Egging on Cuchulainns
November 27, 2011At a time when the country's economic woes continue to dominate the headlines, it's refreshing to hear about the success of a locally based company that is beating the recession and continues to go from strength to strength.
Established in Mullagh by husband-and-wife Leo and Margaret Farrelly 23 years ago, Clonarn Clover has grown into the largest dedicated supplier of free-range eggs in Ireland. Earlier this year, the family-run business, which employs 17 staff, gained international recognition when its new O'Egg Free Range White Egg packaging was chosen as a winning exhibit by the world body for professional design.
The unique white eggs are contained in an innovative pink packaging, which is also branded with the Action Breast Cancer pink ribbon logo. The eggs retail for €2.35 for six and five per cent from each sale goes to charity.
"We were delighted to hear about the win. It's great to have some recognition because a lot of hard work went into creating and launching the O'Egg brand," Margaret Farrelly explains.
"Having been touched by cancer - my sister and Leo's mother both died from it at a young age - I thought it was a fabulous idea to get involved with Action Breast Cancer and offer to donate a percentage of our profits to them. Action Breast Cancer's pink ribbon logo is used on the O'Egg packaging and we have got a very positive response since the product was launched last February."
Margaret credits her husband for having the "good foresight" to set up the company back in 1988.
"We had a young family at the time and our milk quota wasn't going to sustain us so Leo identified the need for us to diversify. We considered free-range egg production to be a good option and decided to set up a production unit with 150 laying hens. The discerning consumer soon recognised the arrival of a genuine, flavoursome, free-range egg in the market place, so growth took place immediately."
She continues: "When we started out in this business, there was a movement towards free-range eggs and animal welfare was a big issue, so that helped us to get established. We have remained dedicated to free-range egg production ever since because it is a genuine product that provides no health risk to the consumer."
From humble beginnings, Clonarn Clover now packs eggs from 120,000 free-range laying hens. The company's 27 dedicated production units are based in counties Cavan, Meath, Longford and Monaghan, and within a 60km radius of its packing centre.
There are two production units located on the Farrelly family's Mullagh farm, which houses 8,700 laying hens. The hens are free to wander about the farm from about 10.30 every morning while their eggs are collected.
"They like their routine. Once they have laid their eggs, they are outside for the day and are free to come and go when they like. The hens roam freely over fresh green fields eating a healthy, natural diet," Margaret says.
In keeping with the company's ethos, its product portfolio continues to grow. In mid-2000, Clonarn's mega egg enriched with Omega 3, Vitamin E, Organic Selenium and Organic Eggs were added to their range. In April 2001, a new state-of-the-art packing centre was equipped with a stainless steel Diamond 2100 Grader, which was the first of its kind in Western Europe. And two years ago, Margaret hit on the idea of selling the white eggs, which are available from your local supermarket in their distinctive pink packaging.
"It took two years to get the project off the ground because, initially, we had a problem sourcing white hens. But we got our first batch last September. There are several breeds out there, but they would not have been economically viable. We needed to find a bird that would produce good quality eggs that would be profitable. They are white hyline hens, quite similar to their brown cousins but more expensive to buy and they produce white eggs instead.
"The majority of eggs on the market are packaged in pale green boxes. We wanted something that would make a strong impact on the supermarket shelves. We already have a product in blue packaging so we decided on pink because it's a really strong colour."
Clonarn Clover supplies eggs to a number of the leading supermarket chains, including SuperValu, Centra, Londis, Eurospar, Spar and Mace. They also supply to independent retailers, butcher shops, fresh fruit and vegetable shops, catering establishments and nursing homes throughout counties Dublin, Cavan, Monaghan, Louth, Meath, Westmeath, Longford and Roscommon. In addition, they offer their packaging service to egg suppliers nationwide.
Leo and Margaret have four grown-up children - Aileen (who works in the family business), Anne-Marie, Killian and Edel - and it was through Killian that their association with their local GAA club Cuchulainns came about.
Margaret explains: "When Cuchulainns were looking for a new sponsor a few years ago, we jumped at the chance because of all they had done for Killian when he was younger. He had loads of success with their underage teams, but unfortunately Leo or myself didn't get to see him play that often because of the business.
"We didn't have the time to bring him to the games and were relying on the generosity of other people to bring him. We see this sponsorship as a way of putting something back into the club and we are both proud and delighted to be in a position to help out."
Under the management of former Cavan star Peter Reilly, Cuchulainns held their own in the senior ranks this year and also consolidated their Division 1 league status. Needless to say, Margaret is hoping they can push on and challenge for silverware in 2012.
"It's a great club which has some fantastic people involved. I would love to see them having a bit of success next year and the same goes for Cavan. The Cavan minor, under 21 and ladies teams had a terrific year and here's hoping it's the start of something big for the county," she concludes. Tweet
