In this special episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with three of Ireland’s most exciting food and drink founders for a live “Recipe for Success” masterclass, brought to you with the Local Enterprise Offices and the National Enterprise Awards. Gary is joined by Denise Buckley of Sugar Plum Sweetery, Pat Falvey of Blarney Brewing Company and Active Brewing Company, and Ian O’Rourke of RYSE Chocolate to unpack what it really takes to build a food or drink brand in Ireland today. From viral TikTok moments and 900% growth to getting onto retail shelves, managing margins, building customer feedback loops, and staying agile beside global competitors, this conversation is packed with practical lessons for anyone building a product-led business. Denise shares how Sugar Plum Sweetery went from testing a viral Dubai chocolate bar with just nine moulds to making thousands of bars a day. Pat reveals how belief, vision and speed helped him move from property into brewing, including his ambition to build a sustainable Irish beer brand. Ian explains why early founders should “do things that don’t scale”, and how grassroots relationships with retailers can become one of your most valuable sources of data. If you are building a food, drink, retail or consumer brand, this episode is a tactical playbook on testing fast, backing yourself, getting close to your customer, and staying in the game long enough for momentum to arrive. 🎧 Show Notes In this episode, we cover: 🔥 The “recipe for success” behind three standout Irish food and drink brands 🍫 How Sugar Plum Sweetery turned the Dubai chocolate trend into 900% growth 📈 Why Denise believes attention to detail, obsession and customer relevance drive brand momentum 🚀 How a test batch of nine chocolate bars became thousands of bars a day 📲 Why TikTok Shop became a powerful commercial channel for Sugar Plum Sweetery 🏪 The plan to expand Sugar Plum Sweetery into 10 physical stores over three years 🍺 How Pat Falvey went from 20 years in property to owning a brewery three weeks after a chance lunch 💡 Why belief, vision and the ability to embrace change are essential founder traits 🏉 The thinking behind Active Brewing Company and functional non-alcoholic beer ⚡ How Ian O’Rourke is building RYSE Chocolate as a new “chocolate energy” category 🛒 Why getting into retail is only the first challenge — and why shelf position, rate of sale and relationships matter 📊 How small brands can use local store managers and independent retailers as real-time market research 🎯 Why “do things that don’t scale” is still one of the most powerful startup lessons 💰 The importance of understanding margin before scaling any food or drink brand 🤝 How Local Enterprise Offices helped the founders with grants, feasibility studies, machinery, brand development and connections 🌱 Why Irish brands can compete with global giants by being faster, more personal and more agile 📚 The books Ian recommends for early-stage founders: The Lean Startup and Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway 🧠 The final advice each founder would give to someone thinking about starting their own business Links & Resources Sugar Plum Sweetery: https://sugarplumsweetery.ie/ Blarney Brewing Company: https://www.blarneybrewing.ie/ RYSE Chocolate: https://rysechocolate.com/ Local Enterprise Offices: https://www.localenterprise.ie/ National Enterprise Awards: https://www.localenterprise.ie/awards/2026-finalists/
