Angela Carney (pictured) didn’t come through the recession unscathed, but the Westport-based nutritional therapist used the experience to launch Harvest Moon Foods, a range of natural vegetarian foods. Angela (45) worked in sales and marketing until 2006, when she began to study nutritional therapy. “In 2008 I got involved in a health food store and vegetarian deli,” says Carney, who co-owned the store in Westport.

Angela began to make a hummus and pesto to sell in the shop. But the business ceased trading in 2012 as the recession took its toll. “It was very difficult after so much hard work to pick up the pieces,” says Angela. “I learned not to let failure destroy my confidence and not to personalise it too much. What is important is to examine why it failed and endeavour not to repeat any previous mistakes.

“I had strong faith in my products. That was the main driver, and I also had to make a living,” she adds. The Harvest Moon range consists of various flavours of hummus, pesto, tapenade, pate and nut butters. Employing four staff, Harvest Moon Foods business produces around 2,000 tubs of the spreads weekly, as well as over 500 soups and salads.

Distribution Challenge

In Angela’s view, distribution is main challenge for small food producers, especially with short life products. “Harvest Moon is listed in 40 stores now and we are about to go into nine Tesco stores. If they like your products, SuperValu are very supportive of small local producers. My nut butters will be in health stores nationwide.”

In Association with

She adds that there is a lot of work involved in making a premises suitable for food production and that finance is always an issue. “I had no funding starting off so it was very difficult and I was in many a tight corner. Somehow I managed and after some time I was assisted by the enterprise board in Mayo for help in purchasing machinery and packaging.

“The amount of time you need to dedicate to your business is endless, and often with so little pay. With a short shelf life food product, you are always against the clock to get it made and sent out as quickly as possible. And with natural fresh foods, you have to keep a close eye on consistency, as garlic, lemons, herbs, red peppers etc. change from season to season.”

A finalist in the recent National Enterprise Awards, Angela welcomes the publicity, which she says is still lacking for business women. “There are not enough women in business and woman tend to downplay their strengths more than men. I think that women have great humility in business and are intuitive and insightful.”

Best Advice

Among her peers, Angela admires Bowl a Granola, Natasha’s Living Food, Improper Butter, Boutique Bake and Wildwood Vinegars. “The best advice I have been given related to our previous packaging and how it didn't advertise the quality of our products. So I hired a great designer, Sophia Westwick, and with the new packaging sales have taken a leap.

“The worst advice I ever received was that no-one would buy flavoured hummus. In fact so many people love flavoured hummus and after the initial stage you can make money in the food business. It helps if you believe in your products and you love them, as this comes across and people like that.”