Awards enable enterprising Larne couple to grow sales in Republic

The enterprising couple, originally from Hungary, own and run Green Fingers Family in Larne, a small business specialising in unique granolas and energy balls that are made without additives, preservatives or processed sugars.

The foods are 100 per cent natural, plant-based, vegan and gluten-free. Everything they produce is handmade in small batches in packaging that’s now environmentally friendly, explains Andrea, a talented baker.

Already a UK Great Taste winner, Green Fingers Family has just been shortlisted for a Blas na hEireann award, the most important on the island of Ireland, and an Irish Quality Food and Drink Award, a prestigious competition which has significant influence on supermarkets and other retailers in the Republic.

Green Fingers Family is among 60 local food and drink producers shortlisted for the Blas final stage in October. Now in its 17th year, Blas saw another record-breaking year across all categories along with many new producers entering the awards for the first time this year.

During the judging, which took place in June and July, over 3,000 entries were judged, testament to the number of brilliant producers across the country. The results will be announced as an integral part of the popular Kerry Food Festival in Dingle.

Local companies Morelli Ice Cream of Coleraine and Kilkeel’s Millbay Oysters have both won the top award at Blas.

Both the Blas and Irish Food and Drink short listings for Green Fingers are for innovative and healthy energy balls crafted with lemon and turmeric. The small business was, furthermore, given a one star for a nutty peanut butter granola in this year’s Great Taste Awards.

The company, in addition, gained a Silver Level Innovator Award from Mid and East Antrim Borough Council for the commitment to eco-friendly packaging.

“We are thrilled to be shortlisted in such prestigious awards in a marketplace which has become an important target for us over the past few years,” continues Andrea.

“The awards are immensely encouraging for us because they increase awareness among retailers, especially in the Republic, and with consumers there,” she adds.

The family business has also won important business from Odaois Foods in Dublin, one of Ireland’s leading food distributors. Discounter Lidl has listed the energy balls.

Established by the couple in 2020, Andrea hopes shortly to be able soon to announce new business with a leading food hall with outlets in both Northern Ireland and the Republic.

“In addition, we are directly supplying local independent food stores and farm shops across Northern Ireland as well as selling online via our e-commerce website,” continues Andrea, a mother of three.

Based outside the Co Antrim town, Green Fingers Family is pursuing a vision of “a world where delicious food experiences seamlessly intertwine with environmental sustainability”.

“We are responding positively to environmental concerns now growing in the local food industry by embracing innovative, eco-friendly practices in our production and packaging, supporting moves to create a healthier planet,” she says. “We both care deeply about our environment. It was a challenge, in particular, to find plastic-free packaging alternatives that were airtight to keep the granolas fresh.”

This focus on sustainability led to Green Fingers being named joint winner of the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association Environmental Sustainability Award in 2022, celebrating the company’s commitment to efforts in using environmentally friendly, compostable packaging for its premium granola.

Resident in Larne for almost 20 years, the couple’s decision to start a small enterprise was influenced by Andrea’s wish to take charge of her own health and wellbeing. Encouraged by Zsolt, she started growing vegetables on a small plot of land at their home.

She was convinced that with “the right food, right exercise and the right mentality, my body would do what it’s meant to do itself… heal. It wasn’t only my body that needed healing, but my thinking and attitude too,” she explains.

It was Andrea’s sweet tooth that was to lead her to start developing her own range of granolas. “I had to change the way I made and baked sweet snacks at home. I replaced sugar with natural ingredients. My favourite snack is granola. I was shocked to read that the ingredients in many of the brands available were bulked up in different forms, and full of sugar and artificial flavourings,” she adds.

All granolas are homemade by Andrea “to make sure I can add that special pinch of love”.