US sales flow for Newry chocolate makers at major festival in Seattle

Shane and Dorothy of Newry’s NearyNógs.Shane and Dorothy of Newry’s NearyNógs.
Shane and Dorothy of Newry’s NearyNógs.
CHOCOLATE lovers in major US centres such as Los Angeles and Seattle are now able to enjoy delicious and award-winning bean to bar creations handcrafted by a family business near Newry in County Down.

Husband and wife team Shane and Dorothy Neary, owners of artisan Chocolate maker NearyNógs, are celebrating significant new business in the US with other family members for a unique range of innovative products, including the successful Irish collection bars such as Irish Coffee, Dulaman (Irish seaweed); Lunasa (Irish Lavender); and Irish Soda Bread.

The small chocolate business, which has also become a major attraction for tourists and other visitors, has just lined up new sales in the US from its recent participation at the influential Northwest Chocolate Festival, one of the biggest events for the industry in the US, Canada and the world, held at Bellevue, Washington State.

“We sold out of all our chocolates on our stand at what is the only genuinely global event for artisan producers,” says Shane. “Also popular with visitors were our unique chocolate stout cups and our hugely successful drinking chocolate,” he adds.

“We secured new trade in the US and other exporting opportunities were also sealed. So, we are delighted with the festival.

“The event was an unrivalled opportunity to meet up with other chocolate makers from around the world, as well as cacao farmers, other people from our industry and the media.

“We also enjoyed encouraging sales with our new range of single origin bars from Thailand, Nicaragua, Tanzania and our very special Buena Vista Chocolate Club Bar.

“We are finding that chocolate enthusiasts are increasingly seeking new taste options and experiences from single origin sources,” continues Shane, a graphic designer by profession who has created many unique flavours with wife Dorothy, originally a nurse from Seattle. It was a recipe from Dorothy’s mother which led to the enterprising couple starting to craft chocolate for food markets here.

“Our focus is on creating innovative tastes from the best beans from cocoa growers from across the globe, especially those who share our dedication to preserving their local environment.”

Shane, furthermore, has scheduled visits to develop sales in Atlanta, Georgia and other centres soon with Tourism Ireland and to promote the chocolate factory as a tourism destination in the Newry, Mourne and Down area. NearyNógs has developed a visitor information centre and a café at the plant.

“We will be making a strong pitch to high-end luxury tourism businesses in the US,” Shane explains.

The couple formed the artisan business in 2005 and decided to name it NearyNógs for Shane’s father, Jonnie, a writer of children’s stories and creator of the mythical NearyNógs.

The couple initially created a range of over 30 handmade soft chocolates and fudges with unusual flavours such as lemon and green tea, toasted walnut, mojito macha, almond nut buttercup and cardamom and clove.

The popularity of the chocolates with smaller retailers and with shoppers at country markets led the ambitious duo to break new ground here with the development of Ireland’s first gluten-free bean-to-bar product.

The unique bar, according to Shane, was created to offer “something quite different from other handmade chocolates currently on the market.” And it has proved outstandingly successful, leading to business with major retailers such as the iconic Fortnum and Mason food hall in London.

They worked alongside Fortnum and Mason, for instance, on the creation of the world’s first ‘farm to shore’ Sailboat Chocolate, a naturally grown and certified organic product which was 99 per cent emission-free.

Fortnum’s approached the couple to be part of the unique project to turn fine cocoa from an organic grower in Grenada in the Caribbean into a premium chocolate slate for sale in the prestigious store in London. It was chocolate with a difference … and a massive endorsement for the environment conscious County Down artisans.

The store was attracted by the company’s use of solar panels to power chocolate production, its collection of rain water to help supply the business and eco-packaging.

The company has led the way in the creation of single origin chocolates for key markets in the US and Europe.

The chocolate was grown, processed, shipped from Grenada and produced in Northern Ireland to be almost 100 per cent emission-free, a world first for the industry that meant using sailboats, horse and cart, solar power and all-electric vans.

NearyNógs, which began making chocolate in 2011, sources cacao beans ethically grown in Sâo Tomé, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Panama, Uganda, Nicaragua, Philippines and Ecuador. Beans are sorted by hand, roasted, cracked and winnowed, stone ground and tempered to produce fine chocolate.

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