A LUXURY Irish chocolate brand which has amassed a legion of fans since it was founded during the pandemic has launched in the UK.
Co. Galway based Grá Chocolates - the Irish for 'love' - enjoyed a soft launch in Britain this month.
The firm, which has recently opened a fulfilment centre just north of London - allowing it to offer next-day delivery across the country, produces hand-crafted chocolates which are made with some of the finest ingredients to be found in Ireland.
It is the brainchild of Gráinne Mullins, an award-winning pastry chef who trained in Michelin-starred kitchens across Ireland and France.
Ms Mullins found her entrepreneurial niche while cooking and baking in her kitchen during the pandemic, although she admits she never thought it would become a commercial enterprise.
Grá founder Gráinne Mullins, is an award-winning pastry chef who trained in Michelin-starred kitchens across Ireland and France“I would say from the outset this wasn’t planned to be a business,” Ms Mullins told The Irish Post this week.
“I worked as a pastry chef for over ten years, and it was only when lockdown hit that my world kind of stopped in that sense and it gave me the time to replan.”
She explained: “In 2020 all the restaurants were closed. I had been working in fine dining restaurants for years, so I was used to working mad hours. I didn’t really know what having a family dinner was like, I didn’t know what life was really.
“So when everything came to a standstill, I didn’t really know what to do with myself.
“I was baking and cooking every single day for friends and family. It is kind of my meditation time when I am cooking as that is when I am really at peace.
“I made a load of chocolates, and it was only when people started reaching out and asking me could they buy them, that was when I started to think of it as a potential business.”
Ms Mullins took that idea and went away and did some research.
“I started to look into it; I started to do my market research, I looked at doing a business plan,” she explains.
“Back then I didn’t know if work would be back in a few weeks or days, but it was months and months and so I gave this project as much time as if it was a full time job.
"And it was really having that energy and time to be able to dedicate to something, and keep me distracted, that was probably the best thing for me, the thing that I needed."
Grá Chocolates was founded in 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemicIt wasn’t long before she had created a business plan and Grá Chocolates was born. The entrepreneur then turned to the public to help decide a flavour palette.
“I used social media to ask people what chocolate they would like to see,” she explained
“But I also really wanted to go with classic flavours that I knew Irish people would love.
"So, I knew I could make a delicious caramel, but made using Irish cream, Irish butter and Achill Island sea salt from the Atlantic Ocean.
Grá chocolates are made using some of the finest ingredients found in Ireland“I knew I needed a fruity chocolate, I knew I needed a milk, white, and a dark chocolate.
“Hazelnut is hugely popular, so a hazelnut praline was a go-to.
“Honey is amazing, so I used honey from the Sliabh Aughty mountains, a mountain range in Co. Galway, which I grew up underneath, where the bees live on those mountain ranges.
“I did a mint as well, based on the water mint that grows up those mountains.
“It was just flavours that I knew appealed to a mass of people, but used in a way that was truly unique and heightened the experience of a box of chocolates."
Mullins' unique artisan chocolates are hand-made and hand-paintedAnd its fair to say she has achieved just that, with the beautiful look of each and every one of her hand-painted chocolates reflected in the equally beautiful packaging that Grá Chocolates come within.
After all that research and attention to culinary details and the customer experience, Ms Mullins launched the business, which is based near Loughrea, in July 2020.
It was just three months since she had her original idea.
Since then it has grown exponentially, serving clients across Ireland, Europe and the US, and it now boasts of team of staff.
“We launched Grá six years ago this month and it is has been an amazing journey,” she admits.
“Its amazing to look back and see how a business can change and adapt."
She added: “The packaging is very different now, the experience is very different and we only had one product when we first launched. So much has changed in that time, but it has been an incredible journey.”
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