipops prove a recipe for success in the Student Enterprise Programme that could take them all the way to Croke Park in May for the national finals.
Sixteen-year old Cian Wall, from Derrymore, and Cian O’Grady (15), from Cloghane, already have their honey and seaweed lollipops for sale in eight outlets in Castlegregory, Camp and Tralee, and the pair of budding entrepreneurs are already making a profit from their business idea.
The school friends came up with the idea for the organic lollipops as part of their TY Student Enterprise Programme project when Cian Wall took his bee-keeping and honey producing hobby and combined it with Cian O’Grady’s love of the West Kerry coast and his appreciation of the health benefits of dulse seaweed.
“We wanted to come up with something that would be different, healthy and affordable,” Cian Wall told The Kerryman .“I keep bees at home and I wanted to use the honey. I thought a honey lollipop could work but it needed something else. That’s where Cian came up with the idea of adding in seaweed.”
Cian O’Grady explained how his family would often use the local dulse seaweed for medicinal purposes, so the pair set about creating a recipe and a process to make the lollipops using honey, dehydrated seaweed, lemon juice and sugar. With some expert advice from Bord Iascaigh Mhara they perfected the product, which come vacuum sealed and labelled.
“The next step was to get them into local shops,” Cian O’Grady said, “and so far we have them on sale in eight outlets. The local Spar and the pharmacy in Castlegregory and O’Dwyer’s in Camp stock them, and in Tralee Matt’s Butchers, Horan’s Health Stores, Organic Mania, and Wild Restaurant have them as well, and they are selling really well. They’re €1.50, which we feel is great value. There are real health benefits from them, and they even make a great drink by dissolving them in a glass of hot water.”
The boys are up against their classmates to see who is selected to represent Mean Scoil Nua an Leith Truigh in the county final, and from there one overall school winner will represent Kerry in the Regional finals. After that the National finals take place in Croke Park in May.
No matter happens in the TY Student Enterprise Programme competition, it looks like two two Cians are already on to a winner with their Bee & Sea Lollipops, which are going down a treat with consumers.