Tipperary duo Evie and Eliza Ward of Nutshed, makers of award-winning peanut butters, took home the South West Region Award on the night.
Based in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, Nutshed led by sisters Evie & Eliza has grown their business from a humble market stall in 2014 to became Ireland’s first producer of award winning, single origin craft peanut butters, while introducing flavored peanut butter to the Irish market by creating an exciting and delicious range. Now available in 600+ shops around Ireland, in independent retailers, Dunnes Stores, Tesco and SUPERVALU’s . Their fanatical range has recently expanded to South Korea, where their peanut butters are gaining a loyal following from Korean customers through their listings in the super high-end Hyundai Department Stores, as well as the hugely popular online store Market Kurly
The sisters have grown up with food in their genes following in the footsteps of their parents Peter & Mary Ward who have championed local food produce and fresh ingredients over the years from their store Country Choice based in Nenagh. Peter & Mary themselves were awarded this year a Lifetime Achievement Award from Food writer and Irish Food Writers Guild President, Georgina Campbell
Speaking after the awards, the sisters said, “We are absolutely thrilled with this award and delighted to represent LEO Tipperary in the final of such a key annual competition, we are privileged to be among the 31 top businesses from all around the Country! We hope our story will inspire other women to pursue their own Enterprise”.
Anthony Fitzgerald said “The National Enterprise Awards serve to highlight the very best businesses that the Local Enterprise Offices are working with across the country. The diversity of sectors and innovation shown again this year is outstanding and the winners will no doubt produce businesses destined for international success. These businesses have excelled in their areas and have the potential to follow in the footsteps of previous winners to become successful global companies. We would like to extend our congratulations to both Evie & Eliza on winning their award and we look forward to working with you into the future.
Local Enterprise Office Tipperary have been represented in recent years by firms including Premier Utilities T/a TruePOS, Premier Fire Products Ltd, T/a Waxies, Pergamino T/a The Old Barracks Coffee Roasters, Clonmel Covers Ltd and Horizon Offsite Ltd.
The overall winner at the National Enterprise Awards was Dreamdev Technologies who are supported by Local Enterprise Office Kildare. DreamDev was set up by Eoin Barry and Douglas Augiar in 2019 with the aim of utilising online tools and software to enable faster digitalisation for companies. Their flagship product, ‘the dot-star enterprise’ software platform enables software engineering teams to create their own bespoke software programmes which deliver results with significantly reduced resourcing requirements.
Announcing the award winners at the Mansion House and after earlier launching the new Local Enterprise Office Policy Statement, Minister Burke said; “The National Enterprise Awards are the highlight of the small business and enterprise calendar. Year on year the diversity of businesses and the standard of companies that are coming through the process is getting stronger. We should not be surprised given the innovation and endurance that businesses have shown in recent years. We have some outstanding winners but the finalists on the whole have been excellent, and this is very much the start of their journey.
“The new Local Enterprise Office Policy Statement I announced today sets out the vital role that LEOs have in fostering entrepreneurship and helping small businesses thrive every day across the country. The Policy Statement charts a clear roadmap of how LEOs will align their work with the priorities of the White Paper on Enterprise and ensure that their high-calibre offering continues into the future. I pay tribute to the great work of the current and former staff of the LEOs who, over the last 10 years, have helped and guided small businesses in Ireland which are at the heart of every town, village and community and are vital to our economy.”
Several other companies won across a range of categories at the Awards, which were established by the Local Enterprise Offices to celebrate the impact and quality of small businesses across the country.
Innovation Award
The winner of the Innovation Award was Cytidel. The cybersecurity company, supported by Local Enteprise Office Mayo, has created software that helps cybersecurity teams to identify and prioritise the top cyber threats to a company.
Best Export Award
The winner of the Best Export Award was Eskimo Software. The company, who are supported by Local Enterprise Office Carlow, have created a CRM and lead generation software package specifically for car dealerships to improve efficiency and sales.
Best Start Up Award
The winner of the Best Start-Up Award was The Black Stuff. The mens care business, who are supported by Local Enterprise Office Dun Laoghaire Rathdown, are creating over 10,000 handmade soaps a week and have utilised social media to create one of the fastest growing mens care brands in the country.
Green / Sustainability Award
The winner of the Green/Sustainability Award was Living Green. The sustainable living company, supportered by Local Enterprise Office Donegal, create a range of products from organic compost and worm cast to wheatgrass and forzen shots.
One To Watch Award
The winner of the One to Watch Award was Drink Botanicals. The drinks company, supported by Local Enterprise Office Dublin City, have created a suite of products such as natural based syrups, cocktail ancilliaries and dried garnishes that are being sold directly into over 200 bars, resturants and off licences.
This year’s winners share a €50,000 investment fund and eight regional winners were also announced on the night.
Those winners are –
- PRM Assist in the Dublin Region (backed by LEO Fingal)
- Nutshed in the South West Region (backed by LEO Tipperary)
- Watt Footprint in the Mid East Region (backed by LEO Westmeath)
- Expat Taxes in the South Region (backed by LEO Waterford)
- Brady’s Coffee in the South East Region (backed by LEO Wicklow)
- Sleater Solutions in the North West Region (backed by LEO Sligo)
- Zoma in the North East Region (backed by LEO Louth)
- Grá Chocolates in the West Region (backed by LEO Galway)
Also honoured on the night were Bevcraft 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.
Established by friends Ciarán Gorman and Darren Fenton who wanted to create an international business with significant employment in their hometown of Mullingar. Their independent canning business and their mobile canning function allowed any small brewer to can and brand their drinks on site. They now have 8 locations across Europe, servicing 20 countries and handling over 100million cans per year.
The National Enterprise Awards also celebrated 10 years since the inception of the Local Enterprise Offices in 2014 with several former winners attending on the evening.
The National Enterprise Awards are one of several 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 70,000 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
ENDS
Contact: Mary Ryan, Senior Enterprise Development Officer LEO Tipperary 086 8199490 Email: mary.ryan@leo.tipperarycoco.ie
PICTURE: WINNING GROUP
Backrow L/R: Peter Ward, Ger D’Arcy Cathaoirleach Tipperary County Council, Mary Ryan Senior Enterprise Development Officer, Local Enterprise Office Tipperary, Winners: Evie & Eliza Ward, Nutshed Ltd., Mary Ward, Sinead Carr, Chief Executive Tipperary County Council, Anthony Fitzgerald, Head of Enterprise Local Enterprise Office Tipperary Front Row: L/R: Richard Martin, Abhay Aiya, Hugo Byrne
