Gráinne Mullins is the driving force behind Grá Chocolates, little pieces of edible art that take three days to create. A pastry chef by background who served her time in top-flight hotels and a Michelin-starred restaurant in Aix-en-Provence for two years, Mullins was working in Ashford Castle when Covid hit and the hospitality industry effectively shut down overnight.
Mullins had always wanted to start her own business, but before the pandemic she had no immediate plans to strike out on her own. The lockdown changed this. Suddenly, she had time to develop her ideas and with the blessing of her parents, the family kitchen became her test bench as she experimented with designs, textures, flavours and fillings.
Since then the business has grown strongly. It now employs 18 people, and Mullins is in the throes of a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to realise her dream of building a chocolate factory in her native Galway.
“With everyone switching to online shopping during Covid, it became clear that it was possible to start if not permanently run an all-online business,” she says. “This removed the need for a shop front and all the costs that go with renting and fitting out a unit. It also made it easier to get up and running on a small budget.
“We make a range of artisan chocolates using top-quality, locally sourced ingredients, and demand has far exceeded my initial expectations,” Mullins adds. “Our first production run sold out in eight minutes, and the website crashed, there was so much traffic. We now ship all over the world. We are fast outgrowing our existing building, and on top of this our rent is increasing to a level we can’t sustain. So, we need to find a permanent home. As we are an online-first business, and don’t get to see our customers face-to-face very often, we want to bring people closer to us with a dedicated visitor centre as part of the relocation plan.”
'It was very frustrating when I tried to rent a premises as there was nothing suitable available, and I ended up working out of a converted shed’
— Gráinne Mullins, Grá Chocolates
The initial target for the Kickstarter campaign was €50,000, which has already been exceeded. However, pledges are still being accepted, and Mullins says she has taken the over-subscription as proof positive of customer support for her business. Apart from the factory and visitor centre, Mullins also wants to build an innovation hub where start-ups can find affordable accommodation and other help to get going.
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“It was very frustrating when I tried to rent a premises as there was nothing suitable available, and I ended up working out of a converted shed,” she says. “Having been through this, I wanted to be able to offer other start-ups somewhere to go, but also the benefit of our experience if they need it.”
In total, Mullins estimates the cost of the chocolate factory development at around €1 million, and it will take about two years for the project to come to fruition. “For now, I am content to start with a smaller unit and expand later on,” says Mullins, who puts investment in Grá Chocolates to date at about €200,000, which includes support from Enterprise Ireland, Leader and the Galway Local Enterprise Office. The company sells roughly 55 per cent of its output online and its chocolates are also available in a small number of retailers.
“Having worked in the hospitality industry, I was well used to 12-hour days and 60-70 hour weeks, but when it’s your own business it’s different because you’re working these hours for yourself,” Mullins says. “Focusing full-time on the business also gives you the head-space to think about your products and how you want to position your brand. Our chocolates are pitched at the luxury end of the market, where people appreciate good chocolate and either want to buy it for themselves as a treat or gift it to someone else.”
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