Home free
Specialising in supplying ‘free-from’ baked goods with a long shelf life was a strategic decision that has paid dividends for The Foods of Athenry
W hat started out as a sideline in a converted bike shed to supplement dairy farm income in 1999 has turned into a thriving gluten-free and ‘freefrom’ bakery business employing 20 people in rural Galway for Paul and Siobhán Lawless.
Describing herself as “an accidental entrepreneur”, Siobhán began by baking bread, cakes, scones and tarts for local shops and restaurants. By 2004 it became clear the bakery had the potential to make more money than the farm and the couple went about phasing out the milking.
The Foods of Athenry grew organically from 2004 until 2010 supplying clean-label wheat-baked products throughout Connacht. When the recession hit, Siobhán felt introducing a premium, great tasting gluten-free range would be a way to address it. “The gluten-free market was already there, but not to a high standard and there was no choice,” she says.
Having already converted the milking parlour, Paul extended the operation into the cow house. Siobhán worked on developing products, deciding the best approach was to focus on those with a naturally extended shelf life – hence easier to export.
It was a sensible move as the company now sells into 12 countries outside of Ireland and exports made up 30% of its turnover last year. In the domestic market, it has listings nationwide in all the multiples as well as in Topaz outlets and a lot of speciality stores.
A fire at the premises in 2011 forced the couple to close down for nine months, and when they were ready to trade again the landscape had completely changed, says Siobhán. “There was more competition in the form of new small home bakeries. I saw the future as being in free-from. So, we decided to become specialists in this area and give up the traditional baking side of the business [apart from our Christmas range].”
The Foods of Athenry gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan range is now made up of 20 different individual products, including mince pies, cookies, crackers, cereals and bars.
“We have always tried to be innovative. For example, one of the products we introduced last year was Cookie Shots – resealable packs of tiny biscuits geared towards people who watch what they eat. Each one is only 18 calories,” says Siobhán.
“We use gluten-free Irish oats in our cereals, which makes us unique, and have added milled flax to our granola for a high omega boost. Last year we were lucky to get funding from the banks and Enterprise Ireland which allowed us to put in new machinery to make what we do more efficient.”
“The gluten-free market was already there, but not to a high standard and there was no choice”