Following from Pat Mc Carthys suggestions and other feedback, we have decide it is time to re-brand before we start branding our business name. So after 2 good brainstorming sessions we came up with 3 additional potential names: Oontach, Lehkela, Taste & Made, MileNasc. After surveying friends, coolegues and business partners we reverted to variations on the original Taste & Made and created Made to Savour (encompasing both the imediat flavour and longevity of our gifts).
What a collection of fabulous Irish crafted products and enthuastic producers. From the well renowned to the new entrants the quality, style, creativity and design were amazing. We just did not have enough time to see it all. Starting with Creative Island we were proud to see many Kilkenny products here such as Moth to Flame, Cushendale Wollen Mills, Castle Arch Pottery and Nicholas Moss. Walking through the numerous displays a few that caught our eye were ByYvonne (handcrafted jewellery & accessories), Jennifer Slattery textiles for the home, Klickity comtemporary product design, and Meso Celtic Roots sculptures. Finally we headed upstairs to the Enterprise Zone in the Balcony Area. Here we met some amazing people with fantastic ideas and a willingness to work at getting their product out there. We hope to work with some of these people in the coming months.
What better mentors could you find than Mags Kirwin(Goatsbridge Trout) and Helen Finnegan(Knockadrina Cheese) to discuss the challenges and opportunities for Taste and Made. While lunching on local artisian foods at Knockadrina we discussed the perceived competition, how to differentiate ourselves, challenges of food distribution, value of markets outside of Ireland, e-commerce growth and all the essentials of strong branding.
Meeting with Sean Flemming(Financial Clarity) always leaves you buzzing. From hard questions to a just ‘do it’ attitude he certainly gave us a lot of practical advice: be clear in our direction and our markets, communicate it clearly, don’t be afraid to ask our suppliers for commitment.
First things first, the wonderful craft makers. We appreciate the time afforded to us by those who have been working in the craft industry for a number of years and who share their experiences of the trials and tribulations of working in this creative sector. To-day it was Rosemary Durr who gave so generously of her time and advice.
With plans for Christmas markets and corporate orders, this has been a busy month ordering supplies, packaging and promotional material. Michelle has stepped in to help us both selling and packaging product.
An opportune meeting with Mark Fielding of ISME created an opportunity for Made to Savour to display its products at the ISME conference in the RDS this month. Thanks to Mark we made some very good corporate contacts and also sold a variety of products on the day. Michelle will follow-up on these leads next week and hopefully create 5 good corporate orders. When Mark Fielding asked us what our aim was in attending the conference, we said 5 corporate sales.
Taste & Made(this was our initial name) was initiated today as a working project. How exciting to create our Project plan with timescales that run to April 2012. Justyna is focusing on the market research & product design while Josephine is focusing on the fulfillment and e-commerce options.
Over the next 2 weeks we will share the journey of Made to Savour. From business concept to where we are to-date, we will talk about the highs and lows, tell you about the wonderful people we have met, the divine food and superior crafts people. We will let you know how good or bad Monday mornings and Friday evenings were and which mentors helped us make sense of it all. From kitchen table wrapping gifts for Christmas markets to advice from well know dragon, follow our blog to see it all unfold.
MadeToSavour 