Innovative energy snacks from Larne couple listed by top UK grocery business

Salted date caramel energy ball snack packs from the Green Fingers Family business of entrepreneurial husband and wife team Andrea and Zsolt Bohar are now on sale in 45 selected Marks and Spencer (M&S) upmarket food halls in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The retailer’s network across the UK and Ireland extends to more than 1,000 stores.

Originally from Hungary, the couple has won widespread acclaim and a host of taste awards for a range of energy snack balls and natural granolas that are made without additives, preservatives and processed sugars.

Zsolt said: “We are thrilled to have won this immensely important business with M&S. It’s tremendously encouraging for us to have gained first-time sales to such a respected food retailer, especially in Great Britain and the Irish Republic, two markets outside Northern Ireland that we are targeting for faster growth.

“The listing is a marvellous boost for us as we head into 2025, a year during which we hope to build on the achievements of the past few years in Northern Ireland.

“Our unique energy balls are plant-based, gluten-free and high in fibre. They are perfect for on-the-go snacking, or for just a little moment of indulgence that’s both healthy and delicious,” he adds.

The listing by M&S is the most recent in a series of business deals with local artisan producers by the premium retailer. Another recent M&S deal involved Coleraine’s Morelli Ice Cream supplying the retailer with flavoured one litre tubs.

As a result of the deals, M&S is now stocking more local foods than ever before. The retailer has lined up Moira’s Abernethy Butter, Clandeboye Estate Yoghurt of Bangor, Burren Balsamics from Richhill and Corndale Farm Charcuterie of Limavady during 2024 for its shelves.

The deals with artisan producers like Green Fingers Family follow the retailer’s longstanding relationships with major meat processors here such as ABP Linden Foods of Dungannon and Kettyle Irish Meats of Lisnaskea.

Everything produced by Green Fingers Family is handmade in small batches and supplied in innovative packaging that’s now environmentally friendly.

The small business has also gained UK Great Taste, Blas na hEireann and Irish Quality Awards for its energy balls and granola.

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

The quality and creativity of its products have also won important business from Odaois Foods in Dublin, one of Ireland’s leading food distributors. Discounter Lidl has listed the energy balls.

“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 County 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 explains. “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 address health concerns by taking charge of her own health and wellbeing. Encouraged by Zsolt, she started growing vegetables on a small plot of land at their home and making her own natural granolas.

Andrea 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 some of the brands available were bulked up in different forms, and full of sugar and artificial flavourings,” she adds.