The emerging Cork firms shortlisted for the Cork Chamber Company of the Year Awards

In the first of a four-part series looking at the finalists for Cork Chamber's Company of the Year Awards 2024, we profile the contenders in the Emerging category

Wed, 10 Jan, 2024 - 01:59

Alan Healy

Riley is disrupting the female sanitary products market with sustainable options

Born out of frustration with mainstream period products, Riley was set up in 2021.

The female-founded firm wants to call attention to female health, including menstruation and menopause. They have created a range of eco-friendly and chemical-free tampons and pads.

They sell direct to the consumer via an online store, supply to retailers, and partner with corporate clients to provide their staff and patron bathrooms with free period products. They grew their revenue by a factor of 10 between 2021 and 2022 and will be profitable by the end of the year.

The firm has grown steadily and has nine full-time employees. In the past 12 months, 10% of the company’s revenue was from international sales. They plan to expand this and have three team members in the UK.

Over the past two years, Riley conducted two rounds of financing, raising €2.27m, which demonstrates investor confidence.

The company maintains a strong focus on sustainability. Riley said a typical woman will use 11,000 tampons in her lifetime, which equates to 5,500 plastic bags.

Riley gives customers compostable and biodegradable options for their period care. Last year, they launched a reusable applicator for tampons, one of the first of its kind. It will last a minimum of two years and will prevent 600 single-use applicators from ending up in landfill.

Through their charity partnerships, Riley has also donated 60,000 products to those affected by period poverty. They believe sanitary products are a fundamental human right.

They also believe that they should not contain harmful chemicals, toxins, and plastics. That’s why Riley is gaining in a market dominated for decades by global monopolies.

“We are beyond thrilled to be nominated for this award. We founded Riley in West Cork in 2021 and, at the time, we never imagined that, within two years, we would be the brand of choice to supply over 160 large corporate partners and counting, here in Ireland, the UK, and Europe,” co-founder Lauren Duggan said.

“This award would mean so much to our team, who work tirelessly to provide the best service and products to our customers. Given that our head office is based in Cork City, it would be amazing to be acknowledged by our peers here in Cork.”

Matthew was just 21 when he set up Sibly Food and nurtured it to success

At the age of 21, Matthew Collins, from Ballydesmond, Co Cork, established the Sibly Food Company in a Masterkabin in his parents’ garden.

Matthew was then a PE- and English-teaching student at the University of Limerick, but he loved cooking and had already baked homemade cakes for a Christmas market in Kanturk.

Matthew Collins, of Ballydesmond, Co Cork, founder of the Sibly Food Company.

The positive response created a demand for private orders of his cakes. Matthew was able to set up a small business funded by cake sales and part-time work. Sibly’s most popular product quickly became the healthy energy balls.

In the summer of 2020, during the covid-19 pandemic, Matthew concentrated on building both B2C and B2B customer bases, supplying products to 10 local shops.

In early 2021, he had to decide either to teach full-time or focus on The Sibly. Matthew felt he needed business and finance experience and teamed up with executive Brendan Fleming, who joined him on the senior team. Brendan had a track record of delivering growth in other businesses.

The company transitioned from a sole trader to a limited company in June 2021, and Sibly Foods Limited was formed.

Matthew and Brendan are the sole directors. Matthew leads operations and heads up all marketing. The Sibly’s following on social media has grown from 5,000 to 50,000 across Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

In the last two years, The Sibly has grown significantly. Today, it supplies to 400 retail and hospitality businesses nationwide. This includes a recently renewed contract with Aldi, a national listing with a health food supplier, and 150 other retail and café outlets. Sibly has also launched an e-commerce platform, shipping products to corporate clients.

The Sibly has exciting plans for the next three years. They intend to increase market share in their energy ball offering. They have spent the last year in research and development, collaborating with an Irish global nutrition group to develop an exciting new product.

They also have ambitious plans to begin exporting and are in talks with retailers and distributors to establish a route to market. The UK would be the starting point.

Charity and community support are important. They donated €20,000 of food to Cork Penny Dinners last year and sponsor their local GAA club in Ballydesmond.

“We are truly elated and honoured to be selected as finalists for the Cork Chamber Emerging Company of the Year,” Matthew said. “This recognition fuels our passion to continue innovating, growing, and contributing to the vibrant business landscape in Cork.”

Voxxify is harnessing the voice of workers to optimise spending

Founded in 2018, Voxxify has grown rapidly working with a range of major firms that use the company’s groundbreaking approach of harnessing the voice of the employee to optimise spending on enterprise technology.

Led by founder Steve Fleming, the firm combines design thinking with AI technology to uncover critical insights that help IT leaders measurably improve employee satisfaction. Fleming is a veteran with over two decades of experience at firms such as NatWest, American Airlines and Dell.

Voxxify proactively solicits feedback on technology and hybrid work practices, empowering IT teams to make informed, data-driven decisions tailored to each segment of their workforce. This can include decisions on hardware, software, services, training, and education to maximise a company’s return on investment.

The company carries out surveys across a variety of teams, the responses from which are turned into actionable insights that are segmented across a range of services and even geographic locations.

They said clients consistently report making multiple purchasing decisions based on just a 1-2 week health check and have achieved tangible enhancements in employee sentiment and productivity.

In less than five years, Voxxify has worked with major Irish and international clients in more than 40 countries including Bank of America, Sun Life, Pacific Gas & Energy, Aviva UK, Wayfair, & Company, Fexco, Musgrave and Fenergo. The firm can cater to a wide spectrum of industry leaders.

They have also established strategic partnerships with industry giants such as Dell and Lenovo which gives them access to a much wider customer base.

In recent years the firm has secured €725k in pre-seed funding and is presently in the midst of an ambitious €1m seed round that has showcased robust investor confidence in their innovative approach to IT optimisation. Voxxify has already secured accolades including winning the prestigious Google Adopt a Startup competition in 2021.

Since it was founded, the firm has expanded steadily. Today it employs seven people based in Cork’s Marina Commercial Park.

“We’re thrilled to receive this recognition from the Cork Chamber, highlighting our commitment to driving innovation and positive change in the global IT industry, as well as contributing to Cork’s economic growth,” Fleming said.

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