From little seeds big business grows

Those who want to get healthy are embracing the benefits of Virginia Health Food’s products writes Trish Dromey

HEMP used to be popular with those who wanted to get high, but now hemp seeds are being consumed by those who want to get healthy.

Cork company Virginia Health Food is catering for a growing demand in the UK, Ireland, and Europe for shelled hemp seeds, milled flax seeds (linseed) and crushed pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

“Our hemp seeds comes from a different variety of cannabis plant. They don’t have hallucinogenic properties but have high levels of essential fatty acids and protein,” says Virginia Health Food founder and director Helen O’Dowd.

Set up seven years ago, the company identified a growing appetite in the market for foods with extra nutritional value and decided to focus on seeds which offer high levels of Omega 3. “Ten years ago people didn’t know about the benefits of seeds — now they are being added to breakfast cereals, bread, and other foods. Seeds used to sell mainly in health food shops. Now they have become mainstream and are selling in supermarkets.’’

Virginia Harvest products now sell to Sainsburys and Waitrose in the UK and to Tesco and healthfood stores and independent super-markets in Ireland. The company also produces seed products for Aldi in Ireland which sell under the brand name Helen’s and Harvest Morn. Since 2011, the company has also been exporting organic seeds to Germany and has recently begun shipping product to Portugal.

A food science graduate, Ms O’Dowd worked for some large food companies before setting up as a product development consultant. Having always had an interest in nutrition, she signed up for a naturopathic nutrition course in 2005 and at the same time set up Virginia Health Food in Cavan.

Sourcing seeds from growers where possible, Ms O’Dowd developed six products, designed packaging and found a company in Ireland which would mill the seeds and package them under contract.

Breaking into the UK market proved surprisingly easy for a small start-up company with a staff of just two. Ms O’Dowd says this was down to the company offering the right product at the right time — when consumers there were developing an appreciation for nutritional benefits of seeds.

“By the end of our first year we were in all the Waitrose stores in the UK and 200 Sainsbury outlets,’’ she says pointing out that by outsourcing the milling and packaging, the company was able to scale up rapidly to supply this level of demand.

Breaking into the Irish market proved harder — largely because of the difficulties and costs involved in distributing in a small market.

The company relocated to Oysterhaven in 2008 and has since secured funding from the South Cork Enterprise Board and also received investment from Enterprise Ireland which identified the company as a high potential start-up in 2011.

In 2008, Virginia Health Food began supplying Tesco Ireland and in 2009 it started producing for Aldi which is now one of its major accounts. Product development has been high on the agenda, and the company has recently launched a range of seed and berry products under the Helen’s brand which are used as cereal toppings.

In September last year, Virginia developed a range of gluten-free bread mixes, also under Helen’s brand, and signed up Sainsbury’s as a customer. Ms O’Dowd expects these products to be listed with Musgraves later in the summer.

WHILE the firm now has a range of 12 products, seeds continue to be the most popular, with flax seed based products accounting for close to 80% of sales.

Investment secured from a private investor and Enterprise Ireland is now being used for marketing and on research and development. This year the company plans to take on two staff, one for administration and the other to help with product development.

Ms O’Dowd says over the last 18 months the company has been experiencing rapid growth. “Since we launched our new products this year sales have jumped by 40% and by the end of the year we expect to double our turnover.”

With the help of Bord Bia, the company now plans to grow sales in the UK and also in Europe. “We have now started selling to El Corte Ingles, one of the biggest supermarket chains in Portugal, and are listed with 235 InterMarche stores.

“This is expected to yield significant growth this year.”

To maintain growth, the company is focusing on innovation and has a range of new products in the pipeline. Ms O’Dowd says the appetite for foods with added nutritional benefits is continuing to grow and she sees opportunities in a number of areas including the sporting arena.

Fact file

* Company: Virginia Health Foods.

* Location: Oysterhaven, Co Cork.

* Directors: Helen O’Dowd, Kevin Byrne.

* Staff: Two.

* Products: Milled seeds, breakfast toppings, and gluten-free bread mixes.

* Markets: Ireland, UK,Germany, Portugal.

* Exports: 40%.

* Website:www.virginiafoods.net