About this episode

Gary Fox hosts a masterclass with food and drink founders discussing the essentials of building a successful brand in Ireland.

In this special episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with three of Ireland’s most exciting food and drink founders for a live “Recipe for Success” masterclass, brought to you with the Local Enterprise Offices and the National Enterprise Awards. Gary is joined by Denise Buckley of Sugar Plum Sweetery, Pat Falvey of Blarney Brewing Company and Active Brewing Company, and Ian O’Rourke of RYSE Chocolate to unpack what it really takes to build a food or drink brand in Ireland today. From viral TikTok moments and 900% growth to getting onto retail shelves, managing margins, building customer feedback loops, and staying agile beside global competitors, this conversation is packed with practical lessons for anyone building a product-led business. Denise shares how Sugar Plum Sweetery went from testing a viral Dubai chocolate bar with just nine moulds to making thousands of bars a day. Pat reveals how belief, vision and speed helped him move from property into brewing, including his ambition to build a sustainable Irish beer brand. Ian explains why early founders should “do things that don’t scale”, and how grassroots relationships with retailers can become one of…

People in this episode

Host: Gary Fox

Guests: Denise Buckley, Pat Falvey, Ian O’Rourke

Topics covered

• food brands
• entrepreneurship
• retail
• TikTok marketing
• business growth
• customer feedback
• sustainability

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Sugar Plum Sweetery, Blarney Brewing Company, Active Brewing Company, RYSE Chocolate, Local Enterprise Offices, National Enterprise Awards

Places: Ireland, Dubai

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